Professional Courtesy in Higher Ed
I often wonder what an appropriate wait time is in academia.
I have a 24hr turn around rule with my students for email, meaning I will
respond to them within 24hrs and I expect them to return the same courtesy.
This has worked well for me for many terms and the students definitely
appreciate knowing they will not have to wait more than a day for an answer and
they also know that if they email me 3 hours before class, they will probably
not receive a response until I see them in person. For journal submissions I
understand the wait that is involved. For my previous publication from the
moment I submitted my work to the moment it appeared in print 2 years had
elapsed. I definitely understand the type of peer review and editing that a
publication requires.
My question about wait
time in this case is directed specifically to job applications and conference
proposals. I applied for a tenure track position at the beginning of January. I
was informed in the middle of February that because of budgetary constraints
the tenure track position was now a Contractually Limited Appointment, and they
asked if I would still be interested in the position. I wrote them a few days
later saying yes I would indeed be interested (Nineteenth Century positions,
whether TT or CLA are few and far between).
This was exactly two months ago. No response. Nothing. Not even an
acknowledgement that they went with another candidate. Is this normal, or is
this ridiculously unprofessional?
My second question
has to do with conference abstract proposals. I submitted two abstracts a month
ago for MLA panels. One panel organizer was kind enough to email me a few weeks
ago thanking me for my proposal but stating they had gone with other presenters.
I really appreciate the time she took to email me to let me know. However, I am
yet to hear from the other panel. Since Twitter tells me that panel proposals
had to be in April 1st , am I safe to assume I was not selected?
Wouldn’t it be common courtesy to email those who submitted abstracts (even a
form letter) stating their choice to go with other presenters? Maybe my feelings stem from the fact that I would not propose a panel if I was not 100% sure of having the time to vet and correspond to those who send in abstracts (I also have a bit of an obsession with maintaining Inbox zero). This is not the
first time that I submitted an abstract to something and did not receive a
response. Two years ago I sent a proposal for an edited collection, nothing. I
also sent in a proposal for a journal article for a special edition of ESC once; crickets.
By and large I do receive emails back stating great news or
telling me that others have been picked, however I find this recent trend of
radio silence a bit unsettling. Am I
expecting too much? Has the concept of professional courtesy changed and I didn’t
get the memo? What are normal time frames for things like job applications and
conference abstracts?
You are not alone in wondering this. Standards have slipped in the face of large numbers of applicants but it seems that a form e-mail to everyone who submitted a proposal to a panel would be the least you could expect. heck, the panel organizer could hire a student to send that kind of thing out if they are swamped.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of jobs, it seems that due to very high numbers of applicants the acknowledgement that your application was received has completely gone. That happened back in the mid-90s for most disciplines. Then no one wants to communicate with anyone until the final decision has been made and accepted. They may bring 3 people for interview and not like anyone so ask the nex 2 on their list. It would look bad if they'd already told those 2 that they weren't short listed. So nothing is communicated. Believe it or not the hiring process takes months. I have a client who was interviewed in January, told informally that she was the recommended candidate and is only now in negotiations. Nothing is firm so presumably no one else has heard anything, and might not until May.
In all of these cases though there is a case for asking where the process is and when you might hear the result. Especially with journal submissions, this can prompt the editor to nudge reviewers who have not sent in reviews. If there is an editorial assistant, asking about these process questions should be easier as it is the assistant's job to do the chasing and informing.
Commiseration for the frustration.
Thank you! I knew that you would know the proper protocol and what steps could be taken if any. You have really helped demystify the silence re: my job application. I had a colleague who was told she wasn't short listed but then all the other interviewees dropped out and she ended up getting the job. So I suppose it really does make sense to not say anything until things are finalized. I really appreciate your feedback and taking the time to read my post.
ReplyDeleteBest, Ann