Professors may be experts, but we’re certainly not perfect.
Being vague about criteria for course success, refusing to give As, wearing funky or distractingly nerdy clothing, and spitting on students while talking are just a few of the things professors do that irritate students.
After writing, 12 Ways to Tick Off Your Professor, I thought I should give the students a chance to voice their annoyances. I collected their responses in person and via social media.
Other items mentioned include:
Email fails
Students had a lot of complaints about the way professors use email, ranging from having poor email etiquette (like using poor subject lines and writing and incomplete sentences), to taking up to a week to respond to messages.
Vague expectations
Students want to succeed. They are frustrated by professors who are vague about guidelines or deadlines and those who graded opposite of what was stated on the syllabus. One student said he had a professor who was purposely abstract about assignments to make himself seem smarter. Students want concrete information about expectations.
Being unprepared
We think we can fake it, but we can’t. Students can tell when we’re unprepared for class. One student said some professors have class because they think they should, even when they obviously have nothing prepared. Another student said she had a professor who canceled class just because she didn’t want to be there.
Being late
Multiple students mentioned professors either being tardy for class or ending class late. They also hate it when professors cancel classes after the class session already should have started.
Arbitrary grading
Contrary to popular belief, students don’t want to be handed grades. Respondents were annoyed by professors who gave people As who didn’t deserve them, saying it cheapened their hard work. On the other hand, they also were irritated by professors who openly stated that they did not give As. More than anything, students said they wanted assignments back promptly and they wanted to understand what they’d done wrong.
“My favorite professors wrote constructive criticism on the assignments,” one student said.
Students were annoyed by professors who deducted points without explanation, those who commented with illegible handwriting and those who reduced grades because they didn’t agree with students’ viewpoints.
Changing rules
Students were annoyed by professors who added major assignments to the syllabus in the middle of the semester or those who changed the due dates on assignments the day they were due, seemingly disregarding their hard work and rewarding those who had procrastinated.
Killing them with PowerPoint
Students were annoyed by professors’ poor attempts to use technology, specifically slide presentations.
“I can’t handle professors who turn classes into PowerPoint shows. Engaging with your audience (no matter who they are) is crucial,” one student said.
Several students said they were annoyed by professors who read slides word-for-word.
“Anybody can read slides,” one student said.
One student said he likes it when professors distribute handouts of their slides, but another said she hates it and stops listening when she already has the notes.
Several students mentioned slides packed with too much information and professors who went through them so quickly that students couldn’t take proper notes.
So, professors, least we think we are perfect, here is a list of some pretty obvious faults. I just hope I’m not spitting on any students!
mycolleges says
There was a teacher I heard about who left class earlier but asked all the students to stay there until the end of the block. Is it realistic to expect this if the teacher can’t commit to being in class? No. -Sarah
profkrg says
@mycolleges so the professor left but told the students to stay? What were they told to do during that time?
mycolleges says
@profkrg Good question, this story was relayed to me, but it sounded like the teacher just wanted them to stay put.