Campus Communicator Weblog

Friday, May 12, 2006

Instructors should be limited on conferences

This may seem a bit personal, but it affects others as well.

College instructors should be limited on the amount of conferences they are allowed to attend per semester.

Sure they pick up ideas, learn new techniques and learn about developments in the ever-changing world of education...but these conferences shouldn't interfere with the education of the students.I have heard students complain before about this problem, and recently I too have become victim to a wandering instructor...the same one I might add.

Nothing personal about the instructor, I think he/she is a great person. But by being gone -- what seems like every other week -- how is the instructor expected to instruct?

One thing I'm not clear on:
Is it the instructors' choice to attend so many conferences, or is the institution requiring professors to leave their students for a week...several times in one semester?

My soloution:
Limit instructors to one conference per semester.

The value of the information brought back cannot equal the success of a student trying to improve their own life.