Comments on: Dear College Professor: Stop Wasting Our Time and Give Your Students a Meaningful Assignment

By: Professor in Training

Professor in Training — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 01:29:38 +0000

Thank you for this wonderful idea! I am in process of planning a graduate course on marketing/PR and will integrate this into student assignments.

By: Arik Hanson

Arik Hanson — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 01:19:00 +0000

LOVE the idea, Anne! I, too, have received all sorts of inquires like this. Never really thought of an alternative assignment, but I love your idea!

By: Jason Keller

Jason Keller — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 19:26:48 +0000

I did this assignment as a student a few years ago, and it was incredibly useful to me. Most college students have a non-existent professional network, so meeting someone within the field is an excellent first step. I also gained a ton of insight from the people I chatted with.

For our project, it was more of a coffee meeting and students brought a voice recorder to document what the professional said, so there was no work needed to be done by the professional.

Through that project, I gained a mentor, and I also worked my ass off for that mentor as they gave me an internship.

While I understand that these meetings can be a burden, I just want to remind you that they can be mutually beneficial. And if you’re too busy, (well first off, that’s a shame you can’t find the time to help out)you can always decline the student’s invitation.

By: Abbie S. Fink

Abbie S. Fink — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:26:36 +0000

I have begun to grow weary of these assignments as well. Case in point — last week, I had three voice messages…from the same student. She clearly did not realize she was dialing hoping for a response, paying very little attention to the person she was trying to connect with.

Love your idea and I just might share this post with a couple professors that I know that run the PR programs.

By: David Landis

David Landis — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:20:23 +0000

Anne, I love the assignment you created above and the next time I get one of these requests (which now alarmingly happen about once or twice a week), that will be my response. Cheers, David Landis, LCI, San Francisco P.S. Besides running a PR agency in San Francisco, I have also taught Public Relations in the MBA program at Golden Gate University. And I Never – repeat Never – made a generic assignment like your inquiry. What we did do is ask students to find a business in need of PR, interview the business owner and put together a strategic communications plan that would help them grow their business. That kind of assignment actually teaches both the student and the business owner about the value of PR.

By: Scott Hanson, APR, Fellow PRSA

Scott Hanson, APR, Fellow PRSA — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:33:14 +0000

I must admit to having the answers to the standard questions saved in an e-mail so I can readily complete the students’ work. I love your idea. Truly a full-semester project.

By: Joel Faltermayer

Joel Faltermayer — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:09:51 +0000

Anne,

Though I personally agree that these issues serve no positive role in student development, I am happy to say that I was never required to fulfill such a requirement for a liberal arts program. That being said, I think much of this issue stems from university students’ lack of familiarity with e-mail “etiquette” (or social media, for that matter).

It would be nice to see university programs in any area of studies treat the rudiments of communication as an integral skill which every student must learn, rather than assuming that they will “catch-on” to the habits of their adjuncts and professors. Much in the same way that studies in rhetoric teaches a student to consider/predict audience reception, contemporary communication lessons could explain how email/social media reflects on the author.

Thank you for the excellent post!