Meeting Professors

You may be totally intimidated by your professors, or you may be eager to meet them but not know what to do first. It's important to remember, however, that most professors are professors because they like teaching and interacting with college students. Talking with your professors outside of the lecture hall just may be one of the most rewarding aspects of your college career.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: Minimum

Here's How:

1. Go to class -- every day.

   Many students underestimate the importance of this. True, in a lecture hall of 500 students, your professor may not notice if you're not there. But if you are, your face will become familiar if you can make yourself noticed a bit.

2. Turn your assignments in on time.

   You don't want your professor to notice you because you're always asking for extensions and turning things in late. True, he or she will get to know you, but probably not in the way you want.

3. Ask questions and engage in discussion in class.

   This can be an easy way to have your professor get to know your voice, face, and name. Of course, only ask questions if you have a legitimate question (versus asking one just for the sake of asking) and contribute if you have something to say. Chances are, however, that you have plenty to add to a class and can use that to your advantage.

4. Go to your professor's office hours.

   Stop in to ask for help with your homework. Stop in to ask for advice on your research paper. Stop in to ask your professor's opinion about some of the research he is doing, or on the book she's talked about writing. Stop in to invite him or her to your poetry slam next week. But try to stop in!

5. Go to an event where your professor is speaking, or to a meeting for a club or organization your professor advises.

   Your professor is most likely involved in things on campus other than just your class. Go hear him or her lecture and stay afterward to ask a question or thank them for the speech.

6. Ask to sit in on another of your professor's classes.

   If you're trying to get to know your professor -- for a research opportunity, for advice, or just because he or she seems really engaging -- you most likely are interested in similar things. If they teach other classes that you might want to take, ask your professor if you can sit in on one of them this semester. It will indicate your interest in the field; additionally, it will undoubtedly lead to a conversation about why you're interested in the class, what your academic goals are while you're at school, and what interested you in the topic in the first place.

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Bad College Professors

Perhaps the best way to kill the excitement of a new semester is realizing that one of your professors is not quite what you were hoping for. In fact, he or she might be downright bad. With so many other things to manage -- not to mention a class to pass! -- knowing what to do when you have a bad college professor can sometimes seem overwhelming.

Luckily, even if you're totally stuck with Prof. How-Did-He-Get-This-Job, you still have some options for working around the situation.

See if you still have time to switch classes. If you realize your situation early enough, you may have time to switch to another class or even postpone this class until a later semester (when a different professor takes it over). Check with the campus registrar's office about the add/drop deadline and what other classes might be open.

If you can't switch professors, see if you can just sit in on another lecture section. While this only works for large lecture classes, you might be able to attend a different professor's lectures as long as you still go to your particular discussion sections/seminar. Many classes have the same daily reading and assignments, regardless of who the professor is. See if someone else's lecture or teaching style better matches with your own.

Get help from other students. Chances are you're not alone in struggling with your professor. Check in with other students and see how you can help each other out: meetings after classes? study groups? sharing notes? helping to read each other's papers or lab drafts?

Get a tutor. Bad professors often can lead to bad grades. If you find yourself struggling, get a tutor as soon as possible. And don't be shy about it, either -- would you feel worse asking for help now or possibly failing (and having to retake the class) again later? Check with a tutoring center, your residence hall staff, or any upperclass students about how to find a tutor as soon as possible.

Remember that you have the option of dropping the class -- by the deadline. Sometimes, no matter what you do, you can't make it work with a bad professor. If you need to drop the class, make sure you do so by the appropriate deadline. The last thing you need is a bad grade on your transcript on top of the bad experience.

If something serious is going on, speak to someone. There are bad professors that don't teach well, and then there are unfortunately bad professors who say offensive things in a classroom or who treat different kinds of students differently. If you think this is going on, talk to someone as soon as possible. Reach out to your adviser, your RA, other faculty members, the chair of the department, or even the dean or provost to bring the situation to someone's attention.

Take a moment to see how you can change your own approach to the situation. Are you stuck with a professor who you always disagree with? Turn those in-class debates into a well-researched argument paper for your next assignment. Do you think your professor has no idea what he or she is talking about? Show your mastery of the material by turning in a stellar lab report or research paper. Figuring out what you can do, no matter how minor, in dealing with a bad professor is a great way to at least feel like you have some control over the situation!

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