Campus Life

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

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.