Campus Life

» sydneysydneysydn - What should I do if my professor is late?

This morning it was raining hard and I had to walk from the farthest away lot to class. I skipped breakfast top be sure I made it to class on time in the bad weather, which I thought would be a sign of respect for my professor.My professor, however, did not show up. The class waited and waited. After he was 10 minutes late, a few people left. At 15 minutes, the majority of us left. I felt as if this was the right thing to do. We have things to do, essays to write, exams to study for and he couldn't show us the respect of showing up on time. Should I have waited? I'm second guessing my decision to leave with the class. What is the proper ediquitte regarding late professors?

-- posted by sydneysydneysydn

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» Naomi Rockler-Gladen - What should I do if my professor is late?

In response to What should I do if my professor is late? posted by sydneysydneysydn:

You did the right thing. Many schools have a "15 minute rule," or similar policy, where the class is automatically considered cancelled if the professor doesn't arrive after a given amount of time. Even if you school doesn't have such a rule, it's reasonable to assume that after 15 minutes, you should be able to leave. When I was a professor, this happened to me once: I was on a bus to campus that broke down before my morning class, and the students left, which was the correct thing for them to do. It's entirely possible your professor had a kid with the flu or a car that wouldn't start or some problem that occurred too late for him to inform the students. But regardless, leaving class was not disrespectful.

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds