tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post4147503127240741184..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: The Big Thirsty. From ELS.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-21498549320577624632016-06-20T18:58:03.719-04:002016-06-20T18:58:03.719-04:00The discussion of admin degrees brought to mind a ...The discussion of admin degrees brought to mind a recent apropos post:<br /><br /><a href="http://collegemisery.blogspot.com/2016/04/if-i-had-million-dollars-id-buy-you.html" rel="nofollow"> If I had a million dollars, I'd buy you a college (but not a real college, that's cruel). </a><br />.Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-75342239402260744392016-06-18T11:37:14.367-04:002016-06-18T11:37:14.367-04:00PP, your points are well made. In a perfect world,...PP, your points are well made. In a perfect world, such faculty would remove themselves from consideration for such positions. In a slightly less-than-perfect world, they'd be removed by other checks and balances. In this world, these buffoons become your bosses, often skipping the step of having ever been faculty.Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-56790078175952221972016-06-18T11:32:03.851-04:002016-06-18T11:32:03.851-04:00We have discussed here the rise of the professiona...We have discussed here the rise of the professional ruling class: administrators who have never performed the tasks that those "beneath them" have done and/or must do on a daily basis. Ed.D. deans who have never been in front of a classroom. Provosts without PhDs.<br /><br />I first heard a similar complaint in the 1980s from a proffie in the business school. Students taking his coursesOgre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-44040959108678452132016-06-18T11:05:28.397-04:002016-06-18T11:05:28.397-04:00I think this is better than the seemingly ever-inc...I think this is better than the seemingly ever-increasing disconnect that results from 'professional' administrators, but let's not overlook that it guarantees a certainly level of buffoonery at the administrate level. Some of us (meaning faculty taken as a whole) are not cut out to administrate. Think of the people on your committees and in your faculty meetings. dmckeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18052641757203089416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-11419403778310838812016-06-18T10:23:12.617-04:002016-06-18T10:23:12.617-04:00There's nothing wrong with the dream. It's...There's nothing wrong with the dream. It's just that realizing it requires other people. Other people who suck.Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-57873957409069084902016-06-18T06:12:38.070-04:002016-06-18T06:12:38.070-04:00Yep, and not only fixable, but probably cheaper.Yep, and not only fixable, but probably cheaper.EC1https://www.blogger.com/profile/13414931249618049097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-60226164891385244722016-06-17T22:07:33.421-04:002016-06-17T22:07:33.421-04:00I read somewhere (here?) that professors used to b...I read somewhere (here?) that professors used to be more involved in administration. They shared the administrative load and rotated every year/few years. The segregation between administration and faculty has had a detrimental effect on academia. An undergraduate college with administrators as professors and professors as administrators sounds wise to me.Ripbergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01685894007541567391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-84463430346703807482016-06-17T14:32:31.667-04:002016-06-17T14:32:31.667-04:00My place had a turn over in upper administration i...My place had a turn over in upper administration in my second year, and this has been part of the new bloc's agenda.<br /><br />Get the faculty to be more aware of each other's efforts across disciplines. Get the students more aware of the things the faculty do <i>other</i> than teaching. Encourage the faculty to be involved in student-led activities. And so on.<br /><br />I think it is dmckeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18052641757203089416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-10491466748462459662016-06-17T14:26:52.592-04:002016-06-17T14:26:52.592-04:00Make it cheaper. Make it tougher to get out. Ferre...Make it cheaper. Make it tougher to get out. Ferret out these profs (some well-inentioned and some simply hamstrung) who pass everybody no matter what. We contribute to all of society's ills when we devalue a college education by allowing it to become a consumer venture.<br /><br />NickAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-73937989313015119092016-06-17T11:15:35.009-04:002016-06-17T11:15:35.009-04:00I hope people keep posting answers to this thirsty...I hope people keep posting answers to this thirsty. If I asked people at my school about "the elements that make up a great undergraduate college or university," lots of them would say stuff like "student success" or "Pearson modules" or some fucking batshit nonsense. So I have to rely on CMers at the compound to provide good ideas. Southern Bubba, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12050992903794385204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-41646302401159789312016-06-17T10:28:39.123-04:002016-06-17T10:28:39.123-04:00Don't ruin my dream!Don't ruin my dream!<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-13230448528885989522016-06-17T08:32:38.700-04:002016-06-17T08:32:38.700-04:00My college has all these things. My school still...My college has all these things. My school still sucks.<br /><br />Why? Because we have these things at the expense of any serious attempt to be good at what we do. Only a few faculty do good research. Only a few faculty innovate in teaching. Only a few faculty attempt to push the students. <br /><br />We're collegiate and get along well.. which means we never EVER criticize each other. Three Sigmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10822893039310439770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-67419219795875423002016-06-17T07:34:56.123-04:002016-06-17T07:34:56.123-04:00Q: What are the elements that make up a great unde...Q: What are the elements that make up a great undergraduate college or university. <br /><br />A: Take everything they do at my joint, and do the opposite.<br /><br />(I'm being overly harsh. There's plenty good about my uni. It's just that the not-so-good is so fixable, so frustrating.)Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-34125263734453535622016-06-17T00:59:15.565-04:002016-06-17T00:59:15.565-04:00I like these ideas, Ben! Shared purpose, a thought...I like these ideas, Ben! Shared purpose, a thoughtfully-built and maintained common physical space, a shared respect for learning...Unfortunately these are exactly the things that get eliminated by short-term cost-cutting.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15711314415244801354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-66638649925651217942016-06-16T23:27:00.655-04:002016-06-16T23:27:00.655-04:00A good school has a sense of community which inclu...A good school has a sense of community which includes a shared space, a shared experience, and a shared purpose. <br /><br />A shared space is easy for students on a residential campus. Faculty, staff, and administrators should want to appear during off-hours as well to enjoy or help facilitate student activities and performances.<br /><br />There should be something in common among all majors Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-73925672430790631342016-06-16T17:29:29.496-04:002016-06-16T17:29:29.496-04:00I think you read my mind. I was just complaining t...I think you read my mind. I was just complaining to my spouse about how my Intro Hamster Physics class really needs one more hour per week for me to do a thorough job with all the material I'm supposed to cover. I also would like to assign weekly graded problem sets, but it's impossible to give real feedback on homework with >100 students and only one TA. If we had more staff with moreUggy from Uticanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-79763256685285659082016-06-16T17:00:32.559-04:002016-06-16T17:00:32.559-04:00ELS, you are the man! Great question and a fun ans...ELS, you are the man! Great question and a fun answer.<br /><br />For me, though, I'm going to go with TIME. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I have grown to hate how classes are stacked one on the next, with this breakneck pace through the day if you're teaching multiple sections. I have a colleague who teaches 4 MW classes back to back. No snack. No lunch. I see her RACING Compound Calnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-202781545914806422016-06-16T15:35:01.531-04:002016-06-16T15:35:01.531-04:00This is cheating, I know, but I have to answer a S...This is cheating, I know, but I have to answer a SPLENDID question.<br /><br />PARKING. I know this varies tremendously, and many people will see my whining as, well, whining. WHY CAN'T FACULTY AT MY COLLEGE PARK NEAR ANYFUCKINGTHING?<br /><br />There was a big to-do a few years ago about our own PRIVATE faculty parking lot, but it is so distant from our office building or our main classroomsEating Low Saltnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-43263345856568824672016-06-16T14:50:35.758-04:002016-06-16T14:50:35.758-04:00There are many, but the first one that comes to mi...There are many, but the first one that comes to mind for me is time. Undergraduates need time inside and, especially, outside the classroom to absorb and think about material introduced in individual classes, make connections between/among classes, converse with and learn from each other, etc., etc. They also need time to sleep, and exercise, and socialize in less edifying ways. And they may Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.com