Eavesdropping on a lot of conversations during classes and while chilling in the Culp Center, I have heard countless complaints about professors.
Of course, there will be some teachers you get along with, and some you won’t, but … as I have said before, that simply reflects real life.
Sometimes there are situations, however, that go beyond simple dislike of a professor’s methods and theories. Occasionally I have found vague test questions in which more than one right answer could easily be argued.
There are occasionally times when you feel like you are being singled out by a teacher.
Not only is this embarrassing, but it also discourages the student. Who wants to try to learn if they are made to feel stupid by the instructor?
Only once in my three years at this university have I encountered a situation like this. I have always found my professors personable and willing to help, no matter how many students are in the class.
From personal experience, I can tell you that the professors here truly want you to pass. They went to school for a long time and are very eager to bestow upon you the knowledge they have acquired during their studies. If you have ever learned some really cool fact in one of your classes then ran straight home to tell someone, then you have some understanding of how your professors feel. They have so much knowledge they would like to share, and often, they are stuck with students who could care less. Imagine how discouraging that must be.
On the other side are the teachers that have all the knowledge in the world, but have no idea how to convey the information to students.
The situation I encountered was basically a teacher losing his or her temper with me. Every story has two sides, but I believe in this situation the teacher acted quite inappropriately. Others in the class also asked questions, and they were not nearly as polite as I was. They didn’t get the same snippety response I received.
Needless to say, it made me angry, it hurt my feelings as well as my ego, and unfortunately, it was too late in the semester to drop the class.
What can a student do in a situation like that? Well, believe it or not, ETSU cares about these issues and there are many resources available to a student that thinks they have been treated unfairly.
In situations where the student feels that they are being treated unfairly for no reason, there are two things you can do.
First, there are teacher evaluations toward the end of the semester. People do look at these, and they are completely anonymous. Also, they are not shown to the teacher until after the grades have been turned in.
If the problem is more serious, you should consult the dean of the department the professor is a member of. This method is good to use if you have been a victim of verbal abuse or if you feel your grade is inconsistent with others in the class. For example, if you have basically the same answers as someone in the class, but your grade is significantly lower, you deserve an explanation. The department head can help you.
If a student believes he or she has been a victim of sexual advances or harassment, they should immediately report the situation to campus security or the local police department.
These are special situations, and in my opinion, there is very little concern about this sort of behavior from our great staff.
The point is that there are resources available to those of us that have in some issues with instructors. ETSU wants to resolve the problem. This is not for slacker students that don’t think it’s not fair that a professor won’t let them re-take a test they missed because they were too hung-over to make to class on test day. This is for conscientious students that care about their grades and can prove that they have been mistreated.
ETSU has all sorts of ways to help students who want to make good grades and do well in school. Don’t be afraid to use it … you will not be penalized. Even though instructors are intimidating, they have superiors that they have to answer too. Everyone has to be accountable for what they do, and that includes ETSU staff.

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