Shannon Pierce, senior mechanical engineering major and SGA senator, is spearheading a campaign geared towards academic affairs here at Stevens, specifically with class productivity and professor/student communication.
A major problem commonly seen on campus is how students react to the differing teaching styles of their professors. According to Pierce, many professors have difficulty reaching out to their students about their progress in class. Many students are not properly engaged in the classroom due to this, and it poses a problem for students’ education and performance.
Currently, Pierce is primarily focusing on the Office of Undergraduate Academics for her campaign and is currently receiving their support. Pierce recently emailed a survey in tandem with Undergraduate Academics, asking students about their professors’ teaching quality. Within this survey, students were asked questions ranging from thoughts on workload and frequency of textbook use to specific questions about professors.
Pierce predicts that there will be a real movement towards improved academics by the end of the semester. With the increase of students providing better feedback to their professors, she anticipates that many professors will get word of it and begin to cooperate with this improvement. For students who want to help this movement in any way, Shannon recommends reaching out to her at spierce@stevens.edu with any ideas or reach out to their district leaders.
