The Imp of the Perverse.
So far, my day has been spent nagging our illustrious faculty because out of 100 of them, only about FIVE are ever on time with anything, or understand what "Deadline" means. I just don't understand it. They've been here for years, they know the procedures, and yet...and yet, some of them - EVERY TIME A STUDENT SUBMITS A QUALIFYING PAPER OR THESIS - are late with their comments and ratings, and unresponsive to my nagging until I go bitching to the dean to bug them for me.
Remember that Seinfeld episode where he goes on a rant about reservations at the car rental agency? That's what I feel like. It's a DEADLINE, people. A specific time by which you should have read and responded to something. It's not some vague, airy fairy, oh-sometime-this-semester-doesn't-really-matter-we're-
all-timeless- hippies thing. These students are trying to graduate - and every time you take an entire semester to reply to something, that's an EXTRA semester past their progress timeline, that they have to register, pay tuition, and try to get back on schedule. Should any of my illustrious faculty friends be reading this, you know an entire semester is kind of an exaggeration, but some of you HAVE dropped the ball pretty seriously, and for longer than a month or two...and it ADDS UP.
Don't get me wrong, some students are pretty lackadaisical about the getting of things done. (I love gerunds, don't you?) But where are they learning that deadlines don't really mean anything? From their advisors. So I don't care how bloody busy you are, just do the right thing and put the students first. It's only your JOB.
Jesus CHRIST.
posted by Andraste at 2:43 PM
4 Comments:
I feel you on this. Sometimes I feel like the bulk of my job is spent chasing people up on things they said they'd do. There's always some excuse, but I've gotten to the stage where I don't even listen; if the deadline's Friday, and you haven't sent me your shit, it will just get escalated straight to your manager. Let them sort it out. I have work to do.
I'm working on something right this minute that has a deadline, and trust me, it makes me sweat and dream about it and...well it's taking over my life at the moment, so YEA! I'm with you on this.
Andraste, Suggest to the dean that he introduce a penalty charge for every day after the deadline, on an upwards sliding scale, starting at say $5 for the first day, £10 for the second and so on, payable to the dean's favourite charity. It's amazing how cash focuses peoples minds. Suddenly, the deadlines will be met.
I KNOW! I've never missed a deadline in my life. I was raised to do what I said I'd do, and deliver it on time. I've never even asked for an extension on a paper for a class or anything like that. Well, once, when I owed the IRS more than I make, I set up a payment plan...but I was on time with the payments, dammit. And it took YEARS.
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