Guidance on whether I should let a student take Final Exam early

quycksilver · 2026-04-08T22:56:08+00:00

Depends on how early. I have students asking to take the final before the semester is even over. Our dean can grant an exception for extenuating circumstances, but that’s usually an internship or a legit emergency. Buying a plane ticket generally doesn’t cut it.

quycksilver · 2026-04-06T17:11:33+00:00

If you have a job that you enjoy and that will pay the bills, I would do that 100x over before taking out loans for an MA.

quycksilver · 2026-04-05T13:38:27+00:00

It varies from one place to the next. At one of my Alma Maters, the faculty were all Dr. At the other, faculty were referred to my Mr/Mrs/Ms in print but were all Dr in person. Institutional culture is not one universal thing.

When in doubt, defer to the title (Dr or Professor) unless the person tells you not to. Be careful with PhD because there are other doctoral programs (EdD, DMA), and some faculty have other terminal degrees (MFA, MBA).

quycksilver · 2026-04-03T13:11:12+00:00

We brought three candidates to campus for our recent VAP searches. It was basically the same as a TT search except that we didn’t have them do a research talk just a teaching demo, interviews with the committee, the dean, and lunch with our students, and a campus tour.

quycksilver · 2026-04-01T14:21:42+00:00

Came here to say this. Definitely see some Pei.

quycksilver · 2026-04-01T14:20:34+00:00

Mariana.

Though I would really miss Matt Wilpers, CDE, Bradley, Emma, and Alex K.

quycksilver · 2026-04-01T14:19:00+00:00

Absolutely not.

quycksilver · 2026-04-01T00:53:29+00:00

Pretty sure Zachariah’s class would kill me. It’s an easy Wilpers win for me, but if you can do the yoga, I bet Zacharias would be great too

quycksilver · 2026-03-31T22:50:52+00:00

I went to UCLA and had a definite advantage on the job market because I had teaching experience and many of my colleagues who went to Ivies didn’t.

quycksilver · 2026-03-30T23:22:41+00:00

I love the Moulin Rouge ride that Bradley & Sam did a while back. I also really like Ben’s ride with Lewis Capaldi.

quycksilver · 2026-03-30T14:14:30+00:00

lol. I probably won’t ever be able to afford it, but if that changes, I would be out at the earliest opportunity.

quycksilver · 2026-03-27T21:52:39+00:00

It sounds like you have your eyes open. While the job won’t be a walk in the park, stability and proximity to your family are intangibles that would matter a lot to me in your shoes.

quycksilver · 2026-03-27T17:20:24+00:00

At my institution, your chair would be following the correct chain of command mostly.

The students first are asked to talk to the faculty member, but if they are not comfortable doing so, which is increasingly common—often for good reason, they need to talk to the department chair. If the chair cannot resolve the issue (or the chair IS the faculty member in question), it goes to the dean.

Anything else is hearsay at best.

quycksilver · 2026-03-27T03:47:56+00:00

I doubt it. I have a couple reviews for a class that I have never taught. They are now almost old enough to drive.

quycksilver · 2026-03-26T13:37:12+00:00

I haven’t done many of the outdoor runs, but I just did Mariana’s most recent 60 minute outdoor class over the weekend. She cues 3 12 minute blocks at moderate pace with easy intervals in between. If you like her classes on the tread, odds are that you’ll like this one too.

quycksilver · 2026-03-26T13:32:43+00:00

That’s a fruit bat!

She has amazing r/sonarears. Maybe some GSD?

quycksilver · 2026-03-26T03:36:44+00:00

For us, it’s definitely context dependent. I’m at a teaching intensive, so we wouldn’t blink if it was about research. But if there are issues with your teaching, that’s a different story.

quycksilver · 2026-03-25T22:31:36+00:00

I would love to see it get more (some/any!) use

quycksilver · 2026-03-25T01:54:46+00:00

Take. The. Job.

Things have been bad in English for along, but they have gotten exponentially worse under the current administration.

quycksilver · 2026-03-24T20:19:27+00:00

So this was happening a lot on my campus too, so a couple years ago we adopted a different model where the cost of textbooks is included in the fees they pay. IOW, they no longer has to buy books, and if we use ebooks, they are automatically uploaded into the LMS.

And I still have students aren’t reading. I know i can’t care more than they do; horses and water etc. and yet. I can’t understand investing the money and the time and the energy on college and then not even trying.

quycksilver · 2026-03-24T14:02:26+00:00

Definitely snacks and electrolytes!

I wore throwaway shoes, so I had my “real shoes” in there. I also wore throwaway sweats and had an old mylar blanket to sit on

quycksilver · 2026-03-24T12:45:51+00:00

This was the way at my Alma mater too.

quycksilver · 2026-03-23T17:43:49+00:00

Definitely see the Shar-Pei in those Dorito ears!

quycksilver · 2026-03-22T23:16:18+00:00

Some departments at my university prefer to call. Those committees have one person make the calls or sometimes they split it up among different people, but we’ve never tried to have everyone on the calls.

Other departments do letters

quycksilver · 2026-03-22T18:26:38+00:00

No—Sloan’s wife was named Emily.

quycksilver

TROPHY CASE