Zero contact from lecturers during break

Drodan

Had to repeat an exam from first I didn't know I had to, having received no contact from the lecturer during the year and not being on the class list, and I go into the exam on the Thursday just gone to learn it was worth 70% and not 100% like previous years. The module is not up on moodle so there are no repeat instructions there (plus even if it was I don't have the key to access it) and I got no e-mail telling me about any possible assignment. I got home Thursday and e-mailed the lecturer wondering why I hadn't been told about an assignment and asked for the question/parameters so I could do it in the 3 days left and got no response. I e-mailed the head of the business department Friday, no response.

I'm trying to get the info ("as it's the student's responsibility and not the college's", their go to get out of jail free card) but I'm not being met half way. Is there anyone else I can e-mail to get the assignment off of does anyone know? I could potentially fail that exam and have to repeat the year because of the lecturer not doing her job.

Also considering this is about the 6th time I'm been completely dicked around by the college/lecturers I want to make a formal complaint as they are not doing their job in the slightest (I could tell you some stories). Anyone know to whom I can make it?

donfarrell

Might be a stupid question but did you check you emails using hotmail or outlook?

Because I had a similar issue when repeating an exam, I emailed the lecturer using my account on hotmail and hadnt recieved anyting in weeks, came back from holiday and I found out I had a ton of emails in the new outlook thing they set up :S

Drodan

Yup I've checked both.

Had a question about another repeat assignment and that lecturer got back to me within two hours while on her holidays, which was very much appreciated.

vinnyirl

Emails are useless as they can be easily ignored, ring the college and ask them to put you through to your lecturer (BTW most of them are on holidays and are not required to be in college) if you can't get to your lecturer try the school secretary before you try the head of department, also try get in touch with your coordinator.

You could also contact the Studens' Union, they wont be able to help straight away but they will be able to keep contacting the right people untill they get a reply.

Drodan

Tried ringing today and got no where. Don't think going down the route of my coordinator will help much, if you get my drift.

This thing is due presumably Thursday at 12pm, so even if I get it tomorrow it'll mean I'll have at most 27 hours to do it, if I don't sleep, which is bollocks.

As far as I'm concerned I've done all I can to get the assignment (which btw the lecturer was CC'd when I was talking to the exams office at the start of July so no excuses) and if I don't get it in time I'm kinda going to have to demand that I get the 30%. It was a failure on their end, not mine.

Leejo

<Mod Snip>? I know other people in my class have had trouble with her as well.

Drodan wrote: »

Tried ringing today and got no where. Don't think going down the route of my coordinator will help much, if you get my drift.

Judging by your posts you're doing sports management. Get onto Val, I emailed 3 lecturers 3/4 weeks before the repeats and to be fair to Val he got back to me both times with 2 days. One of the others, it took a week and a half for them to get back to me and the other I still haven't heard back from.

No reason to just dismiss him off without trying him.

Drodan

<Mod Snip> was actually the one who got back to me very quickly. Got a reply saying she was on holiday, a standardised one I assume, and two hours later got an e-mail with all the info.

At this stage even if I get the assignment I'll be fecked. There's no way I can get it done within a day to a decent standard.

KonFusion

Just to remind people, the charter states that naming lecturers is not allowed.
it may be a different case if they ever come on here, but as they can't reply to anything said about them, it's generally disallowed.

Perhaps just say "My X lecturer" etc in future, but please keep names out of it.

Thanks .

vinnyirl

KonFusion wrote: »

Just to remind people, the charter states that naming lecturers is not allowed.
it may be a different case if they ever come on here, but as they can't reply to anything said about them, it's generally disallowed.

Perhaps just say "My X lecturer" etc in future, but please keep names out of it.

Thanks .

Well thats a rule that makes no sense, I can understand not being allowed to call people names. But stating a fact such as I heard nothing form a lecturer and I am pissed about it should not be modded.


What if someone askes about a lecturer, a person who simply wants to know what the lecturer is like, how hard they grade or what ever does that post get deleted?

Mod Reply: The charter is as the charter is. I've pm'd an admin for clarification.

Drodan

Went in today to sort it out. Apparently there was a mistake on the paper and that only the people deferring the exam had to do the CA but had the instructions on all the papers, for some stupid reason.

On a side note, anybody know if you can defer and exam for a year but continue on into the next year? Doesn't sound like something that's possible.

Tom Dunne

vinnyirl wrote: »

Well thats a rule that makes no sense, I can understand not being allowed to call people names. But stating a fact such as I heard nothing form a lecturer and I am pissed about it should not be modded.

In general, across the site, it is not the "done thing" to name people on a public forum such as this where people do not have the ability to defend their reputation

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a former staff member and I still maintain connections with the college.

vinnyirl wrote: »

What if someone askes about a lecturer, a person who simply wants to know what the lecturer is like, how hard they grade or what ever does that post get deleted?

Mod Reply: The charter is as the charter is. I've pm'd an admin for clarification.

Generally speaking, it is not the done thing to discuss people by name for reasons outlined above.

To clarify the initial point, lecturers are not contractually obliged to reply to e-mails during the summer months. Some do, some don't, not much you can do about it. Lambasting them here on Boards.ie is not the way to fix this.

Drodan

So what your saying is while the student is responsible to work all year the lecturers during times of repeats don't even have the decency to reply to a simple question?

I had in fact praised the named lecturer on here about a speady and gratefully recieved reply. Surely if we're saying good things about them it doesn't need to be altered?

Also considering the kind of bs stunts pulled by several lecturers that would get them fired in ANY other job I don't see why they should be so vehemently protected on a public forum. You don't see the mods altering people's posts over in the football forums for saying a particular manager/player is crap because said manager/player isn't a boards.ie member and can't defend themselves.

Tom Dunne

Drodan wrote: »

So what your saying is while the student is responsible to work all year the lecturers during times of repeats don't even have the decency to reply to a simple question?

Show me exactly where I say that:

Tom Dunne wrote: »

To clarify the initial point, lecturers are not contractually obliged to reply to e-mails during the summer months. Some do, some don't, not much you can do about it. Lambasting them here on Boards.ie is not the way to fix this.

Drodan wrote: »

Also considering the kind of bs stunts pulled by several lecturers that would get them fired in ANY other job I don't see why they should be so vehemently protected on a public forum. You don't see the mods altering people's posts over in the football forums for saying a particular manager/player is crap because said manager/player isn't a boards.ie member and can't defend themselves.

Having worked in a number of Institutes of Technology, and seeing grossly incompetent staff members who, as you correctly say, would be fired if they worked in the private sector, I am equally as frustrated as you by this. Again, show me where they are being defended. Also remember we have very strong libel laws in Ireland. Boards.ie can be held legally liable for what you say, as can you as a poster.

However, if you want my honest opinion, the problem is a bigger issue of Public Sector vs. Private Sector employees, and I do not believe the ITB forum is the place for this discussion to take place.

And to finish, your comparison with football managers/players is not the same. Those people put themselves out in the public domain, and take the associated public commentary that goes with it. Lecturers do not.

Drodan

My point is that surely a lecturer (and the college for that matter) would want a student to pass his/her exams and continue on? If nothing else the registration fee for the following year would be an incentive for the college. There's far too much use of the go to "we don't have to do any work" card by the college which is "it's the students responsibility". When in my case for examply I had recieved no contact from a lecturer for the entire of semester two. I was on no e-mailing list or anything. Surely it's the lecturers responsibility to know who's taken their module, especially when there's a small class of about 40.

If anybody took a case against a student for libel/slander because of something said of the internet (which let's face it has a larger chance of being true than not) and are that insecure and childish then they are a pathetic human being. A small comment on a thread should not cause so much upheaval.

I personally see an ITB forum the perfect place to discuss everything about ITB, the C&S, lecturers, facilities etc. Why protect the lecturers from debate? I didn't see the thread last year concerning the outgoing C&S officer modded, even though we all knew who the person was and I'm fairly sure was named several times.

I'm a student and I had to point out a major flaw in the instructions of a paper, that NO ONE else from the college noticed, which imo is pathetic and incredibly unprofessional.

Tom Dunne

Drodan wrote: »

My point is that surely a lecturer (and the college for that matter) would want a student to pass his/her exams and continue on? If nothing else the registration fee for the following year would be an incentive for the college. There's far too much use of the go to "we don't have to do any work" card by the college which is "it's the students responsibility". When in my case for examply I had recieved no contact from a lecturer for the entire of semester two. I was on no e-mailing list or anything. Surely it's the lecturers responsibility to know who's taken their module, especially when there's a small class of about 40.

You are quite correct, of course it is a lecturer's responsibility to know who is doing the course, they would have to compile marks/results for end of semester. And if a lecturer is not doing their job, get the students together and put it in writing. But be clear on what you are trying to achieve. If you are unhappy purely because a lecturer does not e-mail you during semester, well, that isn't exactly grounds for a complaint. If, however, this is one example of many things a lecturer does not do, well that is a different story.

If you are merely complaining because a lecturer does not reply/respond to you outside of semester, during the Summer holidays, you are on to a loser straight away, I'm afraid. As I have pointed out before, contractually, lecturers do not have to reply during this time.

Drodan wrote: »

If anybody took a case against a student for libel/slander because of something said of the internet (which let's face it has a larger chance of being true than not) and are that insecure and childish then they are a pathetic human being. A small comment on a thread should not cause so much upheaval.

Speaking not as a lecturer, but as an administrator of Boards.ie, you would be surprised at the amount of legal threats Boards.ie gets every single day. It is unbelievable - the slightest negative comment, and the solicitors are called in. In a lot of cases, it is nothing more than empty words and vague threats, but a substantial portion follow through. Sadly, it is a reflection on Irish society and Irish law.

Drodan wrote: »

I personally see an ITB forum the perfect place to discuss everything about ITB, the C&S, lecturers, facilities etc. Why protect the lecturers from debate? I didn't see the thread last year concerning the outgoing C&S officer modded, even though we all knew who the person was and I'm fairly sure was named several times.

It is, that is the reason I got the forum set up. However, we as a community are only allowed discussion within clearly defined guidelines and rules, one of which is not to mention a person by name. The protection for lecturers (or any member of staff) is from the legal system in Ireland, under which we are bound. It is not some conspiracy by former staff members.

Drodan wrote: »

I'm a student and I had to point out a major flaw in the instructions of a paper, that NO ONE else from the college noticed, which imo is pathetic and incredibly unprofessional.

It is utterly unprofessional. An exam paper will have gone through peer review, along with external examiner review. For something like this to happen shows the process did not work and that is a great concern. I hope you take it to the course coordinator and the head of school.

Drodan

I got replies today, one with a nice enough tone, the other not so much.

I was offered the opportunity to take an appointment to meet with the head of the department to discuss it further, which I am damn well taking as I've a list of things to get off my chest. Decided I'm not going to back down and get bullied by the lecturers again, I did two chirstmasses ago but not this time (mostly because I was recovering from jaw surgery last time, which sucked).

If I could go over a few things with you Tom through PMs before this meeting that'd be great, just to make sure I have everything clear and concise.

Tom Dunne

Yeah, no problem.

Leelaa22

Tom Dunne wrote: »

In general, across the site, it is not the "done thing" to name people on a public forum such as this where people do not have the ability to defend their reputation

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a former staff member and I still maintain connections with the college.



Generally speaking, it is not the done thing to discuss people by name for reasons outlined above.

To clarify the initial point, lecturers are not contractually obliged to reply to e-mails during the summer months. Some do, some don't, not much you can do about it. Lambasting them here on Boards.ie is not the way to fix this.

What about during the college year? I and my peers have had awful problems trying to get in contact with certain lecturers. Infact Ive had a lecturer complain that they cant get in contact with another lecturer. Anything in their contract about that?

Leelaa22

Leelaa22 wrote: »

What about during the college year? I and my peers have had awful problems trying to get in contact with certain lecturers. Infact Ive had a lecturer complain that they cant get in contact with another lecturer. Anything in their contract about that?

It would surprise me if there was something that made/forced them reply to emails.

Have you tried going directly to their office and leaving a note with another lecturer in the office?

KonFusion

Deleted User wrote: »

It would surprise me if there was something that made/forced them reply to emails.

Have you tried going directly to their office and leaving a note with another lecturer in the office?

Having something in their contract that makes or forces them to reply to emails makes no sense at all. However I'm sure communicating with students in is their job description/duties/whatever, I doubt it goes into specifics or specifies a time frame. While I agree they should reply when appropriate and as soon as is possible/convenient etc, stipulating in their contract that they must reply and do so speedily would be silly, and impossible to enforce.

It's just a job at the end of the day. And lets face it, no matter where you go, some people are better at their job then others. Some will try hard, some will go beyond the call of duty, and some will just do the minimum.

4 people to take it up with: Student union, department administrator, course co-ordinator, and the lecturer themselves, be it in person or otherwise.

If it's an ongoing problem affecting many students, make it known. One idea would be to write a letter outlining the problem and have all the students it effects sign it, then bring it to the lecturer and explain the impact their lack of communication has.

Perhaps there is a reason they communicate poorly. Perhaps their workload has increased significantly and they have less time out of class, or maybe even reasons outside of work. Either way, addressing the problem with the lecturer should be the first place to go, especially if you feel it's having a negative impact on your educational performance, or that of others.

Luckily I've never had that problem with any of my lecturers. All usually nice and snappy with emails and what not

Also as a side note: I very much doubt Tom knows the specifics of each lecturers contract.