Do profs CARE about students’ grades? (PROF’s answers)

As a student, you might start to question your professor’s concern about your grades. I can totally relate because I remember being an undergraduate student and wondering if my professors cared about my grades too.

And I have an interesting perspective because I am now a professor myself.

Students would come to me all the time to discuss their grades, and they would think that I wouldn’t care about them and their circumstances.

But most instructors do care about their students’ grades and if you are wanting to talk to your professor about how you are doing in their course, you shouldn’t wait because they will want to hear what you have to say.

What I hear most students say is that their professor just doesn’t even seem to care that they aren’t passing their class. They think that their professor is ignoring them.

You’d expect profs to be checking in with their students, and working with students who are falling behind, but it just doesn’t happen that way in real life.

That’s because profs might take a hands-off approach because we believe students earn their grades. If a student isn’t doing as they’d hope, we believe it’s because of their efforts unless that student comes and talk to their teacher.

We also have a lot of other responsibilities outside of teaching like research and college service. This leaves little time to support each student outside of the classroom.

And finally, some students do well and others don’t. Most instructors don’t pay close attention to each student’s grades.

It isn’t that we don’t care, it’s just that we don’t have a lot of time to worry about it unless the student comes to speak with us personally.

Do professors care about students’ grades?

Yes, professors care about students’ grades, to an extent. Professors want students to complete their course with a passing grade, but we also understand that students are responsible for the grades they earn.

What professors are most concerned about is whether the students learn the information. While I know grades are very important, I was more worried about students mastering the material instead of what grades they made in my class.

However, they both go hand in hand. If a student isn’t making good grades, then they typically aren’t learning the material either.

So, if you are wondering if professors are fretting over students failing their class, they aren’t too worried unless it’s unusual for them.

If their students are usually doing pretty good in their course and a large majority of students are now struggling, professors will be more concerned because it is out of the ordinary.

But in all honesty, students likely fail their classes every semester so we can’t pay too much attention to those outliers. It happens every semester and we are used to it so we don’t think much about the occasional student who fails our classes.

Now, if a student came to my office to talk to me about their grades, and they told me that they were worried about passing my class or they were struggling, I am open to hearing their side of the story.

This is when I start to care about their grades because the student is now genuinely worried too. The BEST way to have your professor care about your grades is to TALK to them about it.

When students came to my office, I would then dig into their grades with them and start figuring out what is going wrong. I would also refer them to support services for the college so that they can be prepared to bounce back.

However, it is really up to the student to make better grades. I don’t think most professors are going to care more than the student.

READ MORE : Do professors care about their students?

Do professors care what grade students make in their class?

Yes, professors care what grades students make in their class because most universities require departments to collect data for accreditation in the United States. These data are used to help improve student learning so grades are significant.

And if a lot of students aren’t performing well in a course, it can impact graduation rates. The university may decide to take a closer look to figure out how they can improve completion rates for the course.

A lot of times, funding is tied to completion so it’s in their best interest to be concerned about the grades.

But most of the time professors are off the radar and no one is paying attention to their grades.

Professors have lots of students each semester and they aren’t focused on each student but are looking at the overall picture instead.

If the grades are following the normal distribution for their class, then the professor doesn’t take a closer look.

READ MORE : Do professors want students to fail?

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