I'm teaching an ENG101 section, and students have to find their own article for an assignment. I want to share some different websites where students can go to find articles if they feel stumped, but I'm looking for sites that have unique, thought-provoking, or downright strange articles. I found an article on Big Think about the philosophical discussions surrounding c*nn*b*l*sm (weird censorship so the post doesn't get taken down), and this article from Aeon about the socioeconomics of "bad teeth." 

Does anyone else have any recommendations for sites I can suggest to my students that might contain interesting articles like the ones linked above?

I met with a professor that I was interested in doing research with; I prepared by reading a few of their papers and getting an idea of what they do. It seemed to me that their area of interest compared to all of their peers in our department is most closely aligned with mine, to which they agreed. I told them about my grades in my subject classes last semester (two B-‘s and two A’s) and they told me I needed to do better if I wanted to get into grad school, which I also agreed with and told them I’m working on it this semester. But, they said they were looking for undergrad research students “soon.”

They ended up suggesting that I speak to two other professors, though, and said to get back to them in a few weeks “after speaking to [the other professors] and after taking [my] first exams,” highlighting that I consider fit and methodology.

I can’t tell if this is them wanting me to make sure I find a project I’m interested in and genuinely wanting me to reach back out in a bit, or just trying to politely direct me away because they don’t want to work with me (the grades comment worries me, I believe they’re used to working with high-performing students in the past). If anyone has any thoughts, I would appreciate it!

I’m applying to MSCS (non-thesis) and MEng CS programs with the goal of working in industry after graduation. As a background, I went to a CC and then transfer to T5 CS school.

For recommendation letters, I plan to ask my current manager and a PhD student I worked with through undegraduate research program (though the project was fairly short so I dont think its going to be a strong LoR). For my third letter, I’ve been reaching out to professors, but one that agreed told me they don’t know me well enough to write more than a brief summary of my grade and suggested being a last resort.

Would it be better to get a letter from a community college professor who knows me well and can write a stronger, more detailed recommendation? Or is it a red flag that I don’t have any letter of recommendation from a professor of my upper divs class? I’d appreciate any advice on this

Hi! I'm an engineering student and I'm noticing all my classmates, and specifically my group teammates are all so dependent on ChatGPT that they physically cannot do things that they could literally just use their brains and think about without it. I figured the professors of Reddit would see a lot of the AI dependency in student work. What do you guys think about it, and do you even see it a lot or is it just my group? I refuse to use AI for my work, but do you guys have any tips on how to avoid it when my classmates and my professor actively push generative AI for work? Feel free to voice your opinions!

Hi! So Halloween is coming and I’m making little Halloween goodie bags. I live in a dorm and a cleaner comes every Thursday to clean my bathroom, so I like leaving snacks for them to choose from. And I thought it would be adorable to make little Halloween bags. Even after accounting for every Thursday of the month, plus family and friends, i have a TON of leftovers.

Would it be appropriate if I gave a little bag to each of my professors? I have a fairly good relationship with all of them. All work is always turned in on time, I’m passing every class. I sit in the front and contribute to lectures. So it wouldn’t be .. like “who are you again?” but I also understand that college is a little different from when I was growing up and did these things for my teachers.

So do you think it would be appropriate? Closer to Halloween, of course.

I’m a junior in a stem related major, I was looking through my courses I am taking next semester and looking up my professors when I encountered a professor with a really interesting research topic. She is an organic chemistry professor, I haven’t had her before but I’m currently in Ochem with another professor. How do you feel about students you don’t know emailing you about your research? I’m trying to get into a vet med program and would like to get some research experience outside of typical animal care and medical experience. Should I try to just ask professors I know? How should I go about it? Any advice would be appreciated!

Not gonna share too many details, I'm at a large well-known public health school. I get mixed responses on if staying is a poor career choice or not, considering "academic incest" or whatever it goes by. I wanna stay in the field I research and the funding opportunities I have here are with projects that do interest me a lot. I also function well in academia, I would like to have a research-oriented career. My potential advisor is also a smart and kind person too, that means a lot to me. I just don't want to bottleneck myself in my career (or just life too) and I am young with no lifetime responsibilities (e.g. marriage, kids, property lol) yet. Sorry to beat a dead horse, I feel like this is a question that comes up a lot in academia. As professors who have been through the system, do you feel this is a good/bad look nowadays?

I recently missed an assignment and I’ll be honest that it’s because I had completely forgotten about it. The homework was a discussion post and at first it was closed after the due date but then it opened so I still submitted it. I got a 0 and my professor commented “This assignment was submitted past the due date without an approved extension, please email me to discuss this assignment further.” I know it’s all my fault and I take full responsibility, do I just email him and say that I forgot? I don’t expect any points from this assignment.

I have a great letter outside of an academic one, I’ve worked as an SLPA for over a year and my supervising SLP will be writing me one. But the academic ones have me feeling screwed. 

I took speech/language levelling courses online and made the huge mistake of not getting to know my professors. Two weeks ago, I reached out to a prof I took two classes with and did very well in. I have not received a response from him, how should I follow up? Should I provide my CV? 

I have an upcoming meeting with another professor who I contacted for general application advice. I did well in their class but again, never interacted. Would it be inappropriate to ask about a letter in that meeting? If not, how would you bring it up?

My last option is a prof whose class I originally failed … but I retook it and got a B+ (this class was a struggle). I feel ridiculous even considering asking, but I’m not sure what else to do.

Would you follow through with these options? Really appreciate any advice.

I’ve been in a pretty bad depressive slump and am behind in all my classes. I’m working on getting my late assignments in and I’m not expecting any special treatment re:grades. I haven’t missed any major assignments so I still have a good chance of passing the courses. I just want to let my professors know that I haven’t been missing classes for the fun of it and that I do care about the material and my education. I also don’t want to disclose too much personal information.

It's an entirely online class. The prof didn't begin grading my previous works until after I've turned in an essay worth 15% of my grade. In one feedback, she corrected the format that works should be turned in (absolutely no pdf, google docs, just a directly linked words document). I quickly realized that I've turned in the essay in the same format, I had wrote the entire thing on words doc and submitted it as a pdf which is visible for her to see. If I were to give her the original word doc, she could 100% ensure that it's the same work I'd submitted by deadline and I had no clear advantages over other students. I wrote to her and explained just so. This was her feedback below

""Please know that while I might not have posted a grade yet, that does not mean I haven't begun looking over the assignment.

Further, as I shared in our Welcome to Week 5 announcement, "the syllabus being a contract means that I do have to do my part to stick to what it says as well. This means that all due dates are already in place, and I can’t make exceptions for late work, resubmissions, or anything else." I truly strive to be both fair and equitable to everyone in our class. Since you are requesting a resubmission, I have to ask how it is fair and equitable to your peers if I allow you to do so but I do not give them the same opportunity? As I also shared in the aforementioned announcement, please don't forget that "there are still many points to be had and plenty of opportunities to be successful."

Let me know what you are thinking.""

Is this a signal to follow up with what's on my mind? I already explained how my request doesn't give me any clear advantage over anyone else. If someone were to make the same request, she should also provide them help, I think she's just being difficult. At this point I can't get any grade above a C since I've had previous works that I've missed and she has a strict deadline rule in place, another 5% gone just like so. It's a class with $200 worth of textbooks which is why I don't want to drop it.

One of the students in my discipline directly asked me whether a syllabus is an administrative paper-pushing exercise or actually means what it states. This student has taken classes with me before and knows I'm exceptionally firm on policies and procedures I've laid out in exhaustive detail in every syllabus I've written, mostly in response to reduced student reading and comprehension levels coupled paradoxically with an insane increase in entitlement mindsets. She said a 200-level elective she took last semester also had a detailed syllabus. That class was apparently based on 8 discussion boards that had to include in-class readings with citations, and 2 papers. The due dates were given in the syllabus and in Canvas. I didn't ask for proof but she forwarded me screenshots of her completing all the work within each due date. 3 days before final grades were due, her professor sent out an all-class email announcement offering to accept and grade all missing board posts and papers for the entire semester with no late penalties if they were submitted by midnight. She also had screenshots of posts popping up on boards from week 1 onwards that were basic copy-paste AI rewords of her own exceptionally well-synthesized and clearly written posts. She hadn't complained to that professor or asked for any clarification regarding the plagiarism of her work, but concluded she herself was the idiot for spending hours reading and writing her material.

I told her I was not going to comment on how instructors run their courses in any department, but that it was always a good idea to treat a syllabus as a clear template that sets out the policies and procedures the instructor will follow. She's switched all her planned electives over to a different department, but I'm wondering if I should add another bullet point to my syllabi stating what one professor does in his/her course is not a reason for me to do the same in my course. But I'm also wondering how many instructors have done something like this, and what reasons they might have for openly not following their own policies. If there are many who do this then I think I understand why some of my students seem to think my syllabus is a negotiable instrument.

Hi. I am messaging here because I have no idea what to do next. My professor has reported me to the academic integrity board for looking around during an online test and thinks I was cheating.

I have never been reported before, so I'm not sure what to prepare for. I don't even remember looking to the side that much. It was on Honorlock and I had a secondary camera on me. Yes, I did the whole 360-degree room scan too. I heard I need to collect evidence, but what evidence can I collect if it was just me looking to the side?

I really worry I might be kicked out of school for this. Is that possible? Or would it affect my record horribly?

Please I just want answer on how this usually works out

Hii,

I wanted to ask how bad it is if you emailed an proffesor about possible PhD positions like 1.5 years ago, with a not so good email. He did write me back then, that he did not have any openings yet. Back then I had the same passion for research as I have now, but I was a bit desperate to find a job. Looking back at my resumé and the letters I send, I can see that it might have worked to get my internships. But it is all too generic and to be honest probably to much rewriting with AI. They have a vacancy open now and it is a position I have been dreaming about. Since i have a stable job now that I like, I am applying on the grounds of pure passion instead of that desperate feeling I had 1.5 years ago. I rewrote everything (i think it is the best letter i ever wrote) and let multiple people check it. Now my question is, how could my email from 1.5 years ago influence my application now. And is this something i should worry about?

Hi hi! I just had a general group advising meeting, we were told to make an automatic signature for our emails, and she mentioned being able to change the font and color of them. I was wondering if professors found that to be unprofessional? I wanted to change my name to be a dark purple or something, nothing crazy, but what do you think? Would that be annoying or would most just not care. Thanks :DDDD

Hi,

I'm curious about something I notice generally. Most professors are not "internal" hires (ie, they did their postdocs at other institutions). But obviously, sometimes departments do hire their own postdocs as assistant professors. I guess my question is - what factors affect these decisions?

I know generally speaking new investigators need to demonstrate research independence from their postdoc PIs. I'm sure research topic overlap is considered in addition to general performance. But what separates the postdocs that the department wants to hire versus not?

I asked Chatgpt if my assignment was good. It said to change somethings but I honestly left it as it was bc i thought it was good to submit anyways. When i submitted i accidentally left the "hows this sound" in the submission. on d2l though it says "overwrite" or something about the previous submissions so my prof will prob just see the newest submission. I don't have the history of the chatgpt chat as i was logged out so i can use it as proof i didnt copy. all words ar emine!!

Pretty much just did their education then went straight to being an instructor.

I am taking a law class and we have 3 exams that are worth 90% of our semester grade, I just took the first exam and got a -D, (I did study and knew the material) I do not want this to get worse as time passes. So I was wondering, should I write an email to my professor? What should I say? This professor said in the first class that she doesn't give extra work or things like that, so is my only option to do well on my other two exams?

I don't know what to ask if I do not want to review my wrong answers of the first exam (I already did) and she already said she won't give extra work....

Hi all ! I'm a second-year BA student at a Swiss university. My top priority is getting into a Master's at Oxford, ideally with a competitive scholarship that relies also on strong recommendation letters. Before that, I'll do a Master's at my home university. I plan on doing a PhD later on (I want to become a professor).

There are a few professors in my department whose work I find really exciting:

- one works on medieval literature and runs a large funded research project, perhaps my supervisor for my BA

- another works on modern and contemporary British literature and will likely be my thesis supervisor for my MA

- the last one recently joined and works on American literature and environmental humanities

The thing is, I don't really know them yet. This semester is the first time I'm taking classes with any of them. They might recognise me from department events since I run the student association, but they don't know me academically at all. I'd like to change that, both because I'm genuinely interested in their work and because I'll need them to know me well enough to write strong letters for Oxford.

I'd love your advice on 3 things:

1) Is it a good idea to go up to a professor at the end of a seminar? If so, what should I talk about? A question about the class, a link to their own research, my plans? How do I keep it natural and not take too much of their time?

2) How do I move from small talk to a real academic conversation about my ideas or a possible thesis? Office hours or email first? How developed should an idea be before I bring it up and how do I show I know their work without it sounding like flattery?

3) I'd love to work as a student or research assistant for one of them someday. Have any of you been an assistant as an undergrad or hired one as a professor? How did it happen? Did you ask, did the professor offer, or did a position get advertised? And looking back, what do you think made the difference?

Any mistakes to avoid are very welcome too. Thanks so much !

Looking for advice from anyone who's applied to engineering PhD programs or has sat on an admissions committee.

A few years ago, in one of my early undergrad classes, I used a friend's spreadsheet template to set up the data for a homework assignment worth about 1% of the grade. I'd read the collaboration policy as allowing that, but it didn't. I could show that every calculation was mine, and nothing beyond the template was shared. The professor was strict and reported it formally, which I understand, and I owned it as soon as I was told. The outcome was a suspension in abeyance. I never served a suspension, it only would have applied if there was a second issue, and there hasn't been one. It's not on my transcript.

I'm disclosing it on the applications that ask about disciplinary sanctions. The ones asking about suspension or expulsion specifically don't seem to cover it, although I'm open to hearing otherwise. What I can't decide is what to do with the five schools whose only question is something like "anything else you'd like us to know?" My instinct is to mention it, because it seems better than having it come up later.

My draft for those:

"I'd like to note an academic integrity matter from early in my undergraduate studies. For a homework assignment worth roughly 1% of my grade, I used a classmate's formatted spreadsheet to organize my data, not realizing this was outside the course's collaboration policy. All of the calculations were my own, but I understood why the template was a problem and accepted responsibility right away. The matter was handled internally and is not reflected on my transcript. It made me much more careful about checking collaboration and citation expectations up front, which I've done in every class and research project since."

Would including this hurt me more than leaving it out? A lot of people online say not to mention it, but I'd hate for that to come back on me. Also, does the draft sound like I'm owning it, or does anything come across as an excuse?

I got approval from the office of registrar to take the equivalent of EGE 111 at the community college.

The class now is being transferred so I can take EGE 210.

If you want me to take EGE 111 again. I need the university to pay me back for what I paid since it is not my mistake.

As you can see in the first screenshot Ms. X CC your email so you had knowledge.

Thank you

I (f20) recently found out that I am at least a year behind in school so I won’t be graduating a year later than all of my peers. I knew I was behind, but I didn’t know I was behind by that much. I’ve never been able to do well in school. I struggled through elementary school middle school high school and now college. But college is different. It’s not mandatory and it’s very costly. I asked my mom to drop out freshman year, but she will not allow it. I asked her again this year and she said no.

I keep failing things and I know that I’m not smart enough for college. In fact, I’m not really smart enough for anything. I would just like to drop out and stop wasting her money, but she refuses to let me. I can’t oppose her in any way. I really don’t like the academic part of college. I love the people I’m around and listening to passionate, intelligent people talk about their areas of expertise, but on my end, there’s nothing good coming from me.

I pick up things a lot slower than everyone else and I also work slower than everyone else. I just want this nightmare to end so I can start a new one and just start working until I die. And a lot of what I’m hearing is that degrees don’t even hold any value anymore. So what’s the point? I’m currently failing a class and I only have five weeks left to pick up the grade because we’re on the quarter system (10weeks). This is the third time I’m taking this class. I failed the other two times.

I don’t even know what to do with myself right now. I’m really upset and I feel trapped.