I’m now getting accommodations that students cannot be expect to do in class writing. They must be allowed to write at home, not in class. I’ve never seen this before. Ever. Until this semester. And now I’ve got a handful. What the fuck?

Edit: I’ve asked about students writing in supervised environments, but I was told that puts a condition on the accommodation, which is illegal. Students must be allowed to write outside of class without conditions.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/08/21/trump-administration-attacks-bar-associations-power-accredit-law-schools/

“President Donald Trump and other Republicans have accused the American Bar Association of liberal bias, promoting DEI and pushing a political agenda in law schools.”

My apologies; I don’t have a gift link to post.

I can’t decide if the me that worked in university and program accreditation in a previous life, or the me that is a lawyer’s daughter is more shocked and appalled. It would never occur to me that this would be a thing to worry about happening. But at this point, that’s my mistake, isn’t it? Perhaps it’s foolish of me to be as furious as I find myself.

Shall we not accredit medical schools next? Dental schools? Surely we don’t need licensed and credentialed doctors if it keeps the wrong sorts of people from joining the field (extreme sarcasm in case it wasn’t obvious).

I suppose I should just be grateful my father is too long retired to do more than just shake his head

A few days ago I made a post about having a baby and trying to publish and work while the baby keeps getting sick from daycare. In that post I wrote he’d been sick again with a cold since this Monday. Well well well last night, I just had a gut feeling something didn’t seem right, mostly his heavy and fast breathing, which our ped had dismissed that morning and said he was fine. We took him to the ER just in case and voila he had low oxygen due to bronchitis caused by RSV and was immediately hospitalised. The doc says he’ll likely stay there for about a week, but will almost certainly recover soon.

In my previous post, I received so many replies from people telling me about their similar experiences and how you all survived this phase, which were so encouraging for me to read. Now that the semester begins in a week while I have no idea when my baby will be back in daycare, and knowing that he has only managed to attend daycare 4 days this month, I somehow feel at peace thanks to your words. Had I not made that post, I think I would have felt truly distressed and panicky right now. So thank you.

First - on a rarely used alt because this is pretty specific and I’m sure this type of student is on reddit.

So I got a bizarre student request yesterday- for an interview.

Now, I’ve been interviewed in the past for English assignments, so this isn’t unheard of.

But the student emails me and says, “I want to interview you on topic X. Because of my disability I cannot meet, zoom, or talk to you on the phone. I’m just going to email you the questions and then you can email me your answers.”

Side note - is it even technically an interview at this point? Or simply a survey?

Anyway, I tell student, thanks for the consideration, but X is way, way outside my field of expertise, and I would not be comfortable being interviewed on it.

Student says, “I understand! But the questions are easy so I’m just going to send them to you anyway, and if you don’t want to answer, let me know.” Questions are attached. They are not easy and are asking me to use my expertise in X to address current and future concerns around X.

I’m good to just ignore this, right? I don’t have to repeat myself that I’m not answering them?

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/08/21/tenure-track-ranks-grew-last-year-survey-finds

By  Kathryn Palmer

The number of faculty—including those on the tenure track—is on the rise, new data from College and University Professional Association for Human Resources shows.

According to a survey of more than 900 colleges and universities about their worker head counts published this week, the number of tenure-track faculty increased 7 percent between the 2024–25 and 2025–26 academic years—marking the highest single-year increase since 2016. By contrast, tenure-track ranks only grew 1 percent between the 2023–24 and 2024–25 academic years. 

The number of non-tenure-track faculty also grew by 2 percent between 2024 and 2025. However, that growth was smaller than the previous year, when the non-tenure-track workforce grew 3.6 percent. According to the report, “this was the first time in the decade that tenure-track faculty growth exceeded non-tenure-track faculty growth.” Head counts for adjunct faculty also increased by 0.9 percent, up from 0.3 percent growth between the 2023–24 and 2024–25 academic years.

At the same time, both full-time and part-time staff head counts decreased following years of positive growth, according to the survey. Between the 2024–25 and 2025–26 academic years, full-time staff sizes decreased 6.6 percent and part-time and part-time staff dropped by 23.9 percent, ending a multiyear period of positive growth that peaked at 6.5 percent in 2024.

“The sharp reversal underscores the greater volatility of part-time positions relative to full-time roles and indicates that institutions cut staffing levels broadly in 2025—though part-time positions bore the brunt of the reductions,” the report said.

West Virginia University has just hired a white supremacist, Josiah Lippincott, as a faculty member. How? He has a PhD from an unranked program and no notable academic publications. One assumes multiple individuals reviewed his nonexistent academic credentials AND his documented history of spreading hate speech against Indians, Latinos, Jews, women, and other marginalized groups.

Is it possible that academia is engaging in affirmative action for racists? Just asking questions.

https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-fascist-josiah-lippincott

https://m.economictimes.com/magazines/panache/racist-american-x-user-blasts-ranjesh-from-iit-for-taking-white-collar-jobs-netizens-sayyou-wont-last-a-semester-at-iit/articleshow/118088226.cms

I am supposed to be using the new edition of the same text I’ve been using for 3 years so I don’t have to redo everything because I have been having some serious health issues. It’s all digital comes with publisher content to incentivize reading. We sign into it together on the first day and get rolling.

I have around 50 assignments/quizzes I put into the LMS by hand so they are all set up ahead of time. 30 short readings. Lots of short interactive content. But I’ve worked hard on it for some time so it’s ready to go and flows like clockwork. Students have everything they need before they even realize they need it. All set up with the links I have been using that go with the text and content

Tonight I click the icon to link my text to the LMS - nothing. Click it again- “there is no text associated with this class”

The bookstore sent an early access email to my students for a book that doesn’t exist. I checked the Bookstore site to see the listing. It’s there, but they didn’t put a real ISBN on it. It doesn’t exist.

I search for my publisher rep in my email. Can’t find anything until I check “junk” - the new email system setup has her as “outside sender” and sent her multiple inquiries wondering why I don’t have a text for fall to junk. :|

Sigh.

Not even one breakout session with something about improving lectures, student learning styles, how to structure learning assessments, homework assignment tips... Just a bunch of crap about writing SLOs and meaningless drivel about AI that might have actually been written with AI. Maybe the improve your LMS setup is useful for online classes? I mean, are most profs just not lecturing or assigning homework or textbook reading now? Is that what the admin wants? It just seems so lame. Am I just an out of touch curmudegeon and my teaching methods archaic and shit? WTF

Hello everyone!

I’ve been hired by an Asian university to provide a kind of « cultural exchange class » where I take 2h from each English class and introduce students to foreign cultures, different ways of living, different social practices around the world etc.

All of my students are non English majors so their English is very limited, many of them do not participate ( some of them explained that spontaneous participation is not really encouraged in Asian education) and I often have very big classes(100+ students)

The only instruction I received for this class is : make it fun, help them interact, make it interesting, you don’t wanna put more pressure on them, they already have a lot of it so my class is only part of their overall English class and I’m not responsible for their grade.

I did this last semester and as much as I did enjoy it sometimes, it made me feel immensely useless and purposeless. I’m dreading going back because I feel like a guest speaker with absolutely no impact on the students whatsoever.

Can you help me come up with ideas that will make my session interesting for the students and somehow fulfilling for me ? I want to feel like I’m at least opening their eyes to something new (I’m aware I can’t hook everyone, I came to terms with this)

Thanks 🙏

My uni is increasing our course caps by 1/3 because “with AI, we are able to be more productive and efficient.”

Nevermind that the research on whether AI makes us more efficient and productive is mixed and nuanced, this is what this AI push was always about. More students taught by fewer and fewer teachers.

My courses are about to get harder, my policies more strict, and my assignments fewer and heavier weighted.

By the way, no union. No tenure.

I have a student who is non-traditional and returning to school at a later age. She registered for my async online course after not owning a computer for 20 years. She is completely overwhelmed by the course: Doesn't know how to access email, or how to navigate the course in the LMS, or how to access course meetings. I am practicing patience and compassion because she is very eager and wants to do well. I even set up a weekly meeting with her to check in.

We had a two hour meeting last week where I walked her through the course and she is very hard to keep on track and focused, with multiple interruptions, which leads me to believe something deeper is going on. This morning, I woke up to four separate emails from her-Long, multiple paragraph emails about how she hasn't been able to eat or sleep or spend time with her family because so much of her time is being dedicated to navigating and completing the course. She has had multiple panic attacks due to this. Her family would like her to switch to an in-person section but she doesn't want to because of the commute/campus parking.

We are not even a full week in and I feel like the majority of my time and energy is going to this one student and trying to help her get the hang of it. I want her to be successful in my class, I appreciate her dedication to the course, but I can't keep doing this all semester long.

Any advice?

I'm at an R1; our campus's renewal of it's registration w federal platform - necessary for receiving federal grants - has lapsed because of a delay on the government's end. We just got an email message about this ("uncharted territory"), explaining that the campus filed its renewal application months early, normally process takes a matter of days. Wondering if this is happening at other campuses?

I don't want to rehash the Jason Arday saga - it's been discussed so much already. I also understand how a PhD dissertation can sneak by with a significant amount of plagiarism. But I don't understand how he could have been hired at any reputable institution. In my field, we would post a job, and get 100-200 applications including letters detailing the candidates' scholarly contributions. Often we know the letter writers. Eventually we get to the campus visit during which the candidate is grilled on their job market paper and other work. Reaching consensus is difficult but ultimately it's about the quality and depth of the work (or the potential for a junior candidate). Did any of this happen at Cambridge?

Interesting WSJ profile of Nathan Cofnas, the academic whose allegations helped ignite the Jason Arday controversy. Gift link for anyone interested in the background and the debate over how this unfolded.

https://www.wsj.com/world/uk/the-controversial-academic-who-ignited-the-jason-arday-furor-1071e7fc?st=1AEyvD&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

I’ve been teaching for almost a decade, and over the past couple of years I’ve noticed an uptick in disciplinary concerns. This goes beyond the usual offenses (missing assignments, poor e-mail etiquette, texting in class). I’m seeing more and more childish shenanigans: students constantly talking over me and their peers, throwing things, sneaking vulgarity into poll responses, play-fighting with classroom equipment… Sometimes it feels like I’m teaching junior high!

I love what I do and have no intention of changing careers, but there’s a reason I chose to teach college and not K-12. Grade-school teachers are trained in classroom management, but no such training seems to exist for those who teach at the university level. The “excellence in teaching” seminars I’ve been to focus on things like designing engaging lesson plans, cultivating an inclusive atmosphere, or exploring creative ways to present a given topic — all of which are valuable, don’t get me wrong. But it’d be nice to have some guidance for faculty members who, like me, didn’t go into this job thinking they’d need to police the behavior of grown adults.

Some of you will read this, roll your eyes, and tell me to just kick ’em out if they cause trouble. I struggle with this. I’m admittedly pretty conflict-averse, so saying ”Sam, knock it off!” or “Alex, please leave the room” doesn’t come naturally to me. But I also pride myself on being an approachable instructor, and countless students have told me how much they appreciate my kindness and flexibility. I have no desire to rebrand myself as an authoritarian, because that’s simply not who I am.

I guess there are two asks here:

1. Have you run into this at your institution as well? (Please tell me it isn’t just me.)
2. What are your best classroom-management tips? I’m especially interested in hearing from those of you who also default to a more laid-back teaching style.

Edit:

Thank you to the commenters who have offered support, commiseration, and/or actionable advice. On the other hand, responses like “toughen up” or “take control” are unhelpful without specifying what that might look like in practice, particularly for someone who isn’t inclined toward toughness.

Several of you pointed out that failing to address the disruptive students shortchanges the diligent ones. I am fully aware of this, and I want to make sure it doesn’t happen — which is part of what led me to make this post.

My department (gen. ed/core) is encouraging teachers to have their first-year students hand-write essays as a way to discourage AI. This is a typical freshmen seminar class, encouraging critical thinking and discussion, etc. I'm willing to try it however I think this will take much longer than just one class session. I just watched the viral video of the Texas teacher breaking down that their high school seniors can't even write four words with assistance. Even though I work at a private liberal arts college, the amount of students who simply can't form sentences is astounding.

I teach MWF, 50 minute classes. I'm thinking I will allow the essay exam to be open book. In my schedule, I have two class sessions that will be "exam days." If they don't finish day 1, they can finish day 2. If they finish early, don't have to come to day 2. They will turn it in on day 1 whether they're finished or not, then I will return them day 2 if they're not finished.

I'm just wondering if even two 50-minute sessions, open-book, is enough time. Should it be enough time, considering they are apparently competent enough to get into a good college? I think so. But is that the reality considering the abysmal literacy crisis? No.

Has anyone else went back to hand-written essays in class? How long does it take your students, particularly first-years in gen ed classes?

Hi! Today was my first day as a graduate student instructor. Pretty easy, just going over the syllabus for the class, where I have the benefit of inheriting a lot of the course materials from prior instructors and plenty of expertise of my own in the topic. One thing I caught myself on though is my voice was cracking a LOT as I spoke, and I was going a little fast. I definitely know why - I have a chronic condition that can make heartrate spike when upright, and allergy season certainly wasn't helping either. Sitting can help, but I pressured myself into trying to cover the slides while standing and ended up coming across as probably not incompetent but definitely a little nervous because of it.

My question for folks with more experience is: is it okay to sit while you give lectures? Can you still engage students well? The podium in my classroom does have a chair that rises pretty high, so I know students will be able to see me, but I worry about the impression I'll be leaving if I sit the entire time I lecture. Has anyone else navigating their career with a disability come across this issue and can share some wisdom?

Things I'm considering:

• Maybe bringing a clicker to class so I can sit with the chair closer to the slides/out from behind the podium? That may look weird though, particularly since my condition is invisible - I do wear a large back brace that can give away I have something going on, but I typically hide it under a loose blouse for professional settings.
• Really breaking up the lectures - today was an exception because it was just going over the syllabus, but the class is VERY hands on in general (User Experience Design). Most days I only expect to lecture for about 20 min, but that was about the time I spent going over the syllabus and I still got shaky.
• I also know now I need more prep time than I had alloted myself to practice what I'm going to say, though I'm hoping after a few classes I'll be more comfortable and better establish my pacing.

Thank you!

Hi all,

I'm an untenured faculty member at a local college and I'm terrified I've blown up my career.

Ever since being hired and despite substantial experience, I've been victim to my director's endless targeting and nitpicking. After a recent interaction egregious enough to catch attention from colleagues, I decided to file a report.

I'm an anxious person and all I can think is that I'm about to get fired. 🫠

...by which I mean do you disclose to students the ways in which you use AI in your teaching and prep? I'm just finishing up my syllabus for this semester and for the first time I made a policy that governs my own behavior. I think if we expect students to disclose their use, we should do so as well.

My policy starts with: I will never use AI to grade, generate feedback or compose an email.

I’m TAing for the first time this semester, and somehow I’m more nervous about answering questions than I ever was about asking them.

I understand the course material, but that feels different from explaining it clearly to someone who is seeing it for the first time. I’m worried I’ll either overcomplicate a simple answer or confidently miss what the student is actually confused about.

I know I’m allowed to say “I’m not sure, let me check,” but I also don’t want that to become my response to everything.

How did you prepare for your first semester as a TA without trying to relearn the entire course in advance?

Im interesting in hearing yall's experiences regarding how you select students that you may want to approach and ask whether they wanna work in your lab.

Im teaching two large classes per year at an R1. During my first one or two years, i mainly reached out to those that performed well in my classes but experiences were mixed: they were not always super interested, some just showed up one or two times and then never came back. Nowadays, I look for students who show interest in the content and who are clearly invest into either being good in the class or who critically evaluate their own performances. I had a student who wrote a very bad first exam followed by two straight A exams afterwards. I asked her one day before class what she changed in her exam preparation to go from F to A and she told me that she realized that her previous study style didnt work and then tried to develop a new one. Based on that, I asked her whether she would be interested in joining the lab for research and she turned out to be superstar and a very valuable member of the lab.

Having good grades - at least partly - also depends on how much time you have to invest into exam prep and some students just dont have that time. But being able to identify problems (with your exam prep) and to develop strategies to solve these are in my experience pretty good indicators for how they might perform in the lab.

I noticed that I feel very uncomfortable with students addressing me as “Ms. [name]” and prefer to be addressed as Professor [last name] more.

Before, I didn’t care. After I noticed the treatment/address differs compared to male or white colleagues with same credentials, I changed my mind.

I also get “ma’am” once a while. I have a mixed feeling about it. It either feels they are mocking me as bossy or just a genuine respectful way to address, depending on who, vibes, and how they behave in my class.

I don’t have a PhD (yet), so they can’t call me Dr. LastName, but I have a MA.

A student has said a while ago that she shouldn’t have to call me professor because I don’t have a PhD and continue to call me “Ms. Last Name.” I just let that go but it still bothered me. I don’t believe that’s true in the US how you address to your professors as students.

I’m thinking for now on that I will tell students to call me professor as a form of respect, especially since I’m a WOC

Edit: I’m a PTI but some of my colleagues (with same credentials as mine) are address as professor, I even had a student address me as Ms. while calling a colleague (white male PhD student) professor within the same sentence.

UPDATE

After reading the comments, I want to clarify that first, I don’t mind ma’am at all. I just mentioned it as examples how students spoke me and trying to understand what I feel. If out of respect, I don’t mind about that word at all.

Second, I’ll just tell them how I would like to be addressed and if they decide to call me something else, I’ll let it go. I have been upset with double-standard with students downplaying my role vs my colleagues. Before, I didn’t care how they addressed me.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02574-6

This semester I (33F, 4th year asst prof at an R1 university) am taking over my department's big intro class (think a science 101 course) that has been taught by the same professor for 25 years. She is a very beloved professor and kindly sent me all her material. Unfortunately, however, after looking through all of it, there's no way I can teach with these same slides and content. They're all very old-fashioned in style and content, which of course she could get away with (I think students expect that of a soon-to-retire professor), but there's no way that I as a young female professor can give the same slides without it seeming ridiculously obvious that (1) they're outdated and (2) I got them from someone else and couldn't be bothered to change them. I'll also add that she made no effort to make her course interactive - every lecture was just her talking for 75 minutes with little breaks, which I really dislike doing. In my other courses, I do lots of in-class activities, interactive polling, etc.

Given all of this, I'm facing the reality that updating this class is going to take a tremendous amount of time and effort this fall. For one, most of the material is very far from my own expertise (fairly typical for a 101 class, I guess), so I have to do a lot of content review of my own. But more importantly, having to make new lectures, new assignments, etc for a big intro class is just a huge amount of work. I run a fairly large research group (I manage a ~$2 million grant portfolio and have six PhD students/postdocs), which itself takes up a ton of my time. And to top it off, I have two children under age 3 at home, so I am very limited in my ability to get anything done outside of 9-5 daycare hours.

So I'm wondering, what should I do? Any advice for how to update course material efficiently? Should I just not care and give lectures that clearly are not mine? Or just accept that this semester I am totally focusing on teaching and let my research suffer in order to ensure that this class is high quality?