Miss Mousie Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 Funny how there wasn't a big line for the James Joyce special studies course. <swoon> I totally would have gone for the Joyce course. And definitely not the Tolkien/Lewis course. But I'm dorky that way. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 <swoon> I totally would have gone for the Joyce course. And definitely not the Tolkien/Lewis course. But I'm dorky that way. ;) Oh I swooned alright. Unfortunately the book was still there when I woke up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 How many classes can you fail and still not get kicked out? Yes, this was a sore point for me for a long time. Because I work at a community college, we get lots and lots of students who either aren't academically ready or have outside issues that significantly interfere with their studies. It seemed so silly to let them take things over and over and over. Now they restrict it to three times. Before this policy I had a student take my class four times in a row, and fail four times in a row. She had very high academic aspirations, but just couldn't get the work done. It also used to be very loose on GPA. Now they put them on probation for a 1.5 GPA, and restrict them to 12 hours. If they still don't raise their GPA, then they are suspended for a semester. If they come back and don't raise it again, they are out permanently. There's a committee that they can appeal to after a year, but from what I've heard they're pretty tough and only approve a few. Some people just won't give up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Before this policy I had a student take my class four times in a row, and fail four times in a row. Our students rarely retake the class with the same instructor. Our department has students who have been through the entire faculty roster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 On the other hand, UMaryland had a gorgeous fitness and aquatic center that cost several million to build and was only a couple of years old. Then they cut the swim and diving teams because they didn't have enough money in their athletic budget. This sucks, but I know how it happens. It's quite simple. An alumnus or other group decides that the university absolutely must have state of the art facilities in whatever they enjoyed at school. So they provide a huge grant that may cover between 50 and 100% of the costs of the facilities. This is not state money. They pressure the state to match it, though. The university is in no place to say no, because they NEED unrestricted funds from alumni--they can't appear ungrateful. And worst case scenario, they can sell or rent the facilities for funds to pay instructors, right? Often they do go to the donor and beg for funds for instructors instead. But the rich guys think, "I'm rich, so I know what I'm doing. If you were so smart, you'd be rich. So listen to me." But implementing public services is nothing like making money. So, the pool gets built. Then everyone sees that the university has "all that money" and funds dwindle because people don't support budget increases. I'm not saying they never use state funds. Some universities do just have bad management. But at many colleges, most of the sports stadiums are supported by alumni who remember nothing but football games from their educations. Scholarships for middle-class students whose parents got sick? Pffft, that doesn't give me happy thoughts of my old college days! I want to buy season tickets to football! It's the only thing they see of the school. "I gave $200 last year and they still have the same seats at the stadium as when I went to school!" People like buildings. I have no idea why so. many. rich. people. love. buildings. Statues. Stadiums. Labs. But ask them to pay you so that you can get better instructors or your instructors don't leave entirely because academia won't let you save up for a car much less a wedding and a baby, and they balk. The colleges rarely want this to happen, but because they are starved of public funds, they cannot offend the private donors. But regarding Sebastien's question--why, we've raised tuition many times over the past few decades here in Washington. They only just implemented a freeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 UBC is lucky. One of our alum's was a founding google investor. He just donated over $7 million to endow a chair in computer science & develop a new first year course in computational thinking. Sports are not as big a thing here but everyone is short of money. I get really annoyed at all the corporate donations. Recently I heard a prof being interviewed on the radio & she wasn't just Professor Smith from the dept at blank university. She was the CORPORATION NAME professor of (department). I guess that's who pays her salary? I guess this is not that uncommon now but I don't like it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Our students rarely retake the class with the same instructor. Our department has students who have been through the entire faculty roster. Yes, I don't know what it is about me, but I have at least one 2nd-timer each semester from a previous semester. By now I expect it. Even the guy who filed a grading grievance over his F and made me so angry (I won). He showed up and was quiet all semester -- and earned an A! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 It's quite simple. An alumnus or other group decides that the university absolutely must have state of the art facilities in whatever they enjoyed at school. So they provide a huge grant that may cover between 50 and 100% of the costs of the facilities. This is not state money. They pressure the state to match it, though. The university is in no place to say no, because they NEED unrestricted funds from alumni--they can't appear ungrateful. And worst case scenario, they can sell or rent the facilities for funds to pay instructors, right? Often they do go to the donor and beg for funds for instructors instead. But the rich guys think, "I'm rich, so I know what I'm doing. If you were so smart, you'd be rich. So listen to me." But implementing public services is nothing like making money. So, the pool gets built. Then everyone sees that the university has "all that money" and funds dwindle because people don't support budget increases. People like buildings. I have no idea why so. many. rich. people. love. buildings. Statues. Stadiums. Labs. But ask them to pay you so that you can get better instructors or your instructors don't leave entirely because academia won't let you save up for a car much less a wedding and a baby, and they balk. Yep. We are getting a fancy "Alumni House" just off campus. To the tune of almost 4 million dollars. The alumni association has decided they want one. Nevermind that we do not have enough classroom space and what we really need are a couple large lecture halls (not to mention entire new buildings). Alas, people can do what they want with their own money. So, they build themselves an Alumni House for the alumni association's administration offices and meeting space for alumni returning to campus. I can think of many alternative better uses for that money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Our students rarely retake the class with the same instructor. Our department has students who have been through the entire faculty roster. At our department, we have people teaching the same course for many consecutive years. So, having the same instructor is pretty much the default. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Yep. We are getting a fancy "Alumni House" just off campus. To the tune of almost 4 million dollars. The alumni association has decided they want one. Nevermind that we do not have enough classroom space and what we really need are a couple large lecture halls (not to mention entire new buildings). Alas, people can do what they want with their own money. So, they build themselves an Alumni House for the alumni association's administration offices and meeting space for alumni returning to campus. I can think of many alternative better uses for that money. I am :cursing: on your behalf. At least students can use a pool in theory. An alumni house--wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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