Comments on: The wolf is at the door, and she wants you to get busy with homework http://www.historiann.com/2009/01/31/the-wolf-is-at-the-door-and-he-wants-you-to-get-busy-with-homework/ History and sexual politics, 1492 to the present Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:11:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Industry Boy http://www.historiann.com/2009/01/31/the-wolf-is-at-the-door-and-he-wants-you-to-get-busy-with-homework/comment-page-1/#comment-207089 Industry Boy Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:10:28 +0000 http://www.historiann.com/?p=3276#comment-207089 I'm new here to the board and just getting ready to start graduate school. Everyone I know is going to back school in this economy; however, we are all taking on debt too. When my father went to grad school in the 70's he didn't pay for anything: On top of that he was a graduate assistant, so he came out ahead monetarily. We had a good laugh about that, cuse those times are longggg gone. I’m new here to the board and just getting ready to start graduate school. Everyone I know is going to back school in this economy; however, we are all taking on debt too. When my father went to grad school in the 70′s he didn’t pay for anything: On top of that he was a graduate assistant, so he came out ahead monetarily. We had a good laugh about that, cuse those times are longggg gone.

]]> By: Dr. Crazy http://www.historiann.com/2009/01/31/the-wolf-is-at-the-door-and-he-wants-you-to-get-busy-with-homework/comment-page-1/#comment-205497 Dr. Crazy Sun, 01 Feb 2009 03:51:14 +0000 http://www.historiann.com/?p=3276#comment-205497 My courses are typically within a few students of the enrollment cap or at the cap, whatever I teach. I think that the bigger issue here is enrollment management and class scheduling stuff than it is time period or content area for the course (for that assumes that students take courses based on interest, which at my uni just isn't typically the case, and I suspect, if that 20% of Ds and Fs in your surveys is any indication, Ann, isn't the case at BRU either). In other words, our caps combined with the number of courses offered make it so that pretty much all courses go when they're offered and most go either full or close to full. Now, I never teach a class with more than 25 students in it, and with my 4/4 load I typically have no more than 80 students in a semester. Will caps go up with the tanking economy? Ideally, no. And I don't think that the admin will ask us to do so as long as students can get the classes that they need - which, on the whole, depends on scheduling courses across the blocks of time available and making sure that if classes aren't filling at a certain time that we don't schedule as many then, regardless of faculty preference. My courses are typically within a few students of the enrollment cap or at the cap, whatever I teach. I think that the bigger issue here is enrollment management and class scheduling stuff than it is time period or content area for the course (for that assumes that students take courses based on interest, which at my uni just isn’t typically the case, and I suspect, if that 20% of Ds and Fs in your surveys is any indication, Ann, isn’t the case at BRU either). In other words, our caps combined with the number of courses offered make it so that pretty much all courses go when they’re offered and most go either full or close to full. Now, I never teach a class with more than 25 students in it, and with my 4/4 load I typically have no more than 80 students in a semester. Will caps go up with the tanking economy? Ideally, no. And I don’t think that the admin will ask us to do so as long as students can get the classes that they need – which, on the whole, depends on scheduling courses across the blocks of time available and making sure that if classes aren’t filling at a certain time that we don’t schedule as many then, regardless of faculty preference.

]]> By: Janice http://www.historiann.com/2009/01/31/the-wolf-is-at-the-door-and-he-wants-you-to-get-busy-with-homework/comment-page-1/#comment-205430 Janice Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:30:55 +0000 http://www.historiann.com/?p=3276#comment-205430 My senior seminar's still ridiculously over-enrolled and my second-year course for majors, despite trying to scare them off with a series of five projects, has many more than I'd like. It's not that I'm such an amazing teacher, it's that their choices are limited and likely to be moreso with the financial crunch limiting any hiring for the foreseeable future. *sigh* My senior seminar’s still ridiculously over-enrolled and my second-year course for majors, despite trying to scare them off with a series of five projects, has many more than I’d like. It’s not that I’m such an amazing teacher, it’s that their choices are limited and likely to be moreso with the financial crunch limiting any hiring for the foreseeable future. *sigh*

]]> By: Susan http://www.historiann.com/2009/01/31/the-wolf-is-at-the-door-and-he-wants-you-to-get-busy-with-homework/comment-page-1/#comment-205364 Susan Sun, 01 Feb 2009 01:10:59 +0000 http://www.historiann.com/?p=3276#comment-205364 Clearly some of it is time period -- the early periods are less popular -- and some is the role of word of mouth. Many years ago at the SLAC where I was denied tenure, one of my colleagues advised me to ask questions that students did not have to have done the reading to answer. HIS evaluations were always stratospheric. Clearly some of it is time period — the early periods are less popular — and some is the role of word of mouth. Many years ago at the SLAC where I was denied tenure, one of my colleagues advised me to ask questions that students did not have to have done the reading to answer. HIS evaluations were always stratospheric.

]]> By: Historiann http://www.historiann.com/2009/01/31/the-wolf-is-at-the-door-and-he-wants-you-to-get-busy-with-homework/comment-page-1/#comment-205332 Historiann Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:22:12 +0000 http://www.historiann.com/?p=3276#comment-205332 GayProf, maybe you should lower your clothing coverage standards, like Notorious? Ortho's Concrete U. sounds like GayProf's previous gig, and GayProf's current gig sounds like my scene at Baa Ram U.--I wonder why the discrepancy in course enrollments? (I know it's not because your current gig is as inexpensive as BRU, but it's less expensive than TR's Zenith.) More data, more data and ideas please. GayProf, maybe you should lower your clothing coverage standards, like Notorious?

Ortho’s Concrete U. sounds like GayProf’s previous gig, and GayProf’s current gig sounds like my scene at Baa Ram U.–I wonder why the discrepancy in course enrollments? (I know it’s not because your current gig is as inexpensive as BRU, but it’s less expensive than TR’s Zenith.)

More data, more data and ideas please.

]]> By: GayProf http://www.historiann.com/2009/01/31/the-wolf-is-at-the-door-and-he-wants-you-to-get-busy-with-homework/comment-page-1/#comment-205303 GayProf Sat, 31 Jan 2009 23:36:13 +0000 http://www.historiann.com/?p=3276#comment-205303 Unlike my previous post (where seats in my classes were oversold worse than at Delta Airlines), I have had a heck of a time filling my classes to the cap at my new gig. I'm not sure why the difference. Unlike my previous post (where seats in my classes were oversold worse than at Delta Airlines), I have had a heck of a time filling my classes to the cap at my new gig. I’m not sure why the difference.

]]> By: Historiann http://www.historiann.com/2009/01/31/the-wolf-is-at-the-door-and-he-wants-you-to-get-busy-with-homework/comment-page-1/#comment-205234 Historiann Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:39:15 +0000 http://www.historiann.com/?p=3276#comment-205234 TR, I think you're right, but since it costs $<a href="http://www.wesleyan.edu/finaid/tuition-add.html" rel="nofollow">38,364</a> to attend Zenith (tuition alone), and it costs about $<a href="http://www.ir.colostate.edu/pdf/tuition/Tuition&Fees_Ajax_final.pdf" rel="nofollow">4,424 </a>(again, tuition alone) for a full-time, in-state student to attend Baa Ram U., my guess is that your classes overall have a lot fewer withdrawls and failures because each class costs approximately 8.6 times as much as Baa Ram U. classes. (This is one argument, in my opinion, for raising tuition dramatically here, and redistributing at least half of it to poor but deserving students who will actually, you know, come to class and do the work.) Meg, thanks for stopping by to comment, and for providing more context for this. While I'd surely rather teach 25 than 40 students in a class, it seems to me to be wasteful of a university's resources to have to plan to teach more and larger classes than actually fill, even if students aren't blowing someone else's money or taking on debt. And Notorious--yes, if you had no standards I'm sure you'd be extremely popular! I bet if you went to class naked, you'd get tons of attention, too. I personally hold the line and kick butts for purely selfish reasons of not wanting to have to work with unserious students, but I'm happy to cop to more altruistic ones if necessary--"maintaining standards," and "preserving the intellectual integrity of the college experience," etc. And yet somehow, your colleague seems much more cynical than I... TR, I think you’re right, but since it costs $38,364 to attend Zenith (tuition alone), and it costs about $4,424 (again, tuition alone) for a full-time, in-state student to attend Baa Ram U., my guess is that your classes overall have a lot fewer withdrawls and failures because each class costs approximately 8.6 times as much as Baa Ram U. classes. (This is one argument, in my opinion, for raising tuition dramatically here, and redistributing at least half of it to poor but deserving students who will actually, you know, come to class and do the work.)

Meg, thanks for stopping by to comment, and for providing more context for this. While I’d surely rather teach 25 than 40 students in a class, it seems to me to be wasteful of a university’s resources to have to plan to teach more and larger classes than actually fill, even if students aren’t blowing someone else’s money or taking on debt.

And Notorious–yes, if you had no standards I’m sure you’d be extremely popular! I bet if you went to class naked, you’d get tons of attention, too. I personally hold the line and kick butts for purely selfish reasons of not wanting to have to work with unserious students, but I’m happy to cop to more altruistic ones if necessary–”maintaining standards,” and “preserving the intellectual integrity of the college experience,” etc. And yet somehow, your colleague seems much more cynical than I…

]]> By: ortho stice http://www.historiann.com/2009/01/31/the-wolf-is-at-the-door-and-he-wants-you-to-get-busy-with-homework/comment-page-1/#comment-205217 ortho stice Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:29:22 +0000 http://www.historiann.com/?p=3276#comment-205217 At Concrete University, every undergraduate history class is filled to its capacity. Despite the Department's small army of adjunct instructors -- the number of people assigned to the adjunct office violates fire code -- undergraduate students continue to get shut out of required classes. The faculty in the Department either need to teach a heavier load, or the University must hire more full-time instructors. But in reality, what is the incentive for University bureaucrats to hire more faculty. After all, for every class a student gets shut out of, s/he will have to delay graduation and register for yet another semester of class -- i.e., continue to pay tuition. OS At Concrete University, every undergraduate history class is filled to its capacity. Despite the Department’s small army of adjunct instructors — the number of people assigned to the adjunct office violates fire code — undergraduate students continue to get shut out of required classes. The faculty in the Department either need to teach a heavier load, or the University must hire more full-time instructors. But in reality, what is the incentive for University bureaucrats to hire more faculty. After all, for every class a student gets shut out of, s/he will have to delay graduation and register for yet another semester of class — i.e., continue to pay tuition.

OS

]]> By: Notorious Ph.D. http://www.historiann.com/2009/01/31/the-wolf-is-at-the-door-and-he-wants-you-to-get-busy-with-homework/comment-page-1/#comment-205202 Notorious Ph.D. Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:22:12 +0000 http://www.historiann.com/?p=3276#comment-205202 My colleagues and I are feeling the enrollment crunch: upper-division courses with 40-person caps normally enroll at about 30, and are now down to 20. So my admittedly anecdotal evidence suggests that, since the syllabus has stayed the same, it's more about students who can't afford to enroll in as many courses anymore. (Of course, one of my senior colleagues suggests that if I were less harsh with the grading, and more lenient with grad admissions, my courses would be as highly-enrolled as his. But this is the same colleague who has found ways to tell me that taking a fellowship leave last year is responsible for my lower than usual numbers this year, with the strong implication that I won't want to do that ever again if I know what's good for me, so I just shine it on.) My colleagues and I are feeling the enrollment crunch: upper-division courses with 40-person caps normally enroll at about 30, and are now down to 20. So my admittedly anecdotal evidence suggests that, since the syllabus has stayed the same, it’s more about students who can’t afford to enroll in as many courses anymore.

(Of course, one of my senior colleagues suggests that if I were less harsh with the grading, and more lenient with grad admissions, my courses would be as highly-enrolled as his. But this is the same colleague who has found ways to tell me that taking a fellowship leave last year is responsible for my lower than usual numbers this year, with the strong implication that I won’t want to do that ever again if I know what’s good for me, so I just shine it on.)

]]> By: meg http://www.historiann.com/2009/01/31/the-wolf-is-at-the-door-and-he-wants-you-to-get-busy-with-homework/comment-page-1/#comment-205107 meg Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:27:28 +0000 http://www.historiann.com/?p=3276#comment-205107 My last quarter of college, I wanted to take only two classes, only one which I needed to graduate. But I discovered that the university would cut my need-based grants if I went down to two courses, meaning I would actually have to take out another loan to be able to pay for just the two. To avoid acquiring extra debt, I registered for another class (a large lecture course), and withdrew part-way through the quarter, allowing me to keep my grants. So the truth is the financial aid system does not help here. It may be different at your institution, but where I attended, students adding the extra course weren't acquiring more debt - they were avoiding it. -meg (a new reader) My last quarter of college, I wanted to take only two classes, only one which I needed to graduate. But I discovered that the university would cut my need-based grants if I went down to two courses, meaning I would actually have to take out another loan to be able to pay for just the two. To avoid acquiring extra debt, I registered for another class (a large lecture course), and withdrew part-way through the quarter, allowing me to keep my grants.

So the truth is the financial aid system does not help here. It may be different at your institution, but where I attended, students adding the extra course weren’t acquiring more debt – they were avoiding it.

-meg (a new reader)

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