What are Some Myths About Professors?

08/26/2024

By Holly Susi
Professor of Communication & Media

I follow a blog by the author of a textbook that I use for my News Writing students and one of his recent posts really hit home. Vince Filak got it right when he said that students mistakenly think that 1) students are bothering the professor if they ask for help; 2) professors like failing students; and 3) professors do not care. Let’s chat about these. I will keep it short and sweet, but I want to be sure that you know these are myths. Here is my recap of Filak’s myth-busting (but in my own words):

It’s not bothering a professor if you ask for help. The last thing we want is for you to be confused about assignments or have questions that go unanswered. Personally, I am more than happy to answer your emails, meet in Zoom, or during office hours. For most departments, our office hours are listed on the syllabus, in the Blackboard course, posted in the department on a bulletin board, and on our office door. We really want you to know how to reach us and visit us. Faculty members are required by the college and our union contract to set aside hours every week that are open for students to get additional help. What I ask of students is that they read the syllabus, if it is a policy question and thoroughly read the instructions, if it is a question about assignments before they visit or reach out. Sometimes professors get it wrong, and the instructions are not clear as we thought (hey, I knew what I was talking about when I wrote it and put it up on Bb. Oh wait. Is it not clear? Yes, that happens). The professors I know are happy to answer questions and discuss assignments and we all hate sitting alone in our offices during office hours.
There is nothing I hate more than failing a student. Quite honestly, I usually agonize over it, and I know many of my colleagues feel the same way. I love it when everyone is learning, making progress, and passing my class. I do not hand out A’s like participation trophies but that does not mean I take glee in giving an F. I do have some complaints though about giving grades. For example, some students are very grade-focused and want straight A’s for every assignment; I find that discouraging because being that grade-focused means that they are more concerned about the grade rather than actual learning. And like Filak said in his blog, sometimes students think that just submitting an assignment, no matter how poorly done, will get them a passing grade. It will not. Not in my class anyhow. The bottom line for most profs is that if someone wants to pass a class, we expect them to put in an effort. When students and faculty work together to help students who are struggling, we can often get remarkable results. Profs are there for you – take advantage of that.
I care. Boy, do I care. And guess what? My colleagues really care about their students, too. I may be biased, but I think you will find that community college professors are different from their four-year university peers. I am at a community college because here the focus is on teaching and learning. Not research. Not publishing books. Not giving out F’s. The focus at CCRI is on the student and learning. It’s quite simple: we want you to be successful. But we can only help you if you come to us and let us know that you need that help.

So, take it from a communication professor: it is always better when you communicate with us. When you do, we can always figure it out together.

Here is to a successful semester!

Prof Susi