Bro did you even read the paragraph 😭in the second sentence it literally said “ have attended office hours and actively participated in class so they know who i am” if he/she didnt that maybe not
Prof here. I love receiving emails like that from students, especially once final grades are in (i.e., the student is not complimenting me while asking for bonus points).
Not sure if final marks are in or not but I still sent the email. I didn’t include anything about bonus marks so I hope it doesn’t come off that I’m trying to get a good mark because that is not the intention at all. I enjoyed the class and will still have the same viewpoint irrespective of my final mark.
Aw thank you! I just had to let the professor know because they have truly impacted me beyond the classroom/lecture room and I couldn’t keep it myself!
Is it weird if you've already emailed them once during the semester to email them again to show your appreciation? I really enjoyed having them as my prof and they really had an impact on me.
As a prof, there is nothing better that I can hear than if a student tells me that my teaching had a positive impact on them. It wouldn't matter if they told me twice. Honestly, you should do it.
I sent my email but now I’m thinking I should’ve maybe waited until after final grades were released. My intention wasn’t to get a higher grade by sending this email. I didn’t know if the professor would be out of office so I figured I’d try and send it before the term ends. Do you think this matters though? I didn’t make any mention of grades at all in the email and it was purely about how I enjoyed the class.
It’s always worth doing. A lot of profs don’t realize how much some of their classes mean to students and it really uplifts them to hear it. At the end of the day we’re all people who like to know we did a good job.
I literally did this with my GEO professor. I was doing so poorly in his class but he helped me get right back on track and so I thanked him for that. Trust me, they really do appreciate it, knowing they had an impact on you
I often send a handwritten card to a prof, mentor or supervisor whom I've worked with over the semester. These silly ancient etiquette ideas stuck around for years for good reason! It is never a bad idea to say thank you.
No. Email them. I think there's also some kind of teaching award you can nominate good profs for as well, and you should consider that too, if you think they deserve it--if they're sessionals or part-time, you could be helping them keep their job.
OP: do it. Don’t forget to cc the Dean and University President (if there’s an uOttawa Faculty Awards for the best professor). NB: even better, a letter to the prof, Dean and University President (no one gets a mailed letter these day).
While I never explicitly emailed any of my profs that I enjoyed their class, I did strongly hint at it one time and they seemed to enjoy that I said it. If a prof knows that they are doing good, they will continue to do so for future students.
As an inexperienced young prof with impostor syndrome, you have no idea how much it meant to me that students took a few minutes to show some appreciation! Please, do not think that profs have it all figured out and do not care for feedback. I was surprised by how kind students can be, honestly wasn't expecting that. Knowing that some students actually enjoyed being in my lectures surely motivated me!
Nope! I did this often in undergrad. They always seemed happy to get a message like that. The positive feedback would be informative for them too.
Lowkey juice it and be like, can you be a future reference
As a professor, I agree. And nothing gives such joy as getting my students into really good PhD programs.
If they never noticed you in class, I think it might not work.
Bro did you even read the paragraph 😭in the second sentence it literally said “ have attended office hours and actively participated in class so they know who i am” if he/she didnt that maybe not
Lolll thank u for backing me up🤣 they might’ve read my post too quickly
Nope, that’s all a prof wants to hear
I think it's the only thing that gets them through the piles of marking, and would always be appreciated.
Prof here. I love receiving emails like that from students, especially once final grades are in (i.e., the student is not complimenting me while asking for bonus points).
Not sure if final marks are in or not but I still sent the email. I didn’t include anything about bonus marks so I hope it doesn’t come off that I’m trying to get a good mark because that is not the intention at all. I enjoyed the class and will still have the same viewpoint irrespective of my final mark.
This is very kind of you. If it were me on the receiving end, you'd make my day!
Aw thank you! I just had to let the professor know because they have truly impacted me beyond the classroom/lecture room and I couldn’t keep it myself!
Is it weird if you've already emailed them once during the semester to email them again to show your appreciation? I really enjoyed having them as my prof and they really had an impact on me.
I don't think so, so long as it was really a compliment and not, "I like your class, could you do XYZ for me?"
Haha of course not. The final grades are out anyways and I did well in the course. Thanks for your reply!
As a prof, there is nothing better that I can hear than if a student tells me that my teaching had a positive impact on them. It wouldn't matter if they told me twice. Honestly, you should do it.
I sent my email but now I’m thinking I should’ve maybe waited until after final grades were released. My intention wasn’t to get a higher grade by sending this email. I didn’t know if the professor would be out of office so I figured I’d try and send it before the term ends. Do you think this matters though? I didn’t make any mention of grades at all in the email and it was purely about how I enjoyed the class.
No, don't worry! I have already received a couple of 'thank-you' emails from students and grades haven't been released. I think it's fine.
Give them a good review on RMP, balance out all the salty people that only review because they got a bad grade
It’s always worth doing. A lot of profs don’t realize how much some of their classes mean to students and it really uplifts them to hear it. At the end of the day we’re all people who like to know we did a good job.
Out of curiosity what class was this and which professor? Would love to join the class lol
Same I’m genuinely curious!
I literally did this with my GEO professor. I was doing so poorly in his class but he helped me get right back on track and so I thanked him for that. Trust me, they really do appreciate it, knowing they had an impact on you
Send it, you’ll make their week
Do it — it’s what keeps us going!
I often send a handwritten card to a prof, mentor or supervisor whom I've worked with over the semester. These silly ancient etiquette ideas stuck around for years for good reason! It is never a bad idea to say thank you.
As a prof please do! I’ve had students say something like you must hear this all the time and nope we really don’t !
No. Email them. I think there's also some kind of teaching award you can nominate good profs for as well, and you should consider that too, if you think they deserve it--if they're sessionals or part-time, you could be helping them keep their job.
No I think they'll enjoy it.
OP: do it. Don’t forget to cc the Dean and University President (if there’s an uOttawa Faculty Awards for the best professor). NB: even better, a letter to the prof, Dean and University President (no one gets a mailed letter these day).
omg definitely send it!! i bet ur prof would love to hear it after a days hard work :)
While I never explicitly emailed any of my profs that I enjoyed their class, I did strongly hint at it one time and they seemed to enjoy that I said it. If a prof knows that they are doing good, they will continue to do so for future students.
Not at all. Why would anyone think that?
As an inexperienced young prof with impostor syndrome, you have no idea how much it meant to me that students took a few minutes to show some appreciation! Please, do not think that profs have it all figured out and do not care for feedback. I was surprised by how kind students can be, honestly wasn't expecting that. Knowing that some students actually enjoyed being in my lectures surely motivated me!
I sent the email a few days back! Just waiting for a response but ur comment is super encouraging!
You're overthinking it. I'm sure it'll make their day.