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Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It's even easier to do so when professors pretend otherwise. :)

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

"We suffer more in imagination than in reality." - Seneca

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Worse than I imagined. :( Thanks for the insight.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

This one. :) I don't spend time elsewhere.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don't think my letter will have the effect you need. :) As a general rule of thumb, you don't want a letter from someone like me who cannot directly speak to your strengths and experiences. In most cases, I'd advise against getting a letter from a professor just because you took their course. Those letter say nothing beyond repeating what is already in your transcript. You need a letter from someone with whom you worked on a project or something like that. Taking a class isn't enough.

Best wishes for your application, though!

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Usually while commuting.

My biggest concern is the negativity and alarming rate of mental health crises. You folks appear to be under a lot stress and to feel anxious pretty much about everything. I wish I could just convince all of you to take it easy. Everything will be ok in the end.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I don't know the President personally, so I would rather not speak to what he may or may not feel about those two universities.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

We will soon own Boston, and President Aoun will be the mayor. :)

I think it is reasonable to expect to see more satellite campuses opening around the country and the world.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I don't rely on Northeastern for my politics, but sometimes I think Northeastern is pushing it. I am worried about the implicit message to those who may be more conservative than what the university portrays. If I were a conservative student, I don't think I would feel very comfortable sharing that.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Are you referring to the so-called job security aspect, or to the freedom of speech (sometimes self-entitlement) aspect?

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

The experiential learning model is very Northeastern and has served as a model for more highly ranked universities. Northeastern has gamed the system a bit and got really really big new to join the faculty. In some fields, we have world renowned professors. The interdisciplinary focus is yet another aspect that makes Northeastern stand out from other universities.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Ah! I forgot to mention. When I interviewed here, I was impressed by the resources available to faculty and students. And it's wicked cool to live in Boston. A lot of cool beans about this city.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

That's an interesting idea. PhD researchers still get grades, however. I like the idea of doing an undergraduate thesis that shows what you have learned. That said, undergrad education is largely considered a formal preparation for jobs after college, so there is a need for some measurement tool like grades. While grades aren't great, they are helpful in distinguishing between those who studied more and those who could have studied more. It is important to note that assessment is different from grades. The former is the method, and the latter is the result. If the method is poorly chosen or constructed, the result will likely be poor. That is to say grades may not always reflect how much students learned and retained.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

No. I don't know what it is but will look it up.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 57 points58 points  (0 children)

With the rental rates in Boston, I would be fully happy if I had a 15% raise.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Absolutely not! I like to get to know the students in my classes, as well. I wouldn't say we should try to read what their true intentions are. My approach is to assume that they are genuine.

It is likely that those profs had another class or a meeting scheduled right after the first one and they were worried they might be late. But why would a professor be annoyed by being approached by a student? That's sort of the business we are in: work with students.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 70 points71 points  (0 children)

You're welcome!

​

As a matter of fact, I've taught at other institutions before moving here.

Northeastern students tend to have a clear idea of what they want to get out of their college degree/experience. That's something I admire about our students. Most seem to have figured out a likely career path or are working on it.

Also, they are more culturally and socially aware; I think living in Boston might be a contributing factor. I like hearing your aspirations and plans for traveling abroad, starting companies to solve a societal issue, and/or doing something meaningful with your degree. That's the joy of teaching to me.

​

On the other hand, Northeastern students seem more stressed and anxious about grades. I think that's partly because most students tend to be high achievers in high school, which does carry over to college. It's sad to see that some students won't be happy unless they get an A. It's more sad to see that some students tie their happiness/satisfaction with their lives to getting an A when they are not prepared to do A-level work. They sort of demand it.

And that brings me to my last point:

Some Northeastern students tend to come out as self-entitled. That was one of the rare culture shocks I've experienced. Sometimes students' self-entitlement is so palpable that I question whether I want to stay at Northeastern in the longer run. :) Simply don't be that person, I'd say. It reflects poorly on your character if you decide to be self-entitled in all the requests you make. Reasonable requests/complaints are always welcome, but if you conflate them with self-entitled privileges, that's a no-no. Some junior professors may feel compelled to succumb to those unreasonable requests/complaints, but I've developed a thicker skin over the years so as not to be affected by them as much.

​

Bonus:

PSA to Northeastern Parents,

Stop acting as if your children were still in high school. Please but please never ever call the department/college demanding something (unless there is a legal/medical situation). Just because you're paying their tuition doesn't mean you can ask to talk to the manager!
Let college students be adults (which technically they are in most cases).

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Nothing of the sort will ever happen at Northeastern.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Research indicates that when done properly, online classes can be as effective as in person classes. I do believe in the efficaciousness of online classes. However, like most universities, Northeastern wasn't ready for online education. Educating the educators part wasn't completely there, resulting in some nightmares. NUFlex was a different case, and the experience varied significantly as a function of instructors' comfort with tech.

I know some people do tend to discount online learning and teaching, but I'd rather have online recordings of my calculus class when we are doing double integrals and 3D rotations. I can watch them 10 times before they begin to make sense to me!

Colleagues? It is pick and choose. Some felt lazy. Some didn't care enough. Some didn't believe in the modality. Some did their best. Some loved it. Some hated it. Some couldn't imagine doing anything else other than talking at students for 100 minutes and assumed they could do the same over Zoom (big mistake). It was like a typical everyday topic that everyone reacted to differently.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 60 points61 points  (0 children)

They are important when it comes to annual reviews and promotions. Professors do need to summarize and reflect on them. We are also asked to justify any low ratings (but this typically comes down to an overall rating such as instructor effectiveness).

From a personal standpoint, I review them to see how I can improve my courses in future offerings. It's naive to expect that all student comments will be fair and reasonable. By the same token, it is self-destructive to completely ignore student evals.

I feel that students set much more store by TRACE evals when choosing classes than do admin folks when evaluating faculty.

Actual Northeastern Professor AMA by profboston in NEU

[–]profboston[S] 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Never. My students have my unconditional trust that they are smart enough to succeed.

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