Sometimes you have a bad professor, sometimes you’re just a bad student, and oftentimes it’s somewhere in between. If you are a bad student, then you have your grades to reckon with, but if you have a bad professor, you can feel like your lack of education is unjust in comparison with your high tuition. That’s why it’s important to look out for red flags and transfer classes if you can before it’s too late. Here are 5 warning signs of a bad professor in college.
- Incomplete Syllabus
If you don’t receive a complete syllabus on the first day of class, then it’s a major red flag that you are dealing with a bad professor. Your syllabus should include a concise grading policy, list of assignments for the semester, list of all required reading, and all important dates, such as testing, project deadlines and finals. When you look at your class syllabus, you should have a very clear idea of what you will learn, how you will demonstrate your knowledge, and when. If any of those elements are missing, then you should be worried.
- Unprepared for Class
If your professor shows up late, lacking materials, has frequent technical difficulties in the classroom, or doesn’t seem to have a prepared lecture, then you are not dealing with a professional. It is possible that you are in a temporary classroom that is foreign to the teacher or it your professor is just having a bad day. But if this experience is chronic, then your professor could be very preoccupied with handling daily life. Lectures should feel like they are meticulously prepared with projected notes and ample references to required reading and the curriculum as stated in the syllabus.
- Won’t Properly Answer Questions
If you and other students in the class feel like your professor doesn’t sufficiently answer your questions, then there’s a good chance that your professor either hasn’t mastered the material yet, or s/he is not good at explaining the material in a way that is accessible to his/her students. In either case, you are not getting what you are paying for. If you’re earning OU’s MBA degree online, then your professor should always provide a way for you to ask questions as they arise.
- Poor Communication
As a standard rule, all professionals should be responding to emails and calls within 24 hours of receiving them. If you have made multiple efforts to reach out to your professor and you are not hearing back in a timely manner, then your professor is not serving you appropriately. However, if you are not satisfied with the answers you’re getting, then that is a different story entirely.
- Unimpressive Resume
If your professor has been working for several decades but doesn’t have many published works or promotions to show for it, then you may not be dealing with a well respected or well versed teacher. A good professor is always trying to expand his or her understanding of their chosen field and the way that they demonstrate that is by publishing papers and digging deeper into their practice. However, some teachers earn their tenure and are perfectly fine with staying exactly where they are, and there’s nothing that some schools can do about it.