The Chronicle: Colloquy: The question

THE QUESTION

Many faculty members say that e-mail has changed the way they interact with their students, and some professors -- especially those who teach online -- report being bombarded with e-mail messages at all hours of the day and night. Some colleges have even started requiring professors to respond to students' messages within set periods of time, such as 24 or 48 hours. Some educators say such requirements -- set by the institution or as goals by individual professors -- are appropriate in an era when so much communication is online. But others worry that the deadlines may cut too much into faculty time, and they note that a message from a student is more likely to be a request for an extension than a probing question about the material. Should colleges require faculty members to respond to e-mail messages within set periods of time? Should faculty members aim to do so?

For further information, see this background article:

The 24-Hour Professor (5/31/2002)

: 49 RESPONSES (New 9/2)

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