Professor for one year (week 40): How to drop out

With the Bologna process, teaching got a bit more structured than it was before: Students have to sign up for classes, they have to prove they learned something for each course, etc.  Even before Bologna, there were occasions when students had to sign up: There were always obligatory seminars with too few places, so you had to put your name on a list (on paper, of course) or be there one hour or more before it started to make sure you could attend this seminar.

Today, we've gotten rid of paper lists and we now have electronic tools where students can "book" classes -- everything has become very service-oriented.  However, there are different approaches on how and when to book a class.  In Basel and Zurich, booking starts some weeks before the beginning of the semester and ends two or three weeks after the first lesson.  It is thus possible for students to step back without any harm after attending a course for some weeks; but within four weeks into teaching, lecturers know who is a regular attendee and who will take part in the exam.  So from week 4 on, you can plan actual group work.

In Konstanz, students can attend classes without prior booking -- they have to sign up for the respective ILIAS course, though.  They have to sign up for the exam in the middle of the semester and can do so for two or three more weeks.  As an instructor, you only get to know who is interested in actually doing the exam when the semester is almost over!

Students have a lot of time deciding if they like your class or not.  Which is OK, but has a major drawback: I usually have some group work in my classes which are part of the exam.  So if one of the group members decides to not to be interested in this class anymore, the group is shrinking or even reduced to one student.  Which makes no sense and we then need to find other solutions for the left over group members.

What is even more annoying:  Students often drop out without sending a note to their colleagues or to me.  So for some weeks nobody knows whether someone is sick or has left the class.

Most universities also have introduced compulsory attendance, which is a bit strange when you consider that students are grown-ups with a certain interest in the subject.  However, you have to count heads every lesson and make sure everyone who should be there actually is there.  Students are allowed to skip up to two lessons (out of 14 or 15) without any negative consequences -- if they are seriously sick or have other duties (going to the WK [annual refresher course of the Swiss Army] or participating in an excursion) negotiations will start.  However, I always tell students to drop me a short note when they cannot attend a lesson -- it may have an impact on what we do in class.  Most of the students send me an e-mail or tell me in person if they cannot come the next week for whatever reason.  So this works quite well.

However, some students don't tell you when they cannot show up for the next lesson and they also don't tell if they decided to drop out.  In small institutes with only a few instructors and classes each semester, you always see those students again.  And it's a bit awkward attending one class but having skipped the other one.  At least I would feel a bit awkward, but when I ask students if they had been sick the other day in the other class, I sometimes hear: "Oh, I've decided to drop out, it's too much, I wanted to tell you, really!  And, it's not about you, really!"

Maybe I have to change my attitude and see myself as a service provider, not a mentor:  Attending a class or not is not about the subject or the instructor, it's just about balancing costs and benefits.  And when there's no "contract," there are no commitments, you just leave.

Professor for one year (week 31): Supervising students

Currently, I supervise three students as "first supervisor;" last term, I was the "second supervisor" for three students.  Two students write their BA thesis and one student writes her MA thesis.  I won't report on their topics, but on the supervision as such.  As second supervisor, I only have to read and grade the thesis, as first supervisor, I'm responsible for a good topic and I'm the person students contact for help.

Actually, I don't differentiate whether I supervise BA or MA theses or term papers -- there are only gradual differences with respect to the amount of time to invest, the number of words or pages to produce, and the kind of topic.  At all levels, I expect students to come up with a proposal first; they should define themselves which topic they work on for the next few weeks (or months in case of MA theses).  We discuss the proposal and then they have to write a one-page abstract defining their research question, what kind of material to use or to produce, and they also should list first literature references.  I don't expect them to read 24/7, but they should investigate relevant literature for their topic.  Then we discuss this abstract and refine the research question.  I also point them to unmentioned papers or journals and book series they should consider consulting.  And then I send them off to work.

Usually, there is a fixed date for handing in the thesis or the seminar paper.  When half of the time is over, I invite the students for another meeting.  A few days before, they send me everything they have produced so far.  At this point in the process, it's time to have a look at the structure of the text, even if some sections are still to be written.  The list of references they want to cite should be nearly complete.  This appointment forces them to actually write something and not spend time procrastinating.  There is a strong correlation: Students with little and/or poor text half way through their paper, usually hand in poor final versions.  They underestimate the time needed for revising, editing, and printing (university regulations often require printed theses).

Sometimes, students see those two appointments (preparing a proposal and discussing it, and sending mid-way material and discussing it) as some kind of cruelty.  However, it helps them a lot in focusing on their topic, developing critical thinking, and producing high-quality texts.  After grading their work, students can also make an appointment to get detailed feedback.  

When I teach seminars where several students write a paper, I often make some of these appointments a group activity:  students report on their research question in the first session, we discuss how to define a good hypothesis and how and where to find relevant literature.  In the half-time session, students report on their progress and the group comments on whether to refine (expand or narrow) the research question or their ambitions.  That's also a perfect opportunity to realize that all the others also struggle a bit, didn't manage to write as much text as they expected, etc.

Interestingly, the Department of Linguistics at the University of Konstanz recently developed a checklist for BA students:  they should reflect on the competencies required to write a thesis (including writing competencies) and they should prepare a one-page abstract before looking for a supervisor.  The checklist is intended to help students define a topic and become aware of all the skills involved when writing a thesis, and the filled-out list should inform potential supervisors about the students.  As for me, I don't need this list, its elements are part of my supervision style anyway.  However, preparing such a checklist is a sign for aiming at a somewhat more homogeneous supervision for all students, but you could also see it as an indication that not all potential supervisors have a real interest in mentoring students.

What's your supervision style?