When a class required for a major only offers sections at night, a department essentially requires that a student with work or family responsibilities in the evening change their major.
Day care isn’t readily available in the evening. Students are rarely able to work from 9 to 5 — so their best chance at earning a full-time salary relies on nighttime work.
Classes that count attendance at nighttime events as part of the course grade present the same issue. Sure, the student could request special dispensation — but asking a professor for favors on day one isn’t easy, and approval isn’t guaranteed.
Even asking students to attend events in the evening for extra credit or to prove they care about the subject matter is unfair for students who do care, but who balance more than many of their peers.
We recognize the value of attending extracurricular events, but not every student is an 18- to 22-year-old living in a dorm with support back home.
Professors should accommodate students with different schedules and avoid jumping to conclusions about the student who rushes out of class to make day care pickup or to avoid a docked paycheck.
They’re trying.
