r/AskProfessors

Hello! Unfortunately, I ended up missing the last day of one of my courses due to unexpected appendicitis. My professor was gracious enough to allow me to do my presentation and submit my paper later, but requested a hospitalization record. My MyChart account is frozen and I don't really have the energy to argue with IT about it or call/request a note from the surgery dept. I also misplaced my discharge paperwork (was not my best self under anesthesia 😅).
To make a bad week worse, I ended up in the ER again last night for something tangentially related but not caused by complications from the procedure. If I ask for a note that references my recent time in the ED (pre surgery consult) and/or my lack of post-procedure complications, do you think my professor will consider that sufficient for her records? Will she also still need records from the surgery department? I’m behind on work and really don't have time to call, plus I'm not really comfortable with anyone having access to any of my medical records.

TLDR: do you think a doctor’s note from a week after surgery that references my recent time in the ED will be sufficient for a note or will someone have to track down a separate note? Thank you for your help in advance!

I came across this post on Twitter, and it made me reflect on my requests/late submissions. This semester, for example, I sort of lacked in a class, and I understood the late submissions policy, which never incited me to request for an extension. Also... because I had a small fear that my professors would think I'm a bad student. Now, it's not a class I don't perform well in, in fact, my professor always seemed to enjoy reading my work. Towards the end of the semester, I finally decided to really take a look at my grades, and I figured I might as well attempt to make up for however many credits my professor would be willing to grant me. He said yes. So then, it has me thinking, what is the general consensus for professors granting extensions? Obviously, for serious matters, I believe more often than not, they are granted, but like in my case, would the professors rather the student at least attempt to request an extension, or should we just leave things be? I honestly would not have went for it, had he not shot a gentle dagger when bringing up grading to the class, but I just thought professors wouldn't usually tolerate requests if there wasn't anything seriously preventing the student from completing the assignment.

Never been a biology guy, but took a bio class this semester because it seemed interesting. My current grades are B+, B+, A- in the three preceeding exams. If I were to get an A, I would still be around the B+ range due to the awful curve in the class. Do you think it is reasonable/acceptable that I reach out to my prof & potentially request a grade bump? Is it possible maybe to go to my prof & ask "If I perform within this threshold, you will bump me to an A- because of upward trend + interest in the subject?"

For additional context, I don't come to class that often, but I'm doing a very time consuming internship concurrently with school + attendance not required & class is conducted in a large lecture hall. However I do maintain decent contact with this professor over email asking questions on the lecture (after I go over the slides on my own time).

Would appreciate all sincere honest input. Pursuing a career path that demands a strict GPA cut-off, but also do not want to be penalized for enrolling in a class due to pure interest

I have few questions as someone who is looking for career in academia (social sciences and psychology area).

What differently you did in your PhD to be competitive in postdoc and academia position?

How you manage work life balance - in grad school, postdoc and currently as a Professor.

How do you manage doing research, teaching, studying for classes in your PhD?

Any negative and positive aspects you view in academia I should know?

Thanks!!

Hi, I’m an electrical engineering student going into my 4th year and wanted to get some perspective from faculty on a situation I’m in.
I didn’t enroll in a required course (a lab) this semester that is only offered in the spring. Come to find out this course is a prerequisite for my senior seminar (only offered in fall) and senior design (only offered in spring.) Because of this, missing that one class pushes my graduation timeline back by a full year. By May 2027 I would have completed all my course work except that seminar and senior capstone.
From a faculty perspective Is there ever any flexibility in situations like this?
Would something like a seminar-type class ever be able to be ran concurrently with the lab?
Or is this just one of those it is what it is situations?

I’d appreciate any input.

Hello all,

This has been weighing on me for a while and I’m not sure how to deal with it. For context, I’m a transfer student. At my community college, classes were small and there was very little pressure to participate in discussions. I’m naturally very reserved. I prefer to do my work quietly and only ask questions after I’ve exhausted other resources. That worked well for me.

After transferring to a university, everything changed. I suddenly started feeling really lonely and inadequate, even though nothing else in my life had changed. A lot of my professors now require heavy class participation, or cold call and it’s caused me a lot of anxiety around school that I did not have before.

I’ve genuinely tried to push myself to be more involved. I even like some of my professors and want to engage, but when the moment comes, I just shut down. It’s like I can’t force myself to speak. Lately I’ve been feeling exhausted, jaded, and honestly kind of angry, and I don’t know what to do with those feelings.

I guess part of what I’m struggling with is understanding why participation is such a big deal in the first place? I learn better by listening and working things through on my own, so it’s hard to see why speaking up in class is treated as so important.

Is it gonna be impossible for me to get a good letter of recommendation? Do professors only see the more extroverted students as competent?

A lot of my professors have offered extra credit or sent multiple emails asking for students to complete course evaluations. I can't fathom the responses are helpful when students are bribed to fill them out, so I was wondering if there was some sort of incentive?

Hello! I am a college student who just submitted an essay on time by the April 30th deadline. My professor previously said we could revise and resubmit essays before that deadline.

However, there were some mixed messages about the timeline. In his announcement, he said Friday, April 30th, where the day and date don't align, and in a follow-up email on April 29th, he said the last day to submit work was tomorrow.

After reviewing my work more carefully (and getting tutoring, which my institution provides), I made revisions to improve my essay. I sent my revised version yesterday (May 1st) and politely asked if he would be willing to consider it before grading while acknowledging that I understand if it might not be possible.

From a professor's perspective, is this a reasonable request, and how likely is it that she will consider my revision?

Thank you!

,

Hi! I am a 25 year old transfer student at a community college who recently got accepted into a top California state school. I have some concerns over whether or not I should actually accept the admission and I'd appreciate some insight from professors who are willing to give their professional but very honest 2 cents.

TLDR at the bottom if you prefer.

To begin, my concern is that I am very excited about taking on this new opportunity but I am worried about setting myself up for failure by failing to properly account for my limitations. I have never been a "bad" student-- I am very passionate about my course of study-- but I have always struggled with issues related to Autism and ADHD that were not diagnosed until just recently. This partially why I had to leave school for so long, alongside housing insecurity, health issues, needing to take care of other family members with disability, and a couple encounters with natural disasters that caused me to withdraw from most my courses one semester. Events kept accumulating and I was so burnt out anyways that I decided my best option would be to try my hand at college once again when I turn 24/25 and become eligible to receive financial aid (parents always refused to give me their info which was required to submit the FAFSA app).

I eventually returned to community college and am currently holding a 4.0 GPA, with acceptances to schools I applied to (because it was free) but did not expect to receive (with mostly full-rides!). I thought I had my mind set on an online school like SNHU or an online CSU because it allows me to manage my conditions-- but the more I look into the in-person university that actually excites me to attend, the more I am getting pulled into accepting the admission.

I love to learn, I love collaborative environments, and I love being part of something bigger than myself-- which is why going back to school in-person excites me so much. But I have only gotten this far (this time around) because I minimized my life as much as possible to accommodate for my studies AND my symptoms, and though it has been kinda lonely, it is a privilege I have been able to do that.

Though I am motivated, I am worried I am underprepared. I did all my community college courses entirely online due to housing issues, financial issues, and my recently diagnosed PMDD and POTS, which both cause episodic symptoms that tend to wreak havoc on my life. I have yet to speak with my doctors about what accommodations would be appropriate but I have never asked for accommodations before and worry my conditions may not actually be eligible for accommodations as they're largely invisible.

I don't want to waste time explaining my conditions but they tend to make my performance very inconsistent and unpredictable. I am prone to fainting spells, have days where my brain fog is terrible and I legitimately cannot articulate my thoughts, experience intense fatigue that makes it impossible to leave the house, and I am worried because these are days I am entirely not myself and they occur for maybe a week or two every month.

If I do end up being eligible, I'd hope to ask for:

• extended time on exams/reduced distraction environment for exams
• ability to record lectures or receive note-taking support
• on-campus housing placement in the dorms closer to campus
• somewhat flexible attendance policies or the ability to attend class virtually for bad days

But I also think, if I "require" such extensive accommodations then shouldn't I acknowledge my limits and just accept an online university? Maybe I am being too eager and too greedy to take on an opportunity that just isn't fit for me. Am I just giving into the hype of the university?

At the same time, I just want to grow. I want to have real conversations in-person, actually have the chance to get to know my professors and experience the world... not just type another discussion post that gets lost in a sea of (possibly) AI-generated slop.

And my good days are also really good. I don't want to live a life where I can't challenge myself.

I'm trying to be very thorough about this decision because college is obviously not a cheap investment. I keep going back and forth because I just have not been out in the world for a consistent amount of time in quite a while. And I don't expect my professors or my university to accommodate me when I am a student who applied and expressed my own interest to attend.

I would just appreciate perspectives from professors because I am sure you all have your own experiences dealing with students, or perhaps being a student yourself, that can help inform my decision. I appreciate anything you are willing to share.

TLDR; non-traditional student transferring from community college contemplates acceptance to a competitive top-state school but considers chronic mental & physical conditions that affect schooling. Wonders if their proposed accommodations are reasonable/possible but questions if accepting their fate at an online school would be best, instead. Student feels kind of dumb and is not a "competitive" student by nature but is just really passionate and loves to learn. Would appreciate professors' perspectives.

I am not usually a horrible student. I passed through high school with low bs and some as. My first semester of college was great, I felt better than I ever had mentally and my grades were decent. When it got to second semester, I was waitlisted for a class that I had to take. It was a block class (one that's long and meets once a week) and I already had missed three before I got into it. This class is really hard and there's A TON of work in it. So, when I got into the class, I was crazy behind. Keeping up with that class among all my other classes got me even further behind. Second semester was just me trying to get caught up all the time. I had missing work in all my classes. I was bombing tests I usually would've done fine on. Eventually the stress and pressure really got to me. I got so depressed. I couldn't even open canvas or outlook because I didn't even want to know what was there. It wasn't for a lack of trying though, I went to the academic coach at my school weekly. I did multiple hours long assignments every day to get caught up. I went back to therapy and changed my meds. But, by the time I got around to feeling okay the damage had been done. Several classes I barely passed with a C and I got one A. If I didn't maintain a 3.0 I would lose my scholarship, however if you were close enough to fix it the next semester and had extenuating circumstances you would get an approved appeal. I genuinely thought I could get close enough to pull it off. When I talked to my history teacher today, she told me I couldn't turn in some super heavy assignments I hadn't done. So even if I aced the final paper I would not pass. I understood why she wouldn't let me turn them in. I don't even deserve to have the rules bent for me. This entire situation, while complicated, is my fault. With the F I will end with a cumulative GPA of 2.5. I'm going to have to appeal no matter what, I just don't know if I'd get the approval. How hard is it to come back from a failed class and low gpa? If you've had an appeal, what were the terms? I feel so embarrassed and terrified that my parents are going to find out. After researching internships for the summer, I saw that some of them want you to have a good gpa, which I clearly don't have. What do I do? Is it going to be okay?

This is my first semester as a TA in a class of about 700 students.

From one student I have received over 30 emails and replies about grade reconsideration. They are in a position where they currently sit just below a D and claims that failing this class means a delayed graduation and they cannot afford a delay. We have gotten an email from his advisor confirming this.

I have replied to every one saying how their grade reconsideration request is denied. And they have not stopped. Page long emails that are obviously
Al generated about every possible assignment point deduction.

I am honestly at my wits end with them. I'm honestly considering ignoring them. If that's even allowed haha.

Hi all-

I completed my doctorate May 2024, completed a year long post doc, and then started working outside of higher education settings. I loved teaching undergrads when I was in grad school. I have some flexibility in my schedule and want to pick up teaching a class or two as an adjunct. My area of expertise is in child development, special education and psychology (my PhD is in educational psychology with an emphasis in human development and learning; I also have a masters of teaching in special education, and a K-age 21 teaching license in special education, bilingual Spanish education and ESL). I live in Chicago so I know there are a lot of colleges around. I'm open to both in person and virtual teaching.

What's the best way to secure on of these positions. Should I reach out to departments directly or just look for postings on their careers sites?

Thanks!

I’m curious because a situation happened where my roommate had a 59.4% in a class and a 69.1% in another.

Instead of asking for free points he asked for reconsideration of a grade given on an assignment for both classes. And the class he had a 69.1% in, he got a grade reconsidered which got him a C.

The other was a class he needed to take and pass and he was denied. He went in person and told me that she is contractually obligated to not change a grade for a specific individual student. Because then she’d have to increase it for everyone (600 students)

I’m curious. Are professors under contract to not change a grade?

The exam is supposed to end at 3.15pm but our website allowed for open submissions till 4pm just so it could process all the student's papers. I handed in mine at 3.45pm. my friend who's also the class monitor informed us saying the exam department r still considering whether to fail those who pass up after 3.15. I just took this exam yesterday n now I've immediately emailed all my coordinators to inform bout this issue as that's all I can do rn. I'm rrly scared, is dis smth the exam department could give us leeway at least mark deductions instead of a fail😭

Update: I was allowed to turn it in! To answer a few questions before anyone assumes anything; final submissions end on May 1st. I was not pushing for my professor to accept my final when the term is over. I promise, I'm not that stupid. I was able to access the instructions and there was no mention of not accepting the late submission, plus no announcements (I check every announcement when they come out and rechecked when I realized I'd be better off taking the five point deduction over an unfinished paper.).

Hi! Sorry if this comes off as entitled.

We had the final paper due on the 27th. I realized I wasn't going to get it done by that point and checked the syllabus, which stated that the final can be turned in late with 5 points deducted every 24 hour period. It specifically stated the final paper. I figured I'd take the 5 point penalty and turn it in a few hours late. I checked to see if I could turn it in, but the submissions were closed. My professor though, had done this before with assignments and had opened up major assignments in the past if emailed.

I emailed her, including my essay to make sure she knew I wasn't lying about getting it done within the time period, since she would likely take a day to see the email. She emailed me back and said late submissions were not allowed. Would it be rude to push back for it? This is like 15% of my grade and I unfortunately have a B, so a 0 on the assignment can take a hit. I can't look back at the instructions because of the assignment being closed, but I don't remember it at all saying late submissions weren't allowed, nor her ever mentioning it in class or through announcements.

There was a professor I had just over two years ago now. She taught two undergraduate classes I was in and I loved her lectures! I still think about stories and advice she gave us to this day. Now that I’m starting my PhD in an adjacent field to hers, I want to thank her but the problem is — I literally never talked to her and never made enough of an impression for her to remember me. Yes I know I am so late I should’ve said something earlier :,)

Is it weird if I send an email just expressing my thanks briefly? Is it needed? It’s so strange knowing someone affected your academic journey in fairly large ways but they don’t even know you

Edit: I appreciate the answers! I have gone ahead and sent the email <3

Was promised coauthorship for 6 months, removed from paper 1 week before deadline after months of unpaid work. What are my options?

 

I've been working part-time as an unpaid volunteer contributor on a robotics research paper at a university in Boston since October 2025. The main author is a PhD student who I've known since undergrad, so I trusted him completely. At first he signaled that I would be a coauthor, and over time this became an explicit and repeated promise that he kept reaffirming until one week before the submission deadline.

 

Here is what I built over 6 months, entirely on my own laptop with no compensation:

 

• A full deployment framework on a real mobile manipulation robot including LiDAR navigation, SLAM mapping, custom keepout zones, camera integration, and autonomous object manipulation

• A simulation framework that another contributor is currently building on top of

• Multiple iterations of 3D designed and printed objects with ArUco tags for the manipulation experiments

• Full environment setup and optimization for navigation LiDAR

 

Three weeks before the deadline, the main author expanded the scope significantly — asking me to deploy a second robot, run his RL policy on the robot, and deploy a custom LLM agent for performance comparison. This was on top of everything I had already built. The main author himself admitted that not hitting the final milestone was his fault due to poor project management, not a failure of my work.

 

One week before the deadline he told me he was cutting the deployment and simulation section from the paper entirely, and therefore removing me as coauthor. He offered to put my name in the acknowledgements instead.

 

Here is why this matters so much to me: I am an international student on OPT with one year left in the US. I have been planning to apply for a NIW visa, which requires demonstrating significant contributions to my field. A coauthorship on a published paper would have been a concrete credential for that application. An acknowledgement carries no weight for NIW or robotics job applications. If he had told me at any point that coauthorship wasn't happening, I would have spent these 6 months on a different project or lab.

 

He is now promising to include me on his next paper in January, but I have no reason to trust that promise given he didn't keep the last one. He also wants me to continue working full time on the project over the summer.

 

The exclusion is purely an editorial decision about the paper's narrative, not a judgment on my contribution quality.

 

My questions:

 

1. Do I qualify for coauthorship based on these contributions, even if my section was cut from the final paper?

2. Is what happened here — being kept motivated with a coauthorship promise and then removed right before submission — an ethical violation in academic terms?

3. What are my options for resolving this before the paper submits in 6 days?

 

Any advice from people who have been in similar situations, or who understand academic authorship standards, would be really appreciated.

As in, repeated measures vs actually finding enough people?

I know this is a common topic, however, I am having difficulty with students using AI to complete assignments. I understand some students use it as a tool to improve the quality of the work. My main issue is that students are submitting assignment instructions into ChatGPT and downloading whatever document it spits out. Are you accounting for AI use in rubrics? I am trying to find a gentle way of having a student resubmit an assignment that uses obvious AI headers and formatting.

I'm starting a tenure track assistant professor position this fall in an engineering department at a midwestern R1. My wife also wants to go the TT route in a different field, though she's a year or so behind me in terms of her research career. We had originally planned to apply together in the upcoming cycle, but I was forced to apply early when my funding ran out due to the current research/political climate in the US.

During my interview, I was very up front with the department about my marital status and my wife's career goals. The department chair was understandably noncommittal (especially since the university doesn't have an official policy for dual career accommodations), but has gone to a lot of effort to make connections with departments/centers at the university which could be a good fit. She has a few meetings set up for our second visit with chairs and other faculty, including at least one where the admin assistant included "potential faculty hire" or similar in the calendar invite. I've been optimistic about her chances, but my wife has been trying to temper my optimism.

Does anyone here have experience with dual career hiring/accommodations they would be willing to share? Is it reasonable to be optimistic at this stage, all things considered?

Thanks in advance!