Covid-19 Response: Evidence of How Higher Ed Can Be Completely Restructured?

[apl68]

Nobody has actually created anything superior to a phone call if you want to get someone's full attention at a certain time without planning the interaction beforehand.

I agree, but that's also the reason why I have no issue with the university removing my office phone, because the only people who I want to have access to such a direct means of communicating with me already have my cell phone number.

Sure, me too. But that's mostly reflective of the kind of jobs we have. People with administrative jobs where lots of time sensitive things are being tossed at them by different people are probably more likely to think that, in some circumstances, a quick phone call is a much easier way to sort out some problem than sending a series of emails back and forth.

That's certainly what I find in my administrative work.  Even though I prefer e-mails where those would work well enough.

[mleok]

Nobody has actually created anything superior to a phone call if you want to get someone's full attention at a certain time without planning the interaction beforehand.

I agree, but that's also the reason why I have no issue with the university removing my office phone, because the only people who I want to have access to such a direct means of communicating with me already have my cell phone number.

Really? I almost never answer my phone unless I know the person calling and want to talk to them. Otherwise, it goes to voicemail. Which I often don't check for a while. Email generally works better.

The only calls I answer on my cell phone are from people who are on my contact list. I certainly don't like receiving calls from random people, and the only time I do is in my office, because there's no easy way to mute the phone or have it divert automatically to voice mail.

[mleok]

Nobody has actually created anything superior to a phone call if you want to get someone's full attention at a certain time without planning the interaction beforehand.

I agree, but that's also the reason why I have no issue with the university removing my office phone, because the only people who I want to have access to such a direct means of communicating with me already have my cell phone number.

Sure, me too. But that's mostly reflective of the kind of jobs we have. People with administrative jobs where lots of time sensitive things are being tossed at them by different people are probably more likely to think that, in some circumstances, a quick phone call is a much easier way to sort out some problem than sending a series of emails back and forth.

Definitely, when I need to quickly resolve an urgent issue with my grant manager for a proposal submission, I talk to him on the phone.

[Caracal]

Nobody has actually created anything superior to a phone call if you want to get someone's full attention at a certain time without planning the interaction beforehand.

I agree, but that's also the reason why I have no issue with the university removing my office phone, because the only people who I want to have access to such a direct means of communicating with me already have my cell phone number.

Sure, me too. But that's mostly reflective of the kind of jobs we have. People with administrative jobs where lots of time sensitive things are being tossed at them by different people are probably more likely to think that, in some circumstances, a quick phone call is a much easier way to sort out some problem than sending a series of emails back and forth.

Definitely, when I need to quickly resolve an urgent issue with my grant manager for a proposal submission, I talk to him on the phone.

This discussion has made me realize the same thing is true of some discussions with students. Not that I want them to call me on my cell phone or I want to call them out of the blue, but there are times when email is a really terrible form of communication. Grade discussions with students over email are a nightmare, for example. If students keep arguing after I've explained why the grade is what it is, it can stretch over a whole day with multiple angry messages coming into my inbox and putting me in a terrible mood. I try to cut the discussion off at some point, but some students keep bringing up additional supposed issues, I feel I should address, lest they accuse me of ignoring them.

In person, it's still not a fun conversation, but the student can say their peace, I can listen and respond and the whole thing has an ending point. It's also harder for most people to be as unpleasant as they can be in an email. I need to remember this if I get any complainers at the end of this semester. Zoom doesn't replace phone calls, but it is a good alternative to a meeting in person when I'm not going to be on campus.

[marshwiggle]

This discussion has made me realize the same thing is true of some discussions with students. Not that I want them to call me on my cell phone or I want to call them out of the blue, but there are times when email is a really terrible form of communication. Grade discussions with students over email are a nightmare, for example. If students keep arguing after I've explained why the grade is what it is, it can stretch over a whole day with multiple angry messages coming into my inbox and putting me in a terrible mood. I try to cut the discussion off at some point, but some students keep bringing up additional supposed issues, I feel I should address, lest they accuse me of ignoring them.

In person, it's still not a fun conversation, but the student can say their peace, I can listen and respond and the whole thing has an ending point. It's also harder for most people to be as unpleasant as they can be in an email. I need to remember this if I get any complainers at the end of this semester.

I'm the reverse of this. I'd rather keep things like grade discussions on email so I can think before responding. Having to react in real time to all of that hostility is too stressful.

[dr_codex]

Adding to the chorus of those who find phone calls preferable for many kinds of conversation. I'm a pretty careful emailer, so it eats up a lot of my time. Also, some conversations aren't ideal for permanent archiving.

I rarely use my office phone, but I find the feature that voicemails are converted to audio files and sent to my email very helpful. It means that I never have to check my voicemail.

[mamselle]

Nobody has actually created anything superior to a phone call if you want to get someone's full attention at a certain time without planning the interaction beforehand.

I agree, but that's also the reason why I have no issue with the university removing my office phone, because the only people who I want to have access to such a direct means of communicating with me already have my cell phone number.

Sure, me too. But that's mostly reflective of the kind of jobs we have. People with administrative jobs where lots of time sensitive things are being tossed at them by different people are probably more likely to think that, in some circumstances, a quick phone call is a much easier way to sort out some problem than sending a series of emails back and forth.

Definitely, when I need to quickly resolve an urgent issue with my grant manager for a proposal submission, I talk to him on the phone.

This discussion has made me realize the same thing is true of some discussions with students. Not that I want them to call me on my cell phone or I want to call them out of the blue, but there are times when email is a really terrible form of communication. Grade discussions with students over email are a nightmare, for example. If students keep arguing after I've explained why the grade is what it is, it can stretch over a whole day with multiple angry messages coming into my inbox and putting me in a terrible mood. I try to cut the discussion off at some point, but some students keep bringing up additional supposed issues, I feel I should address, lest they accuse me of ignoring them.

In person, it's still not a fun conversation, but the student can say their peace, I can listen and respond and the whole thing has an ending point. It's also harder for most people to be as unpleasant as they can be in an email. I need to remember this if I get any complainers at the end of this semester. Zoom doesn't replace phone calls, but it is a good alternative to a meeting in person when I'm not going to be on campus.

It's useful to have email documentation, though...might be worth the pain to know you can prove to anyone above you how painful it really was...

M.

[Hibush]

In person, it's still not a fun conversation, but the student can say their peace, I can listen and respond and the whole thing has an ending point. It's also harder for most people to be as unpleasant as they can be in an email. I need to remember this if I get any complainers at the end of this semester.

I'm the reverse of this. I'd rather keep things like grade discussions on email so I can think before responding. Having to react in real time to all of that hostility is too stressful.

If the student's underlying need is to be listened to, and to be heard, then email is not effective and can even be counterproductive. It is really difficult to figure out if that is the case from the initial email.

[downer]

If the student's underlying need is to be listened to, and to be heard, then email is not effective and can even be counterproductive. It is really difficult to figure out if that is the case from the initial email.

If their need is to be listened to, they should call home. Not my job. I'm happy to give them info and sort out course problems.

[Caracal]

If the student's underlying need is to be listened to, and to be heard, then email is not effective and can even be counterproductive. It is really difficult to figure out if that is the case from the initial email.

If their need is to be listened to, they should call home. Not my job. I'm happy to give them info and sort out course problems.

Think of it like effective management. The student thinks they are being treated unfairly or that some mistake has been made. Obviously there's a power imbalance. The instructors job isn't to make everyone happy with their grade. However, it is their job to listen to the student's complaints and give them fair consideration. (Most student complaints are ridiculous, so that doesn't involve too much work) However, I'd argue that its also the instructors job to give the impression to students that they are doing these things. Certainly, if you can convince students that you grade fairly and listen carefully to their concerns, you'll make your life easier.

I'm always amazed when people brag about how many unsuccessful student grade appeals they have had. It would be like a manager at a company bragging about how often their employee's complaints are rejected by HR. Ok, but unless something particularly weird is going on, it isn't good if everyone feels so angry and mistreated all the time that they are constantly making use of formal appeal processes.

[marshwiggle]

In person, it's still not a fun conversation, but the student can say their peace, I can listen and respond and the whole thing has an ending point. It's also harder for most people to be as unpleasant as they can be in an email. I need to remember this if I get any complainers at the end of this semester.

I'm the reverse of this. I'd rather keep things like grade discussions on email so I can think before responding. Having to react in real time to all of that hostility is too stressful.

If the student's underlying need is to be listened to, and to be heard, then email is not effective and can even be counterproductive. It is really difficult to figure out if that is the case from the initial email.

As Mamselle says above, it's good to have it documented in case the student insists on pushing the matter. If there's some sort of grade appeal, I want a very clear record of what I said (and, in principle, what I didn't say).

[downer]

Maybe it depends on the student population. I find that making the student write out their worry about a grade helps them to articulate what they mean. I've can't remember a case where that sort of issue was not effectively sorted out by email.

If a student is having personal problems such as conflicts with family, and the student can't meet personally, then maybe a phone convo would be appropriate.  I know some faculty do act as someone for the student to talk to. But these days, I don't want to take on that role.

[marshwiggle]

Maybe it depends on the student population. I find that making the student write out their worry about a grade helps them to articulate what they mean. I've can't remember a case where that sort of issue was not effectively sorted out by email.

If a student is having personal problems such as conflicts with family, and the student can't meet personally, then maybe a phone convo would be appropriate.  I know some faculty do act as someone for the student to talk to. But these days, I don't want to take on that role.

And that's way above my pay grade in terms of expertise. The counselling centre exists for a reason; students who are having personal issues serious enough that it impacts their studies need to talk to someone trained  to help them.

[Caracal]

In person, it's still not a fun conversation, but the student can say their peace, I can listen and respond and the whole thing has an ending point. It's also harder for most people to be as unpleasant as they can be in an email. I need to remember this if I get any complainers at the end of this semester.

I'm the reverse of this. I'd rather keep things like grade discussions on email so I can think before responding. Having to react in real time to all of that hostility is too stressful.

If the student's underlying need is to be listened to, and to be heard, then email is not effective and can even be counterproductive. It is really difficult to figure out if that is the case from the initial email.

As Mamselle says above, it's good to have it documented in case the student insists on pushing the matter. If there's some sort of grade appeal, I want a very clear record of what I said (and, in principle, what I didn't say).

Well, in general, I would be inclined to respond to the student's initial email with a short response where I tell the student that if they have any more concerns we could go over them in a meeting. So, there would be plenty of documentation. Besides, if you extended this argument, you'd just refuse to discuss grades with students in any format other than email, which would be an odd policy. Besides, how relevant is my explanation of the grade going to be in any appeal?

If a student seems particularly aggrieved or if they seem to be accusing me of bias of some sort, I might be more careful and write a memo after the meeting. If it's a zoom meeting, of course, you can just record it.

[spork]

Pandemic may have permanently altered campus:

https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-pandemic-may-have-permanently-altered-campuses-heres-how.

(paywalled)

New York community college wants to unload empty dorms to pay off debt from construction of dorms that are now empty:

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/04/23/new-york-community-college-seeks-sell-dorms.

Dependence on auxiliary revenue is not a good thing.