Well RES/722 started yesterday and I am disappointed with the faculty already. Bummer, I was really looking forward to this class.
Primarily I am concerned with the faculty member’s lack of attention to proper grammar. Here is an excerpt from the instructor bio (a prepared posting to introduce yourself to the class).
…Last month I took 17 days tour to Europe and visited eight countries. My favorite are Austria and Switzerland. Most of the Europe is old in comparison to US, the streets are narrow and buildings are tall and congested. It is only Austria and Switzerland that has scenic beauty, no pollution and very less population. …
This is only one example of several from the same post and other posts. It is a clear indicator that this professor has no attention to detail, rushes through without checking quality, has a substandard grasp on grammar, and exhibits a lower level of scholarship than is expected at the doctoral level.
I am disappointed that this faculty member is allowed to instruct at the doctoral level. Mind you most professors are high-quality and demonstrate a clear grasp on English language use, grammar, and scholarship. This is poor showing and very isolated.
It seems that I am not the only one that felt this instructor was substandard, here is an excerpt from a course review at Course Reviews.
His lectures were not easy to follow and while they did include examples, the examples did not correspond with the work that was assigned for the week. The bulk of my assignments did not receive feedback simply a numbered grade.
Perhaps most ironic is that other students in the class have glommed onto this instructor like he is the bearer of all things knowledge. Pathetic. It is the responsibility of the learner to own their learning. Why students continue to sit back and await knowledge without interaction is beyond my understanding.
Another example of this instructors mediocrity is the inconsistency in using uniform fonts and font sizes. In eLearning settings this is a critical component to ease of use. Using emphasis techniques is fine and expect, using 3 fonts and 4 font sizes in a post is distracting and detracting. Worse, this instructor doesn’t recognize this and when challenged offered that she has used a uniform font in all posts.
So what to do?
Fortunately, University of Phoenix is flexible and customer-oriented. I have a call into my Academic Counselor seeking another section of this course. Vote with your feet and your dollars. It is a simple customer service mantra and effective every time.
If I sat through this course, I know I would be angry and frustrated with the content and context. Moreover, I would be getting graded on the use of English by someone who writes such stellar examples as this one.
Are you doing to work on the topic your worked before for your dissertation?
Other Doc Blog posts about my RES/722 class adventure:
Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics
Disappointed
Happy
Fill Out This Survey…
Navigating the Schedule Change
August 30th, 2007 at 6:04 PM
[...] I blogged yesterday about my disappointment in my RES/722 instructor’s lack of quality and my expressed desire to bump classes. Today my Academic Counselor called me back and made way for me to enter a new class starting later this month. My preference was just to bump sections but that option is not available. [...]
August 30th, 2007 at 11:15 PM
[...] As a lecturer myself, maybe I should not be promoting Mike? However he really grabbed my attention with his post Disappointed. Mike has, a little (to say mildly), shot at poor grammar of one of his new lecturers. His belief was that this bad grammar indicated the person “has no attention to detail, rushes through without checking quality, has a substandard grasp on grammar, and exhibits a lower level of scholarship than is expected at the doctoral level”. [image by inju] [...]
September 13th, 2007 at 12:41 PM
[...] Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics Disappointed Happy Fill Out This Survey… Navigating the Schedule Change [...]