For many, it is just one of those things that one encounters from time to time throughout their time in college. Yes, professors are human, but there is a distinct difference between human error and consistently being less than desirable at one's job. But even in this case, where the problem is not with the students themselves, the view that embittered people blame their professors for their own inability to succeed in a class. So, it is for this reason that I have constructed a list of signs that a given professor is doing a less than admirable job at dispensing information.

(This list is not meant to attack any individuals specifically and is not even necessarily based off of things experienced by any one individual but rather a compilation of multiple different people's experiences over several years.)

1. Little time devoted to syllabus

Yes, everyone has access to the written form of any syllabus. And yes, it is up to every person to read it. But while this is not inherently a bad thing on its own, a professor that spends little or no time discussing a syllabus that outlines a class that they are conducting is something of a red flag.

2. Success is determined by agreement

This is mainly seen in classes dealing with multiple viewpoints, such as a philosophy or communication course, but could just as well be seen in other facets of one's education. The clearest sign of this is when a student comes to understand that the key to passing a test in a given class is to answer in line with their instructor's own beliefs. It is uncommon, but it does happen.

3. Passive aggression when answering questions

This can be hard to determine, and may not be intentional in many cases. While it is tempting to agree that stupid questions warrant stupid answers, believing that to too great of an extent becomes unprofessional in practice.

4. Narcissism

Highly subjective, yes, and likely an accusation leveled by embittered students coming from a place of spite more often than not. But there are instances where the observation is actually true. Objectively speaking, there is a difference between referring to one's dissertation once and once a week.

5. Enforcing pet peeves as rules

Many people have a story along these lines at some point. This is less of a matter having very particular expectations, such as wanting a certain format in a writing class, and more in line with deducting points on a written assignment because a piece of notebook paper is not torn out properly.

6. Dogmatic adherence to the syllabus

In contrast to the first point, this can pose just as much of an issue as not adhering to the outline given for the class. Life can be messy, things can happen that fall into grey areas that are not necessarily detailed in any certain terms by a given policy, in which case it seems short-sighted to hide behind an imperfect document to avoid making any sort of accommodations.

7. Disinterest in answering questions about the material

This manifests far more in the days and weeks leading up to finals. While it is not necessarily the professor's job to make sure every last person succeeds, it stands to reason that information pertaining to the course itself falls under the category of things that should be answered thoroughly.

Taken alone, many of these things can be passed off as shortcomings an individual may have. But taken together they are something wore that can become something that works against you in a course that you ultimately spent money to be in. And while there is very little one can do in the situations listed, at least there is an indication that the fault is not worth one's self.