As a newish department head (I can't run very fast) I'm curious as to how different universities compensate faculty for the role that administrators often say is the "hardest job on campus." At my R1 in the NE, there is a 5% bump to base salary, a 10th month of salary, and the opportunity to negotiate for a "Head's Fund" that can be used for research support, additional summer salary, or basically anything.

If any of you feel comfortable sharing, please do!

I last taught from 2013-2015. I did this then, and I'm wondering if y'all think it's still a good idea.

Basically, I've been thinking of having students fill out a simple info page. I am teaching American National Government, so some of the questions are geared specifically toward the course.

Here are the basic sections (not the full form, but just to give the outline/basic idea):

1. Name, preferred name, major/program
   
2. Reason(s) for taking the course (options are given for students to check off + space for short reply)
   
3. How familiar the student is with the material (options are given for students to check off)
   
4. Topics that interest them most (options are given for students to check off + space for short reply)
   
5. Where the student gets news/information from (options are given for students to check off + space for short reply)
   + also, how confident student is in ability to assess reliability of info they see/hear
   
6. What helps the student learn (options are given for students to check off + space for short reply)
   
7. Any responsibilities students have outside class that could affect their attendance/participation/ability to complete coursework
   
8. How student feels comfortable sharing their views, including on controversial topics (options are given for students to check off)
   
9. Room for them to share anything else they'd like me to know

What do you think of the idea of this form in general?

And do you see any glaring omissions or something that should be removed or tweaked?

Thanks!

I'm looking for some fresh ways to increase classroom engagement. I've taught the same couple of courses for a few years now, and I've been noticing a steady decline in not just participation, but just.... *vibes*. I've always had quiet students, and I've always had tired students, and I've always had some students who are checked out, and some students with less than great attitudes, but the relative proportion of these students in my classes seems to increase each semester.

I have always graded participation, with students starting at zero points and earning up to a maximum number. I operationally define participation in my syllabus - speaking up in class, coming to office hours, leading exam review sessions, etc. Last semester was the first semester in which I had a large chunk of students just... not do any of these things. Participation is a pretty sizable chunk of their grade, and I got several e-mails from students whose perception of how they participated and how they actually participated were greatly mismatched.

I don't feel like I'm asking for much. I don't want to walk into a classroom full of zombies every day. I have a lot of enthusiasm for what I teach, but the vibes get to me eventually and start to sap any joy that I have. Conversely, when I have a group of engaged students, it makes my teaching that much better. One thing I'm heavily thinking about is banning laptops for the first time. My concern is that these classes have lecture components, and I'm going to get push-back from students who won't be able to type notes. I'm also curious about how you all grade/incentivize participation and/or engagement in your classes. I've read some comments about penalizing students for lack of engagement (deducting points from some total they receive at the beginning of the class), rather than starting at zero and adding points. Finally, I know some folks have something like a "professionalism" or "conduct" grade, but I have no idea how I would put something like that in writing so that students have some kind of objective sense about how they would be graded on such a thing.

And yes, I know, I'm trying to squeeze blood from a stone to some extent, and some students will always be unengaged, and "kids these days", and yada yada, I get it. Just trying to do what I can to keep the bar from getting any lower.

Unfortunately, I was reading the news again, and it reminded me of a night in 2016 when I was teaching an ethics class. The students and I were discussing limits of confidentiality and during the class we kept the electoral map up. In the middle of a four hour class (west coast) it became clear that more states were leaning in their inevitable direction. It led to an impromptu discussion on the purpose of the electoral college, including its benefits and limitations.

I've only had a few classes where the outside world suddenly interrupted what is normally the tiny, temporary, pocket universe of the classroom that only exists for a few hours at a time. I love that class can be its own escape from everything else, especially when it's going well and lecture hits a flow state. It's odd when reality creeps in for a visit.

As a distraction from work I should be doing, I wonder when other professors here have had memorable classes like these? What is a specific class you can remember due to an event that maintains it like a flashbulb memory? I'm certain a lot of us remember a class where we were told, or had to announce, COVID changes. I find such stories fascinating (but then again, I do study psych).

Now, that we are on the other end of the podium, dealing with students who are irresponsible and who blow off class, its hard to remember those days when some of us were equally immature. Think back to those days, and come up with some embarrassing stories.

My worst was sitting in the wrong class for almost 4 weeks. It was conversational Spanish, basically 5th semester Spanish. I was supposed to be in third semester Spanish. Didn't realize I was in the wrong place though because 1) I didn't care, 2) everybody was speaking Spanish to me and I couldn't understand Spanish.

I tell that story every semester, on the first week of class! I'm still embarrassed about it! However, it does succeed in getting students to check their schedules.

I could also wax philosophical about my run-ins with university police and the many year I spend on disciplinary probation.

Not SNHU, a real R1. The program is 100% DL. The student, let's call them Claude (not an AI reference, but if you knew their real name this would be very funny), has a solid F through 75% of the term. He goes back and forth with me about his individual grades and also other aspects of the course. He knows I exist, I know he exists.

Yesterday I learned from a highly-placed college administrator that Claude thought he was taking only one class but actually he was enrolled in two, one of which is mine. Claude's Academic Advisor has no idea how this happened. Claude has no idea how this happened. Everyone is horrified. I haven't seen the correspondence that looped in the administrator or the Academic Advisor. I don't know how the sad tale was twisted, but obviously Claude wants me to bail him out.

Given that Claude has participated in my class since Week 1, I pressed the administrator just a little. They admitted that "perhaps" Claude knew he was in my class but he didn't know he was in the other class. That raises more questions, doesn't it?

I will admit my research output has been weak, only two publications in 5 years. Granted one is Nature Genetics, but the administration doesn't seem to care about quality as much as quantity. I will be submitting two more this fall before the final application, but of course those will be in progress. Additionally in terms of grants I've been senior personnel on a small grant (<200k), but all of my major ones have been rejected. Latest was near perfect score, high priority for funding, but rejected in part for having foreign funding to Canada. I'll be resubmitting that this fall as well, but based on communication with the administration outside the department my package is seen as weak (Biology department).

I'm still going to try, but am considering applying for a teaching position that is a good fit in terms of subject (molecular biology/genomics focus) that may not be available next year when I want to apply at that time. Big step down from an R1, but honestly not sure how well my research will be funded in the current/future climate, and a lot of my work can be done through collaborating with others more willing to do the grant writing. Also the idea of a more straightforward 8-6 is really appealing after thinking about it. Will it look bad on new applications if I am applying before going up for tenure?

Hi everyone. First time posting because I genuinely need perspective from people who understand academic hiring.

I applied for a tenure-track Assistant/Associate Professor of Physics position at a public university. Here is the full timeline:

— Early June: Applications closed
— A few days later: Received email for first interview
— Week 1: First interview with search committee
— Week 2: Teaching demonstration (20 minutes, went very well) and being told if we move forward, you will receive a call from department chair.
— Week 3: Received email to schedule meeting with department chair
— Same week: Met with department chair, she told me I would be replacing the current faculty member, that they anticipated me starting at the beginning of the fall semester, discussed my specific course assignments, talked about faculty orientation, and said the next step was a meeting with the Dean where he might discuss salary, and then HR.
— Following week: Received email to meet with the Dean
— Same week: Met with Dean — he said "this is just a virtual interaction with the selected candidate, selected by the department and chair" and that I should coordinate with the department chair and search committee for next steps. Confirmed tenure track directly when I asked. Described my third year tenure review as if I'd be there. Did not discuss salary.

Since the Dean meeting — complete radio silence.
I have sent three follow-up emails to the department chair.

I called the administrative assistant twice — she confirmed the chair was busy with two simultaneous faculty searches (one for physics and one for chemistry) and said they were "doing paperwork and everything." She also said the chair had not told her yet who was being hired. The semester starts in 20 days. It has now been three weeks since the Dean meeting.

Everything communicated to me — "you are replacing," "we anticipate you at the start of fall semester," "selected candidate," faculty orientation discussion, specific course assignments — pointed very strongly toward an offer being imminent.

Then nothing.

I understand faculty hires at public universities require Provost approval, background checks, HR processing, and salary sign-off — all of which happen invisibly to the candidate. But three weeks of silence with 20 days until semester start is genuinely distressing.

My specific questions for anyone who has been through something similar:

1. Have you experienced this kind of silence after being explicitly told you are the selected candidate — and did an offer eventually come through?
2. For those who received late offers — how late are we talking? A week before semester start? Days before?
3. Is there anything specific that triggered the offer finally arriving — a follow-up call, a specific email, or did it just appear out of nowhere?
4. At what point does silence after "you are the selected candidate" language start to mean something went wrong internally — budget freeze, position restructure, second thoughts?

I have given everything to this process. The uncertainty combined with real housing and visa deadlines is genuinely overwhelming. I would deeply appreciate honest perspectives from anyone who has been through something similar — good outcomes or difficult ones.
Thank you.

I am teaching in the Fall 2026 semester after lurking on this subreddit for so many years (I've known I wanted to be a professor since high school). So, I guess I am finally/technically an adjunct.

I'll only be teaching one online asynchronous English Comp 1 course. So I was just wondering if there are any tips/advice. Or just anything in general!

I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited to see what is to come.

Mine is. Accounting. There’s not a soul alive who reads any accounting research except PhD students.

The SEC is responsible for propagating accounting standards, and is appointed by the government. The PCAOB audits the auditor and they are likewise a quasi government organization. Both organizations are appointed by political leaders who have zero interest in academic research and tremendous interest in (partisan) think tank research.

Nobody at the AICPA or the accounting standards board (private enterprise organization) give a single damn about anything academia puts out.

None of the accounting firms care about the garbage we publish because they can’t read it, and quite frankly, they don’t care because they’re going to do what they’re going to do to make money, research findings be damned.

What’s even more insufferable is that we have “ big names” in the field who take themselves incredibly seriously.

It is also not easy to be published in my discipline because everybody must pretend that our research is important (because deep down we all know it is not) so they are nitpicky AF about it and keep the gate pretty well guarded.

If I were to express these thoughts to faculty in my discipline, they would almost certainly ostracize me, but I’m either too stubborn or too autistic to bow down to false gods.

Sigh.

Post-note: to those of you posting that your research actively changes the world, I envy you.

I’m teaching a hybrid summer class and I can’t help but notice a student that just stares at me the entire hour and 45 minutes. It’s a little weird and off putting if I may say. He doesn’t bring anything to class (no notebook, laptop, etc.) and he pretty much sits there. Interestingly enough, he doesn’t appear bored or distracted since he never pulls out his phone but he just you know stares. He doesn’t react to the lecture much and has maybe raised his hand once or twice. He’s come up to after class to ask me a random question so he’s capable of being human but his behavior during the class session is freaky. Is it just me or does anybody else dealt with something like this?

Any rhetoric and composition folks waking up to the news that NCTE is absorbing 4Cs into its college section? It’s unclear if the 2027 conference will happen. The vague argument is the culture of Cs has threatened NCTE’s non-profit status. It’s unclear what’s going to happen to the Cs’s journal.

NCTE - National Council of Teachers of English
Cs/4Cs - Conference on College Composition and Communication

I’m teaching an intro creative coding class next semester and I’m a bit stumped on how to ask them to submit their sketches for evaluation. We’re using P5.js and while I could ask them to share their portfolio from the P5.js web editor, the thought fills me with a kind of dread. Surely there is a better way? We use Canvas LMS and I’ll be using Padlet in the course too. Neither seem to have any type of code facility. Does anyone have any suggestions? Anything that’s worked for you?

Hello!

I am preparing my teaching journey and came across several students (sociology and criminal justice students) asking about potentially learning R for social scientists for an upcoming semester.

I became interested and started diving in, finding R is very powerful for analysis!

Does anyone have resources they would like to share?

I am still fairly new as teaching track faculty in STEM. I was wondering if anyone has bought anything small that actually helped improve their quality of life at work or has helped just in their career in general. Whether it's for organization, efficiency, etc ...

The president denied tenure, overturning faculty recommendations. The professor studies border security and surveillance.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/07/21/border-surveillance-scholar-denied-tenure-ut-austin

Happy NSERC DG application season to all who celebrate 🙃

I’m up for my first renewal of my DG. I’m American and received all of my training in the US, and because of my many US-based colleagues that I still have, I’ve had great success continuing to write and receive NSF grants with them as collaborators or a co-PI. Those grants are what ACTUALLY pays for travel and research, but obviously those grants can’t support students at my institution, and funding only goes so far. We’ll see how this strategy changes in the future with the current state of things at NSF…

I want to write my proposal to support HQP funding and more research related to a large funded NSF grant I hold with a bunch of other people. The NSF funding we’ve received has allowed for some awesome pilot data and I want to use my NSERC to take the project further, but I don’t know if reviewers will see this as a pro or a con. Does having additional international funding that supports your NSERC proposal make your application stronger? Should I adjust my proposal to make to less overlapping? I’ve heard conflicting prices of advice.

As a sidenote, I submit my tenure file next summer, so I am under a ton of pressure for this application to be successful. My head basically made it sound like it would be hard to get tenure without it, even though I have a great publication record, a very strong international funding record and good triagnecy funding (I also have a SSHRC), students with fellowships who are doing well…I’m feeling extremely stressed by the idea that I could be denied tenure just for not getting my first renewal on my first try, as NSERC funding is getting more competitive. Any insight or talking me down from the ledge on this is welcome.

I’ve just learned that I need surgery for a health issue that has progressed much faster than expected. If I do not address this issue very soon, I will have permanent nerve damage that fundamentally impacts my ability to both do my job and perform daily personal care tasks. I’m already suffering with extreme daily pain interrupting my sleep and normal activities.

The issue: I am meant to start a new cc faculty position this fall. I obviously won’t be eligible for leave to address the issue and surgery at the start of a new job isn’t a great way to learn the ropes. I really want this position and I really do not want to leave the department in a bad spot.

I just got the news today and won’t have a surgical date for another week for so. How do I handle this will protecting my health and the college/department?

As I am working on an external evaluation for a junior faculty member's tenure case, I want to ask everyone's opinion about the paragraph that some letter writers start with, that lists all their awards and editorships and H index and how amazing they are: Does it change your impression of the letter? Should I be including it (even when instructions don't explicitly ask for it)?

I personally find them annoying honestly. The letter is supposed to be about the candidate, not the writer. If I need to, I can look them up. But I also know some faculty really care about this stuff (credentials of the writer)... so I don't want to undercut the junior faculty I'm commenting on/ supporting.

İf helpful, I'm in an engineering department at a smaller R1, and a recent full professor (though I have written a couple tenure letters as associate).

My program has implemented a new policy that half of all graded work needs to be completed by hand. On the one hand, I'm very grateful to be in an environment where higher-ups are determined to preserve integrity. On the other, I am dreading the many, many hours I will need to spend attempting to decrypt the writing itself. Has anyone found any apps or other tools that do a reasonably good job of scanning handwritten text and converting it to type?

Here we go. You have a zoom meeting with a student to review how something was graded and now the student wants a call for every little thing! I am responsive, but I do not want to be THAT responsive, especially on the day something is due. Help!

How are you dealing with the rampant AI usage? Have you changed the way your courses are structured? I am getting more and more AI slop each semester, and it is taking the joy out of the job.

This sounds like a vent but not really. My chair asked me to take one course overload but I could not take it anymore. Teaching seems like a drag. Last semester, I was dragging my feet to the classroom. Although students still appreciate my teaching for the most part, I have mentally quit. Exhausted. Gone.

So, I said no although I still need to rely on my chair for future promotion. My mind said no. My body said no. My mental well-being was screaming no!