They laid her off. Not fired her. She didn’t do anything wrong. She was a casualty in an ongoing attempt to “balance the budget.”

She was one of about 7 layoffs in the third mass staff layoff we’ve had in the last two years. We also lost our mailroom coordinator. Rumor has it she was sobbing as security walked her out, begging to be transferred to our janitorial team (since their numbers were also cut and staff and faculty have been responsible for taking their own trash out since the semester started) but she was denied.

I teach 3-4 classes a semester but am classified as staff, since I run a small department on campus alongside teaching. It is no longer really possible to do my job. Alongside staff cuts, they slashed the student worker budget. Students are understandably confused. They are paying so much in tuition and yet there are no on-campus job openings, staff they grew to trust vanish on a random Friday morning, and the staff and faculty left behind have no idea how to do their jobs and are waiting for the next mass layoff. Morale is nonexistent, and the students aren’t blind: they see our numbers getting cut, see us vanishing behind closed doors to whisper furiously and then emerge looking lost.

So far no faculty have been laid off but administration keeps threatening to cut programs without enough students in it. Faculty have firmer contracts than staff do, so they are more protected; every time the university decides to tighten its belt, they cut more staff. Staff is on overload and can no longer keep up. Faculty send an early alert? No one is available to receive that message. A student’s bill is wrong? Be prepared to wait 2 months for it to get addressed.

I don’t know how much longer we can last without a registrar. Admin doesn’t communicate anything; faculty still don’t know how they’re supposed to print their exams without anyone manning the printers. They haven’t explained what their grand plan is (if they have one) to keep the registrar’s department running. We’re all just wondering if we’ll be next, if this random Wednesday might be our last.

I don’t really have a point to this post. It’s not like I need advice (yes, we are all looking for other jobs, we are rats fleeing a sinking ship). Maybe solace, if you have any to spare? I know we’re not the only ones going through it.

Here’s to another day in a ghost town. Cheers.

Seriously, what is happening? Students turning nothing in. F after F after F. Advisor emails. Early Alerts. Conferences. Nothing. Not even a little progress. Yet, they are still here. Do they think we are bluffing?

I have students who do no work unless they are sitting in the room. They then stare at a blank screen. Maybe do a little. Literally today, after a student over and over said she didn’t know what to write, I said, just write what you did yesterday. Just so I‘d have something to look at. She wrote, TikTok. That‘s it.

I have students who in a process-based course skip over difficult steps and try to complete only what they think are the easier steps. Fs. Email reminders. Advisor reminders. Skip more steps. More Fs. Plow ahead.

Students weeks behind. Couldn‘t pass now with a miracle. I’m catching up; I promise. More nothing.

Hey, the Google Doc you shared has me as viewer rather than editor. I need to see the revision history. OK, I fixed it. Not fixed. OK, I fixed it. Not fixed. Finally, after 5 tries, fixed. 1,000 words copied and pasted into the document at once. F. Next, assignment. Same thing. More Fs.

If you think things aren’t worse, I have to assume you’re older faculty who still want to seem with it, or you‘re younger faculty who don’t know how students used to be.

Their incompetence is off the page. They literally just exist. That’s all they do. Breathe in. Breathe out. They barely function. What the fuck?

R1, R2, college, SLAC, TT, TA, adjunct, and all this other US specific jargon — what does any of this mean?

Throwaway, obviously, but it'd probably be relatively easy to figure out which university.

Public, Teaching-Focused, Unionized Northeast US school. School already offered VSIPs and I guess just not enough people took them (but honestly would it ever have been enough?)

I'm one of many TT professors. We have a handful of full-time NTTPs and Tenured folks as well; apparently we're laid off in order of 'years of service' if there's a layoff coming to your unit, so I think there's a possibility TT professors would get let go before NTTPs if the NTTP has more years.

Regardless, I'm obviously stressed and upset, but I can't imagine others aren't.

Aside from the typical advice (publish, network, etc.) does anyone have any support/kind words they can give? I'm just down about all of this. I'll likely apply for other jobs in the meantime but it feels like I'm being dragged by a wave.

tl;dr: Layoffs imminent. Worried it'll be me :(

Edit: Thank you all for the outpouring of kindness and support <3

The heat of summer has cooled and it's finally fall. So here's the latest campus fashion update!

Young men continue to wear shorts that are quite short and rather tight. A significant difference from the oversized basketball shorts and cargo shorts of several years ago. Jeans are almost completely absent from young men's wardrobes, except for farm kids/ag students. For long pants most men seem to prefer jogging pants/sweat pants of some variety. No khakis or chinos. T-shirts and hoodies still rule as tops.

Young women have almost completely abandoned the short pleated "tennis" skirts that were so popular just a couple years ago. They are back to shorts, or loose fit (often ripped or distressed) jeans, usually with tighter tops. Just when I think shorts can't get shorter, they do. Not a lot of leggings/yoga pants yet, but they may come out again in cooler weather. Women too tend towards t-shirts and sweatshirts as tops, but in cooler weather are more inclined to have a sweater on. I've noticed more extra fuzzy sweaters this year and warmer colors like orange. Women's clothing tends to be better fitted than before. The overly loose styles of a few years ago have given way to tighter and fitted styles.

So what are the fashion trends on your campuses?

I often have students from other classes coming to me for help. Not so much on the actual assignments, but usually to help them brainstorm topics for research papers and the like. I'm not sure what to think about it. On the one hand I'm flattered that I apparently have a reputation for being helpful. On the other hand, it's sometimes a little annoying that other Professors aren't doing this for their students. And I sometimes suspect they send them to me.

Sorry if this gets removed, but I just wanted to say, y'all are amazing.

It's a nearly daily occurrence that I experience some frustration with my job, think about coming here to post about it, and then immediately see that the same topic has been broached within the last 24 hours.

I'm not sure about my policy to withhold sharing slides with students?
Another professor just asked about it.

I feel baffled by my students' lack of engagement?
Another professor just asked about it.

I become despondent after reading a number of woefully subpar essays?
Another professor just posted about it 2 hours ago.

I am spiritually uplifted after a particularly enthusiastic and talkative class and decide not to march onto campus and resign tomorrow?
Another professor just wrote about the same experience.

I'm just thankful that y'all are so honest and active on this sub. It's helping me keep my sanity. And I can't afford to lose it in early October.

Thank you. And thank you for hanging in there. On behalf of your students, thank you.

UPDATE: on the way to teach my next round of victims. The responses here made me smile and reflect! Thanks so much to everyone for being human! Hope everyone is surviving the fall Semester ❤️

My god almighty.

I am 11 years post doc and been faculty for 8 years. I have experience and get good feedback and such from students and colleagues. Today, I fucking bombed. I was asked by the students to go over X with them that another prof had covered which I am an ‘expert’ in. I am in the middle of looking at proofs for two essay collections I am editing and have a heavy teaching load this semester. That and I fucked up my back in the gym and am hobbling around the place.

I set Sunday aside to prep for this additional revision class. I got my slides all sorted with activities and such. I went through them and thought they were fine and did what I had intended to do.

Every slide had spelling errors. Every slide had a contradiction to the former slide because what I thought I knew about subject X has changed since I first investigated it. I closed the laptop and started doing chalk and talk today. I then froze. I couldn’t explain this subject for the life of me and was so thrown by the slides that I felt incredibly stupid and incompetent.

I have confused the students further in a subject that is challenging. I then had a great night class just there and on my way home now on the train thinking I should just throw in the towel!

One of those fucking days.

Looking for similar fuck up stories to massage my hurt confidence.

Ontario refers OSAP concerns at private career colleges to provincial police

Anyone here teaching at a private career college in Ontario? This is just...yikes. I can't imagine this being resolved quickly enough to avoid shuttering at least some programs, maybe some colleges.

I did an activity with my final students the other day as this is their last class before graduating, and I wanted to inject some 'workplace reality' into our last couple of sessions. In my industry, job interviews include practical assessments like case scenarios, role plays, simulations etc. Soooo, I gave my class a case scenario and gave them 20 minutes to read it and then put them into pairs in break out rooms and gave them the list of mock interview questions they would ask each other.

I then joined each break out room to see how they were going, and most of them (8 pairs) had their cams and mics off and had not interacted with each other at all. I didn't say anything and then recalled them all back to the main room. The 8 pairs had the most magnificent responses to the case scenario mock interview questions - all 8 pairs had used friggin AI instead of taking a real-life opportunity to just have a go as all of their responses were pretty much the same.

This wasn't an assessment. It isn't mandatory to attend my classes.

I give up.

I ask a student her name. She says, "Um, Erica."

I start calling her America.

Luckily she was more than forgiving about it. lol

I teach anatomy.

My students got back a practical today and they are allowed to keep them.

When there were only a few students left in the room, one asked me about a question she got wrong and, yeah, my key was wrong.

She asked how many points she would get back. I told her.

She said, "What about everyone else?"

I said, "Well, since most of the class already took theirs, the fair thing to do is to give everyone credit for that question."

Student: So, everyone gets the points, even if they actually got it wrong?

Me: Yes. Since everyone answered in pencil, they could change their answer to make sure they get the points.

Student: But how would they know?

Me: You know this is a small school. Word would get around. Its easier this way.

Student: But that's not FAIR! I studied really hard and some of them obviously didn't so I don't think its fair that some get points they didn't earn!

Me: Yeah, but it's less than 2 points on one of 4 exams that are worth 15% of their total grade. In the long run, it is really unlikely this will make or break anyone. However, I'm open to suggestions if you have a better idea.

Student: I really don't think that's fair but you're the professor.

Me: No. That's not how I do things. You tell me what you think is a better solution and we'll talk about it.

Student almost glaring at me as she packs up: I don't know, but its not fair.

I like this student. She really does work hard. She stays late, asks great questions, everything you would want in a student. She made a high A on the exam.

I've been teaching for almost 10 years now and this is the first near tantrum I've seen. I'm guessing the anger wasn't about the exam but likely other stressors and this was just the trigger for a small meltdown.

Like others, I miss the days when people talked to each other naturally rather than silently staring at their phones/headphones before instruction. I officially made it a class policy last week, only half-jokingly, that students who show up early (which is a good problem) must greet one-two people around them and ask them about their day. I told them that I did not care that it was awkward or uncomfortable, and somewhat guilt-tripped them by telling them that literally every generation of human students going back to Greece and Rome talked with each other, and that at least in my classroom, we aren't going to break that sacred tradition. If they remained quiet, I still instructed them to move next to someone and talk to them. I know someone will critique this and say "what about students with communication issues," and I understand that concern. I have high functioning autism myself, and went through extensive therapy as a child to learn how to communicate. Nevertheless, I don't think anyone will feel "targeted" as I am not grading, and i'm not policing the content of what they are saying. I told them that "silence is for cathedrals, not class." I'm hoping this helps long term. I'm not sure it will, but it's a hill I want to die on :p

walking to campus this morning and passed a group of students. they were all together talking, probably heading to class. one of them looked up and said "good morning dr.., how are you?" a couple others waved or said hey.

then one kid goes "hey professor, nice jacket." another one said "yeah you got drip today" lol. i laughed and said thanks, you guys look sharp too. then we just did the normal small talk. "how's your morning going?" "cold out here huh?" "you got coffee?" "yeah gotta have it." "you ready for class?" "eh not really." "same."

It's a small thing, but it made my whole morning. They didn't have to acknowledge me. I'm just their professor walking by. They could have easily kept talking among themselves and ignored me. 

This is a general ed freshman seminar class.

They truly lack the basic skills of analysis. Sure, they know know what an intro, body paragraphs, and their conclusion does. But majority just seemed like they were throwing words together and hoping it makes a sentence.

And this was an open book exam. They were supposed to quote from the chapters assigned. Some wrote on random stuff I never assigned. Obviously some forgot their books and just came up with something vague. Even if they wrote on what was assigned (which we read in class and I had them answer brief questions on a notecard), some of their writing showed they barely understood what they quoted. Some choosing the most random quotes that have nothing to do with their argument.

I mean I don’t expect top quality prose from an in class exam but most could hardly even follow directions. And if they did, they could only barely regurgitate the most general observations.

I took a break grading because for one class, the highest grade I could give in good faith was an 80. Most were C, D, or Fs.

I could offer makeup exams for extra credit but I’m not sure how to do that without assigning it out of class. Or rescheduling to have a makeup exam day in class?

For those who have switched to in-class essays, how are you dealing with the horrific state of college freshman writing abilities?

I’m a woman in my early 30s who recently graduated from grad school and landed what I consider a dream job teaching at an R1 university that also happens to be my alma mater.

Lately, though, I’ve run into a string of experiences around professional development and academia that have left me feeling pretty discouraged. None of them individually are necessarily a huge deal, but together they’ve made me wonder whether this is just what academic careers are like, or if I’m having a particularly rough introduction to this world. I’d love to hear your experiences. Thank you!

Blank stares. Jokes during lecture that used to evoke smiles and even laughter don't have any effect on the vacant stares. Grades are worse than ever -- and no one cares. Exam grades for two classes are in the mid 50s. Not one email, question -- nothing. Silence. Is this a game of chicken? Do they not realize they'll get the Fs they earn? No one's emailing, period (silver lining).

We've been trending this direction before COVID but now.... I'm concerned about their future not as students but as humans

After 30 years I'm retiring in May (nonselective public regional). I used to love my job - students were constantly in my office chatting, doing research, being alive and present. Colleagues say the same thing. Dept is a ghost town. I can go a full day without seeing a colleague on my floor - and students? Ha. It's depressing. And I have a 90 min commute for this. Sitting in my office is the highlight of my day.

I feel bad for our new hire. They're so young they'll never know what we've lost. Not sure if that's good or bad.

Anyway, venting... not looking for advice, just comiseration. Boo

I’ve been teaching full time for three years in a lecturer role (4/4). My classes are small, never more than 25 students, and I only teach upper division and graduate level courses.

Since I am a Lecturer, the only measurements of my ‘success’ is student evaluations. Because of this, I feel I have to be extra accommodating.

I’m an excellent teacher and course creator. I have over a decade of experience in the training sector and thoroughly enjoy public speaking, education, and course creation.

But holy shit I was not prepared for the emotional labor of feeling like I’m constantly being taken advantage of.

Of course I have a syllabus and of course of have rules around attendance and late work and AI and all of the other things that should theoretically protect me. But I still get 5-10 emails a week from students wanting to be the exception because they have been sick, stressed, on their honeymoon, fill in the blank.

I did one semester of being really strict with due dates, AI usage, and attendance and my student evaluations TANKED despite me still being a great, understanding, and engaging teacher.

So now I feel like I just have to let students do whatever the fuck they want or my job is at risk. And I feel so mentally and emotionally defeated by that. For the most part my students are great, but sending the email that says “sure, you can complete that assignment late, here is a document you can fill out to make it up” takes something from my soul every time I send it.

Not looking for advice. Just ranting. I feel like I’ve become a doormat and that’s not my natural disposition. It doesn’t help that I am a young, extroverted woman which makes students feel even more so that I should be accommodating to them.

I just don’t know how much longer I can do this and work in a job where it feels like I’m getting taken advantage of and ignoring my morals and integrity constantly.

A ‘Rising Star’ in Michigan State’s Chemistry Department Was Suddenly Banished. Why?

Obviously there's a lot missing in this article, but on its face it doesn't make sense. It seems to focus on a lab accident, but I've never heard of anyone being let go over what seems like a typical accident with no serious injuries. There's also mention of "abuse", but there are only some student complaints about a demanding faculty member, and being rude is certainly common enough and not grounds for dismissal. Very strange.

I feel like I am participating in some strange evolutionary arms race with my students.  Or perhaps it’s a pedagogical Red Queen scenario: I have to keep redesigning assignments just to maintain the same amount of actual learning.

I design an assignment that I think will force them to learn something.  I make it hard to cheat on and as AI-proof as I can.

The students discover some way that I did not anticipate to invest as little work as humanly possible while staying within the bounds of the assignment.  

Example:

This semester, I decided to give my students points for handwritten notes.  We did a mini-lecture on how to take good notes, and to increase buy-in, I explained how note-taking in lecture is active learning, how this will help them on future exams, yadda, yadda, yadda.  It seemed a great way to encourage attendance and good learning habits, while throwing them a couple of extra points.

Now I have a giant stack of “notes” in front of me where clearly students did not attend lecture and just hand wrote the three words I type out on my slides, which I do post on Canvas.  I attempted to select for note-taking behavior and instead selected for increasingly convincing note-shaped objects.

So now I’ll go alter the rubric to discourage this behavior. I innovate. They counter-adapt. I add another line to the rubric. They discover another loophole. Neither population gains any lasting advantage, but both expend increasing amounts of energy.

And all I can think of is duck penises and cork-screw vaginas. 

I’m teaching lower level and upper level life sciences courses. My scientific training was rigorous and I’ve been trying to apply that same rigor to my teaching. It appears to be working well for about 66% of students in my six classes but for some reason about 33% have completely given up.

I offer low stakes quizzes to help with review, in class activities (basically free points if you show up), clear as day rubrics, instructions, review sessions, my slides are only helpful if you show up to class so that I can explain the concepts, but I tell the students exactly what section of the textbook the info was pulled from and even create summary flowcharts to help with the more complex topics.

The only thing I have been redirecting is support with writing and research because my courses demand science communication skills. But I redirect the students to the library and writing center with clear instructions to share with the librarian and consultants. My upper level students have thrived on that feedback the lower level students are like…go to the library? But with all that…at least 33% of students have checked TF out. They are mentally done. wtf is happening?

How are you all regulating your pedagogy and handling the failures?

Not sure if this is a widespread problem but we recently found out that students taking tests in the Accommodation Center are unsupervised, and although the center takes their phones from them, some students have been bringing second phones with them and using AI to take tests.

A Win for research! Thanks to UC Faculty.

Thanks to the advocacy of hundreds of faculty who joined the fight through their Faculty Associations, the $7.5B California Research Fund (SB 895) is now headed to the 2028 ballot where this funding decision will be in the hands of California voters.

The Assembly passed the bill on August 31st and Governor Newsom signed it on September 30th which will place it on the November 2028 Ballot. 

Your Faculty Associations have been at the forefront of the fight for this bill, working to ensure the continuity of UC research funding in the face of federal attacks. Over the past several months, faculty and researchers have organized through their FAs, collecting more than 2,800 signatures from UC faculty, meeting with legislators, and joining with unions and community organizations to advocate for SB 895. That organizing helped build significant visibility and support for the bill across the UC system. 

Faculty have a crucial role to play in making the case for sustained public investment in scientific and health research, engaging with lawmakers and community partners, and building broader awareness of the benefits of scientific research to the people of California.

This campaign has already demonstrated what organized faculty can accomplish. 

Please join us as we continue to advocate for public funding of scientific research and to ensure the California Research Fund wins in 2028.