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Just because you are taking online courses, it might seem
that your professors aren’t holding you to the same
academic standards or principles of those found in the classroom.
You might not get that feeling of intimidation or inferiority
since you don’t see these people on a regular basis
or ever meet them or her face to face. However, this doesn’t
mean that your professor is any less important to your academic
success. Whether you agree with it or not, in the classroom
or over the internet, it’s a good idea to treat professors
with respect and dignity and as a superior rather than a
“peer” or “equal” unless they request
otherwise. It is also important to remember the phrase,
“familiarity breeds contempt,” when it comes
to dealing with your professors. Here are a few tips to
avoid being the contemptible portion of that phrase.
A PROFESSOR ISN'T YOUR FRIEND
No matter how “cool” your professor seems, remember,
he is still the one who gives you your grade. He is there
to do a job, and similar to the workplace, you could consider
him your boss. Don’t treat a professor like your friend
because he’s not -- he’s your professor.
DON'T ASSUME A SUPERIOR ATTITUDE
Just because your tuition goes to pay a portion of the professor’s
paycheck doesn’t mean you own and control him. Taking
a haughty, holier than thou type attitude will likely place
you high on the professor’s “avoid at all costs”
list.
CONSIDER YOUR WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
This is a big one to watch out for among many online students.
When you are dealing with academia, no matter how many miles
removed by the internet, you should remember to keep your
communications professional. Just as in the workplace, it’s
important to use proper grammar, not make flippant remarks,
and refrain from jargon not familiar to all. Words don’t
always convey emotion the way you want them to when read
by someone else, therefore try to keep your emails, texts,
or whatever, short, sweet, polite, and too the point.
KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL
While it might seem like common sense, dirty or profane
emails, pictures, limericks, etc. sent to a professor is
typically a big no-no. It is often best to avoid using school
email or distribution lists for such items as well, since
you don’t know who is viewing them or where they’ll
end up. Just because your professor seems to have a great
sense of humor and may even send you an inappropriate email,
doesn’t mean you should do the same.
AVOID SILLY OR UNREASONABLE REQUESTS
Remember, you are the student here. If anyone is making
requests, it should be the professor. Unless you’ve
had a family emergency, severe illness or similar unavoidable
emergency, you should probably try to avoid making special
requests that will put the professor in a bind and make
it appear as if you are receiving preferential treatment.
YOU AREN'T THEIR ONLY STUDENT
At times, since we aren’t sitting in a classroom surrounded
by our fellow students, we tend to forget that professors
may have dozens of other students with whom they deal each
day. Therefore, unless invited to do so, you may want to
keep your nonessential questions, comments, concerns, and
other communications to a minimum. The professor will appreciate
it.
READ, UNDERSTAND AND ABIDE BY THE
SYLLABUS
Remember that thing you get at the beginning of each course
laying out many of the goals, expectations, important project
and test dates, etc., regarding the class and coursework?
It’s called a syllabus, and in most cases, it is the
bible for your particular class or coursework. The professor
often devotes a large amount of time to creating this document
and it is highly agitating to them when you ask questions
that could be found within the syllabus. By doing this,
it tells the professor two things, first that you never
read the syllabus, and second, that your time is more valuable
than his is.
DON'T MAKE UNREASONABLE ASSUMPTIONS
Not all professors have the same standards and rules regarding
how they treat various situations. Just because you had
a professor that once allowed you to attend class at your
leisure or take every Wednesday session off for work, it
doesn’t mean you current professor will.
BE WARY OF USING PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
TO JUSTIFY YOUR ACTIONS
As a side note to the previous point regarding assumptions,
it probably won’t help your case telling a professor,
“Well, my last professor let me do it!” If anything,
such a comment will only anger the professor and make his
stance on the issue even more steadfast.
DON'T STALK YOUR PROFESSOR
Unless your professor has openly invited you to become their
friend on Facebook or MySpace or has given you their personal
email, don’t stalk him by way of the internet. Cyberstalking
can be just as disturbing at stalking someone in person
and your professor most likely won’t appreciate your
overly enthusiastic interest in his personal life. This
is probably not the way to find yourself in the professor’s
good graces, and more than likely, it will make him want
to avoid communicating with you at all.
If you'd like to pursue an education at an online college,
take a look at all the schools that offer an Online
Degree
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