Academics Chat Thread Mark II

[SignsofSpring]

As the one who didn't look and then managed to close the last thread, I'm going to be the one to start this one! All thoughts, rants, ideas on being an academic especially in Covid-19 times are here...

Just popping in for a vent…

A couple of months ago I applied for a professional/industry fellowship. You do some lectures/events for them, they give you a fancy title, that sort of thing.

On Friday I received the letter saying (a) my application was unsuccessful but (b) I’m invited to come and do some lectures/events.

Unbelievable! No, you can’t have the title and recognition but please consider yourself honoured to do the work anyway. I’ve become a lot more forthright in the past few years and intend to give them some “feedback” on their proposal. Part of me also wonders whether they would have done the same to a male applicant.

Oh dear, @ghislaine. I’m guessing they’re not offering to pay you a fee, right? Still, turn them down if you don’t want to, but don’t forget it’s still a line to add under “Invited Lectures”on your CV.

There was no fee involved in any case, it’s the sheer cheek of expecting I would do the job for nothing! Too much weight is put on us to offer our time and expertise for nothing in exchange for a line on the cv.

Absolutely. Though I can see how the first option would be worthwhile, even without a fee.

Not quite as frustrating, but I’ve been invited to give a seminar as part of a series for which they’ve got funding. They then basically got me to pitch for it in a meeting, then asked for an abstract. Three weeks later I’m still waiting to hear what their plans are (or if they want me). Blooming cheek. I’m minded to bow out, if I can work out a polite formulation.

Name change for obvious reasons.

I'm doing some research into plagiarism in different academic disciplines - if any of you could consider passing on this study to your networks I'd be really grateful. I've got two surveys one for students (forms.office.com/r/15qEdcJWGL) and one for academics (forms.office.com/r/LUCFzKLG5Y).

Done for you. Online exams have opened up a whole new vista of plagiarism for us. I have students who are on their third resubmission and are still plagiarising. Our institution is too weak on plagiarism - there's always an excuse for the student and somehow the blame is laid at the academic's feet.

Thank you, I really appreciate it.

Has anyone seen the US series The Chair (on Netflix)? Putting aside the annoying campus drama cliches and caricatures of older academics, I found the swearing by the main character bizarre, or am I out of touch with how academics communicate nowadays? What did ring true for me though was the portrayal of the exploitation of TAs.

Yes, it was very reminiscent of my former dept. Full of old dinosaurs who don't know when to bow out gracefully. I really enjoyed it.

New job for me and I have been out in charge of boosting enrollment. Not a clue where to start. Any thoughts?

Lower entry requirements? Worked for us.

@KeflavikAirport

New job for me and I have been out in charge of boosting enrollment. Not a clue where to start. Any thoughts?

When you find out, let me know.

Good luck.

@KeflavikAirport

New job for me and I have been out in charge of boosting enrollment. Not a clue where to start. Any thoughts?

Good student ambassadors are worth their weight in gold - at my previous department there was quite an involved recruitment process, including all academics working to identify chatty, friendly students with a wide range of experiences, interests and backgrounds to point towards our admissions tutor, and then an interview process to gather a team of them, but it was worth the work. The number of candidates who really responded on visit days/open days to being able to speak to someone "like them" and find out why they liked the course was really notable in their feedback (which is why the range is so important - it can't be left to self-selection).

Oooh good tip, thanks.

We've done reasonably well in boosting numbers in the last few years. What has worked for us:
Marketing- is your online presence selling you on Instagram/Twitter? Student led content really good for this - we have student social media reps posting pics of typical activities and takeover days
Marketing- search engine optimisation. Does your course comes up on the first page if a prospective student Googles 'best degree in xxxxx'
Marketing- what is your USP compared to similar courses? Ours is nice campus, course structure and specific industry contacts so we make a lot of that in marketing materials and on open days/interviews.
Lower entry grades. We were much higher than others in the sector so changed to be more comparable. Interestingly the actual entry grades of new students have remained at the higher level.
Student ambassadors- agree finding the right ones absolutely worth their weight in gold. Worth spending time and money on this.
I always tell myself that whatever I've got wrong over the last few years at least I've got this right...

Thanks Ivy, that's useful. Some great ideas.

Does anyone work in a language department? I'm interested in the impact of Brexit. Feel free to PM me.