Nobel laureate Ronald Coase offers an alternative to regulation--assigning of property rights.. If someone faces both the cost and benefit of protecting the water, for example, thenthey have the incentive to do so. Coase's suggesting is actually to use the power of competitive markets and incentives to provide for the commons.

My response would depend upon (1) how you generally interact with the professors--do you usually use email? Or, is communicating through Camvas message the norm? (2) How much communication is there usually in your classes? Some online programs are designed so that professors are online a good deal and are used to spending time every day emailing students. But, if it is a program where a professor has regular classroom teaching duties and the online program is an additional obligation, I might expect a little longer response time because the professor might be busy for several days with teaching, grading midterm exams, etc. I would probably wait three days (not counting a weekend) and send a second email in case the first one was missed. If I heard no response within a week I would reach out to a fourth possibility for a recommendation.

The generic student evaluation question of "Does the professor respond in a timely manner to students?" does not help the situation. I can get more emails in one day from my students than the total enrollment that some professors have in all of their classes combined. Students answer the question without any context--with the expectation that a professor teaching 500+ students per semester can respond to a particular email as quickly as a professor teaching 30 students per semester.

I agree with you; I didn't mean to imply by comment that faculty should be expected to respond 24/7--this is an issue that I have found increasingly problematic. I don't think faculty should generally be expected to respond over a weekend. Likewise, I think it is unreasonable to expect faculty who are working in weekend programs or night programs to respond promptly during "regular work hours" My university somehow got the notion that faculty should respond to student emails within 24 hours--wanting us to place that on our syllabus. Somehow that got pushed to within 24 hours 7 days/week during COVID. If I have a busy teaching day, that is not always possible. I don't want students to expect an immediate response, so I am reluctant to respond on weekends, but sometimes it is actually a weekday I need a break from responding to email rather than on the weekend. Interestingly, when I contact an administrative office on campus, the staff does not have the expectation that they will respond within 24-hours. Somehow that expectation has been placed on faculty.

As a college professor, I have never worked "usual business hours" Almost every semester I teach at least one night class. Some semesters I teach in weekend programs; I know few professors who typically work 8-5, M-F--they work many hours but not along the line of "usual business hours".

There are two major categories of money issues that I would want to keep straight in a situation like this. One would be a decision about how month-to-month expenses are to be handled This seems like it would better be handled by having a spending account that both people deposit money into each month to handle what has been decided are joint expenses. The other decision, which is in many ways much more important, is a decision about long-term assets; this can cover anything from retirement accounts to home ownership to automobile ownership. Will you be renting a place together? Does one of you own a property? Is one person contributing to a retirement account while the other is not? This can bleed over into basic monthly expenses (e.g. if one person owns a house is that person responsible for repairs?).

When I have been feeding just myself for an extended period of time, I shop much differently than when I am preparing for DH and myself. And, I know that when DH is by himself for an extended period of time he shops differently than if it is both of us at home. I would eat many meals of yogurt and fruit, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly, and odds and ends from the freezer. However, I don't know how long I would do only those tpe of things becasuse there are other items that I enjoy cooking and eating. I would save money not buying some of the things DH likes: juices, specialty olives, sour cream and onion dip, energy drinks, hydration packets, Ding Dongs... But, if I am not home, DH will eat tuna fish (I am allergic), or heat a can of stewed tomatoes for dinner. So he would say that he would save money by not buying soda stream canisters, nice olive oil and vinegars, Mexican vanilla, pomegranates, red bell peppers...

Were passports required or simply a photo id? It has been about 1 1/2 years since we have been in Rome, but we did not need our passport with us to enter sites.

He probably does not need to take his passport with him while he is out and about. An around-the-neck or waist passport holder can conceal valuables. I have directed study abroad programs for over 30 years and have never had a student who had valuables in a concealed passport holder have them stolen. But, young people usually resist using them. An althernative is clothing with zippered front pockets (either shirts or pants). A spare credit/debit card, and extra cash should be kept there (along with the name and address of where they are staying). I suggest keeping pocket money in a more accessible place away from the "safety" stash. First, if you are pickpocketed, they don't get everything. Second, you are not flashing everything you have whenever you go to make a purchase. Wait until within a store or some place more secure than the street to move cash from the safer place to more accessible spending pockets.

I would consider the size of the department you are trying to contact. If you are trying to visit in mid-March, is the school on Spring Break? Or, are you visiting during mid-term exams. There can be other events that happen within a department, such as they are bringing in faculty candidates for interviews, there is an accreditation team visiting, or the department can be hosting a symposium with lots of activities and guests that week. Or, there are discipline-specific national meetings that many in the department may be attending that week. Some weeks it is difficult to find a person from the department to have free time in a schedule to meet, especially if you are trying to meet on a specific day within a particular time range. The admissions office (and to some degree the disability office) are departments with employees whose role is to meet with students (or prospective students) every day; there usually isn't the same type of person in an academic department. The academic department is in charge of teaching classes, keeping abreast within their field, managing their department, etc. and fits in meeting with prospective students as they are able.

While DD was in college and DS was in HS, we transitioned into a move. I took a job 250 miles from where we were living and we commuted back and forth. DS was involved in an activity that had brought him to the town of hte new job about every six weeks anyway. That arrnagement gave us the most flexibility for a period of time. DH's family moved every two years when he was growing up. He says the only move he regretted was the one made at the beginning of his senior year in high school. We often compare our experiences because I grew up in a small town where everyone knew everyone my entire childhood. There are some great things about the situation I grew up in, but there are also some great things about DH's varied experiences. Overall DH would say his moves were more positive than negative experiences.

Books--would go to the library more Some travel We have kept an older car (with 225K miles and hail damage) for DD to drive when she visits which we could get rid of to save a tiny bit on insurance Use a cheaper laundry detergent for some items; use a cheaper dishsoap (Mrs. Meyers dish soap is one of my big splurges) I'd be more particular with grocery shopping and more careful with all food scraps. eliminate liquid hand soap and buy cheaper bar soap

I am surprised at how much grocery store density varies. I lived a couple of places in San Antonio which were within walking distance of an HEB. One place I lived was within walking distance of two HEBs (one had formerly been an Albertsons) and an HEB Central Market. Where I now live in the DFW area, I am within very reasonable walking distance of a Krogers and within walking distance of a Tom Thumb, Albertsons, and Trader Joes. My son who lives in the metroplex, has a WalMart that would be within walking distance but no regular grocery stores within about a 5-mile radius. I have been in areas of Dallas in which I have driven and driven and driven trying to find a grocery store. What really doesn't make sense to me is that when I do find a grocery store in those areas they tend to be empty. But in San Antonio where there was an HEB on every corner they were always crowded.

I use a combination of dishcloths, Swedish cloths, and crocheted scrubbies about the size of a sponge. I do not use sponges; I do not trust that they are sanitized properly.

I have a car, but where I live now, I could get to work, a grocery store, an urgent care, a dentist, restaurants, a gym, several parks, several banks, and most other routine activities by walking. There is a bus stop nearby which I could use to go further. I could "survive" without a car. There are activities I enjoy, however, which require going a further distance and would not be easy to get to without a car.

I lived in College Station, Texas without a car. There was a grocery store, a post office, several churces, a couple of doctors, and several other businesses within walking distance from my apartment. I could cycle to campus. There was a bus route that went from my apartment complex to the campus several times each hour; most other services I would want or need were available either on campus or the area directly adjacent to the campus.

We took an umbrella-style stroller when traveling with a child that age. it was light weight and easy to fold and carry if needed.

Although we use a local bank, we seldom make a trip to the bank; we handle most transactions online and electronically. However, we find that we ocassionally need a service from the physical location. We have needed a casheir's check for a car purchase. We also have some international banking transactions that we are unable to throuhg a purely online bank.

Today, many universitieis have special programs and grants to help students study abroad, which can make it much more economical than a couple of decades ago. Even without financial aid, it can be cheaper than taking a class at one's university. I am teaching in a program in Europe this summer for which students pay about $5500 if they are degree-seeking students at the university offering the program or about $6500 if they are not. This includes 6 hours of tuition, 6 weeks of accommidations, most meals and field trips (it does not cover airfair). But, it would cost one of my students more than $6000 to take one of the 3-hour classes that I am teaching at my home university this summer (without any room and board). So, studying abroad, the student can get twice as many credit hours, room and board, and some extras for the same price as studying at their home university. (Oh yes, and for all my friends who are envious of my six-week trip to Europe--I will be working, teaching these students.)

Our adult chidren have very different interests, needs, and wants. One lives nearby and another lives on another continent. So, our interactions with the two are much different. One has a birthday very close to Christmas, the other has a summer birthday. We try to even spending out over the long run, but do not for each specific birthday or Christmas. For example, it doesn't make sense for us to buy one child a piece of furniture for a birthday present for a new apartment and then spend the exact same on the other child when the second child will probaly want/need a piece of furntiure for a birthday present next year.

DH and I have been very fortunate to be able to do a great deal of traveling over the years with our children. While we have spent many summers in Europe, most of the time DH or I (often both) were working during that "vacation"; travel is important to us and we have found ways to do so economically. Over the years we have had a number of people tell us "well, we just would never be able to afford a trip to Europe; all we can afford is a trip to Disney World. and a week skiing in Colorado...." Yet, DH and I are spending a lot less money on our trips than they are on their vacations. We have been able to rent an apartment for a month in other countries for what they are paying for a hotel room for three nights. DH and I often respond "Well, we can't afford to vacation in the US"

On the actual day of our anniversary, DD was in town for a visit (she was working overseas) and she invited some of her friends over for a dinner party. We planned to take a Baltic cruise that summer--but that was cancelled because of COVID.

DH and I have had accounts with our bank for over 30 years. It is a local bank that prides itself on old-fashioned customer service. We are assigned a person who is supposed to call us once a year to check on how everything is going and to see if there is anything we need. This is generally a wasted phone call and their end except that it provides a "personal touch" for marketing purposes. We have had had times that we have needed some special bank services (especially for some international transactions) that we have contacted that individual to assist us. Given that interest rates have risen over the past few years, some banks are finding that customers are leaving to chase a higher interest rate on their deposits at other banks. So, they may be calling to get a customer to consider moving their money to a different type of account at the bank to earn higher interest before the customer jumps ship to another bank.

I would (and have) posted a bad public review for something that happened involving the business. For example, I recently posted a negative review for a company after the THIRD time they were supposed to make a delivery and did not show up (and did not let us know), but that is something directly related to the business, not something I observed in the private actions of an individual I think is somehow related to the busienss.

It is one thing for you to be leery of eating her cooking--but it would be an entirely different matter to POST something about a business the friend is running. Your question was not whether I would be leery of eating her cooking--your question was would I post what I witnessed (which appeared to be witnessing a non-business activity.)