Island Confidential: Higher Ed

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The Good Bad Review

Before I was a mystery author, I was a college professor, so I’m no stranger to reviews. We professors have end-of-semester student evaluations, as well as public websites that invite students to rate their professors on such criteria as easiness, helpfulness, and –Heaven help us—hotness. Some reviews are more helpful than others, and, surprisingly, the negative ones can be among the most useful.

No class is right for every student, and not every book can be a good fit for every reader.

On this point, it’s instructive to read the reviews for Sarah Caudwell, one of my favorite authors. Her books are very English, very mannered, and very funny. But Hemingwayesque, she is not.

Consider this opening passage from Caudwell’s first novel, Thus Was Adonis Murdered.

Scholarship asks, thank God, no recompense but Truth. It is not for the sake of material reward that she (Scholarship) pursues her (Truth) through the undergrowth of Ignorance, shining on Obscurity the bright torch of Reason and clearing aside the tangled thorns of Error with the keen secateurs of Intellect. Nor is it for the sake of public glory and the applause of the multitude: the scholar is indifferent to vulgar acclaim. Nor is it even in the hope that those few intimate friends who have observed at first hand the labour of the chase will mark with a word or two of discerning congratulation its eventual achievement. Which is very fortunate, because they don’t.

Here she sets up the persona of Hilary Tamar, the pompous and not-so-self-aware Oxford don who narrates this an three additional adventures. This paragraph isn’t a quick read, but in my opinion it’s a rewarding one. It is definitely, however, not everyone’s cup of tea.

Favorable Goodreads reviews describe Caudwell’s first novel as “very funny,” “an incredible plunge into British wit (second to none),” “witty,” and “probably the most charming murder mystery that I’ve ever read.”

Now, let’s hear from the haters:

“If emotional involvement in a story is important to you, avoid this book at all costs…[a]smug, self-consciously witty, piece of tripe.”

If I’m looking for something mannered, witty, and not emotionally taxing, this one-star review wouldn’t necessarily put me off. This is a review that does a service to potential readers, giving us a clear, if negative, perspetive. The next one is an even better bad review.

“Style-wise, I’d give it 5 stars–Ms. Caudwell is/was a terrific writer; very funny in a very British sort of way. But you have to accept the plot-style, which involves way more talk than action. The mystery is essentially sussed out via roundtable discussions and letters from the “suspect” (Julia) that, while incredibly enjoyable, aren’t a bit credible as letters. No one could relate verbatim dialogue in a letter as Julia is purported to do.”

This was voted most helpful negative review on the book’s Amazon page, for good reason. It tells the reader what the reviewer liked and disliked, and why. I am fully prepared to suspend disbelief for the sake of entertaining dialogue; others may not be.

Now, I have to give this next one-star review…one star.

“Couldn’t read more than a few chapters.”

If I didn’t know anything about Thus Was Adonis Murdered, this would not help me at all. Why couldn’t the reviewer read more than a few chapters? Was there too much gore? Explicit sex? Typos and formatting errors? Did the reviewer recently emerge from a bank vault to find that she was the last person on earth, just as she dropped her only pair of reading glasses? Why couldn’t you read more than a few chapters, reviewer, why?

“Couldn’t read more than a few chapters” is a bad bad review.

I think there are two important lessons here:

you can’t (and shouldn’t) please everyone, and
a review says as much about the reviewer as about the thing being reviewed—and that’s a good thing. (I don’t wish to embarrass anyone, but I will say that if you have not yet mastered the spelling of “professor,” you probably aren’t a good fit for my senior-level class.)

So when I say I appreciate honest reviews, I really mean it. But I should say that I mean helpful honest reviews. If you have to leave a bad review, make sure it’s a good bad review.

And of course plain old good reviews are always appreciated.

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Filed under: Frankie Bow, Higher Ed, Impression Management, Writing Tagged: Amazon, good bad review, marketing, RateMyProfessors, Reviews, RMP, Sarah Caudwell
from The Good Bad Review

Author Interview on Amy Metz’s Blue Million books

You have a day job . . . how do you find time to write?

If you had a swear jar, would it be full?

What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing?

Read the interview at A Blue Million Books

Win two signed books and a Bayside Made in USA Mahina State t-shirt

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Filed under: Adjunct, Author Interviews, Christmas, Frankie Bow, Giveaways, Higher Ed, Kindle Worlds, Writing Tagged: Amy Metz, Blue Million, defunct adjunct, Indie Authors, interview
from Author Interview on Amy Metz’s Blue Million books

Novelist teaches freshman writing, is shocked by students’ inability to construct basic sentences

Higher ed has problems. Is it bad enough to quit?

Oliver Lee Bateman, who penned last year’s widely read defense of grade inflation, has finally had enough. On September 8, he published a piece titled I have one of the best jobs in academia. Here’s why I’m walking away.

His reasons:

1) Too many people go to college

…not out of any particular interest in the field, but in order to receive raises at work or improve their position in a crowded job market.

2) Online education isn’t the solution

…a grader for one of our online courses supervises approximately 30 to 50 students for an entire course. The grader typically makes $700.

3) Tenured professors pity adjuncts. But we can’t help them.

It’s not that we full-timers don’t care; it’s that we can’t.

4) “Alt-academia” isn’t a solution — it’s surrender

…when it comes time to pay it off with a real job? Sorry — best look somewhere “alternative.”

5) The students and professors aren’t the problem; the university system is.

I have my own ideas for fixing higher ed, and many of them don’t have anything to do with higher ed. Also all of them cost money.

We’re talking about it over at Higher Education’s Premier Online Publication.

Come join us!

Filed under: College Misery, Higher Ed Tagged: College Misery, context matters, Higher Ed, misery, politics
from Higher ed has problems. Is it bad enough to quit?

Colleges shift to using ‘big data’ — including from social media — in admissions decisions

This One Weird Trick will put you on the Bestseller List: My Adventures as a New Author

The world of publishing is changing so fast that this presentation will probably be obsolete in another week or so.

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Filed under: Author Interviews, Fun, Higher Ed, Impression Management, Marketing, Writing Tagged: cozy mystery, marketing, Musubi Murder, writ, Writing
from This One Weird Trick will put you on the Bestseller List: My Adventures as a New Author

From Satiring.com: College Syllabus Through the Eyes of That Student –

Instructor: A name I’ll misspell and to which I’ll apply the wrong title
Email: The address of another professor in another department who shares the same surname initial
Class Meets: 15 minutes before I arrive on campus
Office Hours: Never, for weeks at a time, and then all 24 hours before an assignment is due

Read the whole thing

College Syllabus Through the Eyes of *That* Student –.

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Filed under: College Misery, Higher Ed, Impression Management Tagged: funny, I knew it, Satiring, syllabi, teaching
from From Satiring.com: College Syllabus Through the Eyes of *That* Student –

10 Back to School Apps for College Students

To this very useful list I’d add Pomotodo, to keep a list of tasks and use the Pomodoro method to work on them in 25-minute chunks. I’m also thinking of trying TeacherKit myself.

By Jane Hurst

If you are heading off to college in the fall, you need to take a lot of things with you. This includes the tools you will need in order to make your college experience a successful one. Luckily, there are loads of great apps that will help you in many areas of college life. Check out these 10 apps that every college student should be using.

Study Blue – This is an awesome study aid that uses flash cards to help you learn everything about all of the courses you are taking. All you have to do is input your school and your courses, and then you get a list of card sets to use. The site is free to use, but study guides cost $9 each. Or, you can get as many as you like with a $48 yearly subscription.
Mint – Find a complete library of personal finance information that will help you to learn how to manage your money. This can be difficult when you are on your own for the first time, but the sooner you learn, the better off your bank account is going to be. This tool will keep track of your bank accounts and spending habits, and help you learn how to live on a budget.
ExamTime – This tool is loaded with notes, quizzes, mind maps, and more, and everything has been created by students and teachers from all over the world. This is a great way to make studying interactive, and you can even hook up with online study groups.
Call Tools – If you are looking to earn money while in college, working for a call center software provider as a tech support personal could be ideally. Money is good and the hours are flexible.
My Study Life – This is another free app, and it will help you to better manage your time. You will be able to get more done, and even have time to hang out with your friends at the pub. This app allows you to check your schedules, even if you are not using an Android device. You can go onto any computer to check things out.
Alarmy: Sleep if You Can – This is an app that will make sure you never sleep in again. You can’t just press the snooze button for 10 more minutes of sleep. You actually have to take a photo, shake your phone several times, etc. to turn off the alarm. After all that, you will end up getting out of bed.
EasyBib – This is a free app that will help you with writing bibliographies. You can scan barcodes of books that you have used as reference, and the app will create a bibliography in MLA, APA, or Chicago style. Then you can email this information to yourself and add it to your paper later.
Amazon Student – Your text books are expensive, but there are ways to get them at discounted prices. For instance, Amazon Student has a free six-month membership for students, and it includes free two-day shipping and great deals on books for students. There is a textbook section where you can buy, sell, and rent text books.
Skype – No one should ever be without Skype. This is a great way to be able to stay in touch with friends and family all over the world, and you don’t have to pay for long-distance phone calls. Enjoy live voice or text conversations with others who are also using Skype. You can even have a chat with multiple people at once by using the video chat feature that lets up to 10 callers take part in a conversation.
Your Official University App – This free app lets you learn all about the college or university you will be attending. You will never be embarrassed about getting lost, and you will know ahead of time about classes, news and events, and a whole lot more.

Byline:

Jane Hurst has been working in education for over 5 years as a teacher. She loves sharing her knowledge with students, is fascinated about edtech and loves reading, a lot.

from The College Puzzle http://stanford.io/1ID2v1g

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Filed under: Higher Ed Tagged: back to school, Michael W. Kirst, Stanford, The College Puzzle
from 10 Back to School Apps for College Students

New software gizmo will tell you what your skills are, match you with the perfect job

Texas State Technical College, spurred by the fact that one third of its state funding is now tied to its graduates’ starting salaries, has eliminated all majors except petroleum engineering developed software that matches graduates’ skills with job requirements. But why should Texas State Technical College students have all the fun? Anyone can try out the Skills Engine here.

I fed three academic CVs into the Skills Engine. Do academics actually have any transferable skills? See the results over at College Misery.

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Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Higher Ed, Impression Management, Reviews, Science!, Writing Tagged: career advice, employment, Higher Ed, jobs, Texas
from New software gizmo will tell you what your skills are, match you with the perfect job

College students are not customers. Or are they?

If students are customers, then the university is a business. A business’s only goal is to succeed, as in make the largest profit possible, which it usually does by purveying the cheapest product it can at the highest price customers will pay. In this model, tuition should be as high as the school can get away with, and all courses should cater purely to the tastes of the lowest common denominator of the customer base. In practice, it follows that each class should be five minutes long, taught by holograms of Rihanna, and consist entirely of self-graded multiple-choice tests composed in emoji.

Read the original on Slate: College students are not customers: A political shorthand that needs to die.
More over on Higher Education’s Premier Online Publication.

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Filed under: College Misery, Higher Ed, Knaves and Dunderheads Tagged: College, customer service, evaluations, Schuman, SET, students
from College students are not customers. Or are they?

Study: Fat Cat Professors Not Responsible for Rising Tuition, May Not Actually Exist

Between 78 and 79 percent of the tuition hikes at public universities -- which averaged $3,628 per student at research universities and $2,463 per student at nonresearch colleges -- was due to declining state appropriations, between 5 and 6 percent was due to increased administrative spending, and another 6 percent was due to construction costs.

Report says administrative bloat, construction booms not largely responsible for tuition increases | InsideHigherEd.

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The Complete Opposite of Tuna on Toast | Job-hunting outside academe

How channeling George Costanza saved one woman's career:

Acting like George Costanza — specifically, doing the opposite of everything I’d been counseled for the past decade — is what made me solvent once again. And if you, dear reader, are contemplating an exit from academe (as the boulder of this year’s hiring cycle rolls ever so briefly back to the bottom of the hill) a turn as George might be just what you need.

The following may not sound particularly Costanza-like, but it does contain some excellent advice for job seekers, especially freelance writers:

If, however, you want to put your Ph.D. to use in all sorts of other interesting jobs — editing, translation, freelance research, consulting, grant writing, museum work, teaching at a private secondary school — waiting is for chumps. Instead, be chipper but assertive and seek out people who have the sort of jobs you want, and send them short but admiring emails. Get as friendly as possible with all of those people. Do them favors. Prove yourself to be a solid, go-to specimen of a human. Then, months later, when you need a favor from them — a reference; an introduction — they will usually be happy to give it.

The Complete Opposite of Tuna on Toast | Vitae.

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THE MUSUBI MURDER August 2015 Amazon / B&N /Powell’s /Audible / iTunes

Today on College Misery: This is why my syllabus is seventeen pages long

Join me over at Higher Education's Premier Online Publication. Or simply read on: SCENE 1: Second Week of the Semester

~~Student-Athlete~~Athlete-Student:I have to miss class because my team is traveling to the mainland for two weeks. I know the syllabus says no makeups, but I don't have a choice about going on the trip. Can I make up the in class quizzes? Professor B. (that's me!), Unknowingly Stepping Onto the Slippery Slope: Sure! Because you have to travel as a condition of your athletic scholarship, just write a short reflection paper on the week's topic and get it to me when you come back.

SCENE 2: Third Week of the Semester

Scammy Sammy: I heard you can make up the in-class quizzes. I had to miss last Wednesday for a very important family funeral event. Professor B.: Well, OK, I guess you can make the quiz up by writing a short reflection paper. Scammy Sammy: When is it due? Professor B.: Just get it to me by the last day of class.

SCENE 3: End of the same semester, the day after final grades are submitted

Email from Scammy Sammy to me:

Professor, Please expect my makeups this evening or tomorrow morning. I just finished finals and now wrapping extraneous assignments up. [That's right. "Extraneous" assignments.]

Email from me to Scammy Sammy: I already submitted the final grades. These were supposed to be in by the last day of class.

Email from Scammy Sammy to me, the following day: I'm so sorry, I thought you meant the end of finals week. Thank you for being so understanding! [Attached to Scammy Sammy's email: FIVE makeup essays, rather defeating the purpose of requiring students to attend and participate in the class exercises and discussions.]

And because I had allowed this unwritten loophole, I took Scammy Sammy's makeup essays. Scammy Sammy's grade went from a C to a C-plus. Of course this was my fault. I implemented an informal makeup policy that wasn't written down anywhere. But I learned my lesson. What's the big deal, one might ask? Is it the end of the world if one pushy student gets a probably-undeserved half-grade bump? No, it's not.

However.

Once word of Scammy Sammy's gambit gets around, next semester will be Scammy Sammy to the nth degree. It is not unreasonable to anticipate an entire semester of dead classrooms, culminating in an eleventh-hour avalanche of makeup assignments. So, new on the syllabus for fall:
~~An elaborate, scammer-resistant makeup policy, yet to be formulated, that somehow manages to be fair to everyone, including those whose obligations to the university require travel.~~ No makeups, no exceptions, and if you don't like it, go pick another major.

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THE MUSUBI MURDER August 2015 Amazon / B&N /Powell’s /Audible / iTunes

Study: Fat Cat Professors Not Responsible for Rising Tuition, May Not Actually Exist

Between 78 and 79 percent of the tuition hikes at public universities — which averaged $3,628 per student at research universities and $2,463 per student at nonresearch colleges — was due to declining state appropriations, between 5 and 6 percent was due to increased administrative spending, and another 6 percent was due to construction costs. […] http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The Complete Opposite of Tuna on Toast | Job-hunting outside academe

How channeling George Costanza saved one woman’s career: Acting like George Costanza — specifically, doing the opposite of everything I’d been counseled for the past decade — is what made me solvent once again. And if you, dear reader, are contemplating an exit from academe (as the boulder of this year’s hiring cycle rolls ever […] http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

I’m over on Higher Education’s Premier Online Publication ™ today, blogging about online education.

Disclaimer: I realize that in a sparsely-populated area, online education can be the only option a student has. I also realize that some of my fellow Miserians teach online, and are putting a great deal of effort into making the online experience as valuable as possible for their students. Any ire and snark are properly directed […] http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Confirming (again) that online classes are not a magical solution: Study finds student success lags online

Study finds student success lags online in California community college students | InsideHigherEd. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

COLLEGE MISERY: Today’s Administrative Vocabulary Word: Ethical Fading

“A senior administrator,” Mr. Harris says, “does not wake up in the morning and say, Today I am going to do something that lands me on the front page of the Chicago Tribune for the wrong reasons.” Instead, he says, what comes into play is a phenomenon known as “ethical fading,” in which the culture […] http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Hey kids! Here’s a handy guide to higher education terminology

There are, according to one estimate, 1600 institutions of higher learning in the United States. Unlike other nations, many of America’s colleges and universities are privately run in addition to the government-supported schools. Since public schools often have tuitions far lower than their private counterparts, thus consequently impacting financial aid, the question of how to […] http://ift.tt/eA8V8J