LIB495 Catherine Peck

[bartlebuck]

Maybe it was an honest mistake that she did miss it. But, although things could have been handled better, she did give you the chance to resubmit for a better grade.

When you turned in the original paper, did you bold the titles for each paragraph section?

For example:

Introduce the Topic
This is the introduction of the topic, blah, blah, blah.

Discuss Your Topic
This is the discussion of the topic, blah, blah, blah. 

Keywords Used
The keywords used for the paper are blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, that's how I turn in papers to TESU so they don't get confused about what I'm answering.

Nope. It happened exactly as I have stated. You may find it hard to believe and I can tell you that it is hard to believe and I know that because I experienced it personally and found it shocking. That is why I am posting to warn others.

Dr. Peck wanted me to rewrite my submission using the first person pronoun "I" because she said my failure to do that caused her to miss the fact that I answered the questions. Sound ridiculous and crazy? Yeah, it did to me too.

Anyway, I've been repeating myself over and over about this, or so it seems, so I'm going to call this an end to the discussion. If you need to get in the last word, feel free but I won't respond any further. What I've said here is true, accurate, and exact. Let people choose their course mentors wisely. Good luck to all.

[studyingfortests]

I think these situations are worth taking to the dean. My own experience is that if you get to the dean/director level at TESU, they are extremely responsive and appreciative of feedback, positive and negative.

The LIB-495 course, as I understand it, is supposed to be pretty consistently delivered by all the professors who mentor it. There are some variations, of course, but basic things like not using first-person is right in the requirements of the course. And a mentor insisting on Zoom calls and calling you unannounced is simply not appropriate.

My mentor for LIB-495 was Augustus Black, and I honestly can't imagine a better professor. Super helpful, endlessly patient, available at all hours, 7 days a week, and actively encourages his students to call any time they have questions... and he's incredibly generous with his time, a fair grader... and he will absolutely make you a better writer even if you're already pretty decent. I am sure there are others who are equally good professors, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find one who is as caring, as willing to go out of his way, and yet as nonjudgmental and flexible as he is.

I also encourage you to post comments to ratemyprofessor. There aren't a lot of comments on many of the LIB-495 professors, and thoughtful ones that accurately describe how a given professor thinks and works is really useful to people trying to decide which professor to select.

[dfrecore]

Maybe it was an honest mistake that she did miss it. But, although things could have been handled better, she did give you the chance to resubmit for a better grade.

When you turned in the original paper, did you bold the titles for each paragraph section?

For example:

Introduce the Topic
This is the introduction of the topic, blah, blah, blah.

Discuss Your Topic
This is the discussion of the topic, blah, blah, blah. 

Keywords Used
The keywords used for the paper are blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, that's how I turn in papers to TESU so they don't get confused about what I'm answering.

Why the need to  argue with someone stating that something happened and to be aware of it?  I for one appreciate when a student reports back on this forum with good info like this. I have had my share of bad professors, and am happy to be able to avoid one up front.

Thanks OP for the info.  We appreciate it.

[WALLACEMC11]

I understand your frustration OP. I've taken a few courses at TESU, and I honestly haven't had the best mentors. One mentor was so bad, I dropped the course. But luckily, I did have a good mentor for the capstone and cornerstone. To anyone taking these courses, I would recommend taking them with Professor Michelle Hererra if available. She is kind and a fair grader.

[bjcheung77]

I also encourage you to post comments to ratemyprofessor. There aren't a lot of comments on many of the LIB-495 professors, and thoughtful ones that accurately describe how a given professor thinks and works is really useful to people trying to decide which professor to select.

I for one appreciate when a student reports back on this forum with good info like this. I have had my share of bad professors, and am happy to be able to avoid one up front.

Thanks OP for the info.  We appreciate it.

Thanks bartlebuck for the information, I also highly recommend having a comment or post in ratemyprofessor or gradreports so other readers searching those two sites would know. I also appreciate you sharing your information, as sometimes without this information we would not know if an instructor or professor is suited for my learning style or not.

Having said that, I noticed there were multiple "updates" to older threads relating to this, it's great to have more information, but it's somewhat scattered that way, if it was within a couple of posts or threads, it'll be easier to search and such.

[bartlebuck]

I think these situations are worth taking to the dean. My own experience is that if you get to the dean/director level at TESU, they are extremely responsive and appreciative of feedback, positive and negative.

The LIB-495 course, as I understand it, is supposed to be pretty consistently delivered by all the professors who mentor it. There are some variations, of course, but basic things like not using first-person is right in the requirements of the course.  And a mentor insisting on Zoom calls and calling you unannounced is simply not appropriate.

My mentor for LIB-495 was Augustus Black, and I honestly can't imagine a better professor. Super helpful, endlessly patient, available at all hours, 7 days a week, and actively encourages his students to call any time they have questions... and he's incredibly generous with his time, a fair grader... and he will absolutely make you a better writer even if you're already pretty decent.  I am sure there are others who are equally good professors, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find one who is as caring, as willing to go out of his way, and yet as nonjudgmental and flexible as he is.

I also encourage you to post comments to ratemyprofessor.  There aren't a lot of comments on many of the LIB-495 professors, and thoughtful ones that accurately describe how a given professor thinks and works is really useful to people trying to decide which professor to select.

I was thinking this same thing. I took screenshots of everything, and there's an email trail as well. When I get the time to put together a report, I will notify the Dean about what happened.

[LevelUP]

For some TESU courses, you can't choose a professor.

No matter what professor you get, you are learning pretty much 100% on your own.

You will have to do all the assignments and exams on your own.

Your only interaction with professors will be seeing their comments on your graded assignments, and sometimes they'll say a few things on forums.

People thinking a particular professor will hold your hand or that somehow having a particular professor will make a course easier will be sorely disappointed.

In high school, parents and teachers make sure you get where you should be and protect you physically and emotionally.  In college, you are on your own.

[dfrecore]

For some TESU courses, you can't choose a professor.

No matter what professor you get, you are learning pretty much 100% on your own.

You will have to do all the assignments and exams on your own.

Your only interaction with professors will be seeing their comments on your graded assignments, and sometimes they'll say a few things on forums.

People thinking a particular professor will hold your hand or that somehow having a particular professor will make a course easier will be sorely disappointed.

In high school, parents and teachers make sure you get where you should be and protect you physically and emotionally.  In college, you are on your own.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the post.

[studyingfortests]

For some TESU courses, you can't choose a professor.
(snip)
Your only interaction with professors will be seeing their comments on your graded assignments, and sometimes they'll say a few things on forums.

Neither I, nor the couple other people I know that have taken the cornerstone and capstone, have found that to be true.  I'll speak for my own experience, but others (with the same profs) are similar.

Paul Kiesow, who teaches SOS-110, isn't super proactive, but if you reach out, he's very responsive, helpful, and if you engage him, he's happy to offer all of the help, explanation, and clarification you need, as well as guidance to find additional information if required.

Augustus Black, who teaches LIB-495, actively encourages all of his students to call him whenever they need help or guidance.  I called him probably 6 or 7 times to get input and guidance, often after he'd written comments and offered to provide additional clarification by phone.  He easily spent 15 or 20 minutes at least on every call, and some were more than that. He even offered to write a recommendation for grad school for me. (I'd already applied by the time he offered, or I would absolutely have taken him up on it.)

A friend who is taking LIB-495 with him currently has spoken with him twice already. Same super-helpful responses and encouragement to call back any time there are questions. He even,  after they discussed corrections and comments Dr. Black had made, encouraged my friend to resubmit an assignment, even though he'd gotten a 90 the first time. The second grade was 100. 

Both of these professors will engage with you as much as you engage with them. Dr. Black has been more engaged and helpful than most of the butts-in-seats professors I've had.  So perhaps it depends on who you have, but my experience has been 180 degrees apart from yours.

[LevelUP]

Professors will engage with you as much as you engage with them.

Right. If you reach out to professors, almost all of them should provide some answers to your questions. Otherwise, these professors will literally be ghosts providing mostly superficial remarks on your graded assignments or forum posts.

Let's Break Down How To Analyze Professors Using RateMyProfessor

Nina Haydel Sample Reviews  Full Reviews
Review #1 5 days in, I switched to another professor. I took this course before with another professor and didn't feel as though it was unattainable. By the 5th day I felt like I wasn't going to be able to get a good grade or be to her standard. She sent 8 or more instructions the first day. Asked for my phone#, said she has had to call students before?!

Much like the OP, this reviewer freaked out when the professor asked for the student's personal phone #, then dropped the class within a week.

Review #2 Unless you "think like a researcher" you should drop her like a hot potato. Feedback not helpful at all, and did not go out of her way to help in the selection of topics. Has the misguided idea that no paper can be written without doing surveys or interviews. Not what I was expecting.

The thing that would concern me is the part about doing surveys or interviews. The capstone specifically says no surveys or interviews are required. In the past, this was required at TESU.

Review #3 Dr. Haydel is very encouraging and loves her students. She is easy to get ahold of, and is willing to work with you. She has a thing for grading drafts when you ask her about their contents, and that tends to hurt grades. Can redo assignments sometimes. grading is rather random. Fairly easy to please, but her instructions leave much to be desired.

Keywords are "can redo assignments". This means if you screw up, you can turn the assignment in again making it far easier to get a high grade.

Conclusion:  Out of the 14 reviews, all grades were either A or A-.  The negative reviewers all dropped the course. So grading seems easy and it is a matter of if the professor's overbearing personality fits you.

Catherine Peck Sample Reviews Full Reviews
Review #1 took online lib arts class with her before - feedback was not clear at all - did all my work and followed detailed instructions - grades seemed inconsistent despite the consistency of my work - wished for more involvement and better communication from this mentor for this class.

This is similar to the OP in that the feedback on the papers was not clear.

Review #2 This professor's grading is unfair. On my final paper, I made one grammar error and received a 90. Throughout the course, the grading system was inconsistent. I received assignments stating everything was done correctly, however, I wouldn't receive a 100 and, there was no explanation. She also did not respond to all emails. I don't recommend her.

One grammar error on a 40-page paper and 10 points taken off, yikes! This professor will "peck" at you for one mistake, it looks like.  Not responding to emails is another big red flag.  Looks like if you need help or clarification, you are SOL.

Review #3 I Took this course online and never worked so hard! Very high expectations and only gave out some sample papers so was difficult to determine what was wanted since no clear directions were provided. There are 5 drafts and a final project composed of the drafts. Prof lowered my grade on the final project significantly without an explanation. NOT recommend

That will add some extra drama and stress worrying about the final paper. The nature of the capstone is unclear if you aren't familiar with this type of paper. You would need to communicate with the professor for expectations however that may or may not help your situation. 

Conclusion: Out of the 12 reviews, one person posted an A, several reported B+, quite of few of the negative reviewers didn't' post grades, and nobody dropped the course. If you are trying to make a straight-A, this professor will CRUSH YOUR DREAMS. LOL

Augustus Black Sample Reviews Full Reviews
Review #1 He just SKIMMED my work before grading it. He took a lot of points off papers because my APA format wasn't perfect. I'd never used APA before and asked him what exactly I was doing wrong bc I was using OWL as a guide plus an APA template. He referred me to the OWL I was already using, which tells me he didn't read my emails either. Big thumbs down.

Don't be surprised if some professors barely look at your work or give minimal feedback. TESU offers a free tutoring service which would be great to use for basic APA questions. 

Review #2  Minimal feedback, but he will tell you when you are doing something wrong.

Ya, I feel you brother/sister. You do all that work on your paper, and all you hear is good job, etc. This person probably should have tried to contact the professor for more detailed feedback.

Review #3 Dr. Black is brilliant, kind, helpful, and selflessly gives of himself to help students succeed. He gives students his number and allows us to call him any time, day or night, if we have questions, need clarification, or need guidance. He helped me to accomplish a difficult Creative Project & because of him, I accomplished goals and learned a lot.

This was said on multiple reviews so it looks like this professor is very accessible.

Conclusion:  Out of 38 reviews, there is nothing but all straight A's and one A-.  This class looks to be easy to get an A and if you need any help, this professor should be available and easy to talk to. 

Final Thoughts

It's not a matter of passing or failing, I haven't heard of anyone failing the cornerstone or the capstone.

It's a matter if you are shooting for a high grade or just want to get by and move on or some mixture of the two.

You're paying up to $1500 for each course, by all means, if you can, pick the best professor you can. For some courses, you can't pick the professor.