The Needy Student

[Morris Zapp]

Does anyone else have any advice for dealing with that one student you get every semester who e-mails you every day, sometimes twice, with inane questions and remarks. ("I noticed a typo in the syllabus and I just wanted to bring this to your attention . . . ")

I have one this semester who I"m dreading having in future classes.  I've had a couple over the years who don't seem to 'get the hint' that their behavior is inappropriate, despite trying all of the usual techniques --- short e-mail responses, instructions to visit the website or read the syllabus to get the information about the course assignment.

I can't for the life of me figure out exactly what it is that this semester's Neediest Student wants from all of the constant interaction.  It's that student who isn't actually in need of assistance to the point that you can refer them to counseling or something, and who does fine in the class, etc.  but they're just really needy and clingy.  I had one a few years ago with whom I was very direct ("Part of the point of graduate school is to learn to be self-reliant and to work on your own a bit -- choosing your sources, refining your research question, reaching out to fellow students . . . . ." ).  The student took everything I told her as a personal affront, and got very irate.  But how do you help a student to become more self-sufficient?
Any experiences, techniques, points of view that maybe I am missing?  Thanks.

[downer]

My initial approach would be to keep contact as minimal as possible and hope for the student to start to focus on someone else. If that does not work, then send a note out to the class on appropriate and inappropriate communications. If that does not work, consult with chair, counseling, and student support services.

[Cheerful]

[T]that one student you get every semester who e-mails you every day, sometimes twice, with inane questions and remarks. ("I noticed a typo in the syllabus and I just wanted to bring this to your attention . . . ")
...
I can't for the life of me figure out exactly what it is that this semester's Neediest Student wants from all of the constant interaction.
...
Any experiences, techniques, points of view that maybe I am missing?  Thanks.

Unless it's a serious matter about interpreting the syllabus from a serious student, I wouldn't respond to an email about a typo.  I also wouldn't spend my valuable time trying to identify or worry about Needy Student's personal issues.

I was once hyper-responsive to student emails, wanting to keep the inbox uncluttered.  I learned that the more quickly you reply to Needy Students, the faster they reply back with another "issue."  At the other extreme, some colleagues don't reply to any students for days or a week -- or at all, depending on the "issue." 

When you have identified a student as That Needy One, avoid being responsive on email unless it's a truly serious issue. 

[ciao_yall]

Does anyone else have any advice for dealing with that one student you get every semester who e-mails you every day, sometimes twice, with inane questions and remarks. ("I noticed a typo in the syllabus and I just wanted to bring this to your attention . . . ")

I have one this semester who I"m dreading having in future classes.  I've had a couple over the years who don't seem to 'get the hint' that their behavior is inappropriate, despite trying all of the usual techniques --- short e-mail responses, instructions to visit the website or read the syllabus to get the information about the course assignment.

I can't for the life of me figure out exactly what it is that this semester's Neediest Student wants from all of the constant interaction.  It's that student who isn't actually in need of assistance to the point that you can refer them to counseling or something, and who does fine in the class, etc.  but they're just really needy and clingy.  I had one a few years ago with whom I was very direct ("Part of the point of graduate school is to learn to be self-reliant and to work on your own a bit -- choosing your sources, refining your research question, reaching out to fellow students . . . . ." ).  The student took everything I told her as a personal affront, and got very irate.  But how do you help a student to become more self-sufficient?
Any experiences, techniques, points of view that maybe I am missing?  Thanks.

Be friendly and professional and efficient. And, redirecting like you did above is a good approach, even if they get a little miffed at first.

You are not their friend, their mommy, daddy, babysitter, intimate partner, enabler or otherwise. You are their professor. You have a role with boundaries. Continue to hold to those boundaries and they will get bored and try to find another victim, or hostage, as the case may be.

Patience and politeness and firmness are key.

[Morris Zapp]

My initial approach would be to keep contact as minimal as possible and hope for the student to start to focus on someone else. If that does not work, then send a note out to the class on appropriate and inappropriate communications. If that does not work, consult with chair, counseling, and student support services.

Thanks.  I'll try this if she appears next semester.  I like the idea of sending a communication to the whole class, rather than the one specific student.

[AvidReader]

As an adjunct, I can't imagine not replying. I state in my syllabus that I strive to respond to all emails within 24 weekday hours and tell my students verbally that I tend to check emails at 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. Many times, I reply much more promptly (for real issues). For non-urgent emails, I often write a very short reply (Dear Susan, Thank you for letting me know. I'll address this next semester! [or, I hope you feel better soon!] Best, Dr. Reader) but then save it as a draft until I'm closing in on the 24-hour mark. If the student emails again within the original window, I'll lump both responses into the same email to cut down on the back-and-forth.

AR.

[the-tenure-track-prof]

OP I can relate to your case and I feel the same way that this type of students can be rather annoying and clingy.
This past semester I have had a student who emailed me about every tiny detail even when I`ve made announcements to the class, she would send me an email asking me about what was already stated in the announcement. Because I am new I responded to her emails but as the semester progressed I`ve started to write much shorter emails. Like you, I hope that she will not enroll in my classes in the Spring semester. I agree with the comments that stated to remain professional, patient and remember that we are not their guardian, partner or therapist. I found that for emails that already have an answer in the syllabus or reflect mere "neediness" as you defined it, it is best to be ignored. As some said the student is likely to find another victim and do the same to another professor, staff or classmate.

[jerseyjay]

I experience this most frequently with online classes. Sometimes a student will email me in the middle of the semester to ask for a copy of the syllabus for the upcoming semester, and then ask me if edition of the textbook is still the same, then ask me a series of questions, often getting more and more marginal ("The syllabus says the midterm is due at midnight, but Blackboard says it is due at 11.59pm. Which is correct?").

I always thought it had something to do anxiety with the lack of control a student has over the material, and nervousness about taking an online course. I also treat it as a "canary in the coal mine"  and reflect on whether there is something that might be confusing or otherwise difficult. I may post a note on Blackboard addressing particular issues if I think there is something confusing.

Otherwise, I usually reply, progressively more terse, usually with just a "noted" or "thanks" by the end. If a student keeps asking lots of questions or emailing comments of this sort, I will encourage him or her to come to my office hours to talk about it. Almost none does.

So I find this student sometimes a pain, but not particularly too difficult.

Of course, if there is something deeper, and I think a student is unbalanced, stalking me, or something else, I would react differently.

[the-tenure-track-prof]

@ Jerseyjay: I was laughing when I read your comment about a student who emailed you asking the due time for an assignment and whether it is 11:59 or midnight because the same incident happened with me. It made me wonder if it is a low IQ issue or something else and I also concluded that the student might be suffering from some anxiety and can't stop obsessing about marginal details or can't distinguish between major and marginal detail.

Speaking of unbalanced students there are those too. I had one student with complex PTSD and borderline personality disorder in my class last semester. Complex PTSD is way worse than PTSD and it is usually a condition that developed causing people to be deeply imbalanced and have poor impulse control skills and poor emotional regulation skills. They are usually victims of sexual abuse during childhood. He was all over the place, he thought that pedophilia should be treated as a source of pleasure for adults and the evidence in his opinion was that some movements actually support that. He had no self-control, aggressive and every week he was someone else. I didn't know what to expect.