The University of Arkansas - Little Rock

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Other (This Major's Salary over time)
I graduated from UALR's professional and technical writing program this year. First of all, I would like to say that there are a lot of really wonderful teachers in this program who do genuinely care about their students and the progress they make. There is also a good deal of opportunity for teaching experience in this program. That said, there is also a large group of instructors at this university who choose favorite students early on and give them disproportionate praise while completely ignoring others. Generally, the favored students are the ones who had both the time and the financial resources to volunteer their time in the student writing center. If you live out of the immediate area and/or work full time elsewhere forget being acknowledged. What makes this favoritism so obvious is the program's facebook page which is regularly updated primarily by 3 individuals. Favorite students—both past and present—have their birthday's announced on the page; their thesis/portfolio defenses are announced; photos of them are published frequently; they are told about opportunities others are left unaware of (and later find out when photos of favorites with essayist Andrea Lundsford are suddenly blowing up their wall); and their every minor success from getting a semi-relevant job to successfully finishing the program and even personal milestones such as marriage and babies are publicly announced. Meanwhile, other students defend, graduate, land a promotion, get married, and have children without any acknowledgement whatsoever and, frankly, it causes resentment against not only the faculty, but also against the often less deserving students.