A law student I know is serving as the student member of his law school’s Faculty Appointments Committee, and asked me to ask others: “What would you like to be asked by students in an interview? Think about this in the context of a day full of deans and professors — what haven’t you talked about by the end of the day that students should know about and factor into a hiring decision?”
Thoughts?
Posted by Rick Garnett on September 16, 2011 at 04:08 PM
Comments
Kudos to the student for taking this so seriously.
Whether the students seemed engaged was a big consideration for me when I was on the market. Students who asked me questions along the lines of what I like most/least in law school and how that shaped my own teaching seemed the most engaged. The students who asked only whether I’d allow laptops in my class seemed less engaged — or maybe I just thought that seemed like a pretty superficial question.
I agree, though not in the way the point was made, that students should also ask candidates if they have any questions about the student body or student life. As I said, I was concerned about student engagement when I was on the market, and I really appreciated those students who gave me a chance to ask them questions.
Posted by: carissa | Sep 21, 2011 2:10:00 PM
@ Kirsten – agree fully.
Posted by: Sigh | Sep 19, 2011 1:48:40 PM
“What will you do — in first-year courses especially — to give students an opportunity to get meaningful feedback on their progress before the final exam?”
(That should be a big hint that I’m not a fan of the all-encompassing final exam as the only measurement-and-feedback device.)
Posted by: C.E. Petit | Sep 19, 2011 11:37:20 AM
Kinda feeling for Anon71’s future students….
Posted by: Kristen | Sep 19, 2011 11:23:04 AM
“Can you give us an example of a policy or practice that you expect students will want, but on which you won’t bend?”
Posted by: Ed | Sep 18, 2011 12:33:53 PM
I don’t think students should have any role in the appointments process beyond good optics, so I think the students should let the prospective professor ask THEM questions to gain some insight into the school, on the assumption that the candidate may wind up with several choices. I’ve been on several callback interviews in which I had to meet with students, and I can’t recall them asking anything beyond the most mundane.
Posted by: Anon71 | Sep 17, 2011 11:23:49 PM
After talking so much about scholarship, it’s really nice to be asked what I’d be able to contribute to the student body.
Posted by: Candidate2 | Sep 17, 2011 4:25:45 PM
This is sort of an odd question. I’d hope the student would ask not want candidates want to be asked, but about things that are important to them: the candidates thoughts on teaching, relating to students, etc.
Posted by: Candidate | Sep 17, 2011 1:44:42 PM