Be Proactive ・ Act Early ・ Take Responsibility
If things are going astray with your semester, if you can’t keep up, if you’re worried you will fail a class, “Should I withdraw, should I stick it out?” – that’s Academic Difficulty and that’s time to take action. These apply to any major, but we’ve focused the resources here on ECON BA and FIEC BS students.
If you’re having trouble in a particular class, your first action should be to TALK WITH YOUR INSTRUCTOR. No one knows the class material, the upcoming schedule, and details about your grade better than they do. Try making initial contact before or after class, let them know you would like to discuss your grade, upcoming work or problems you’ve been having. Get on their radar.
If you need assistance outside of class, every instructor at UMBC has an email address. Use EMAIL to ask a brief question or set up an in-person or virtual meeting. Remember that email responses can take time, so allow for that if using it. If you email an instructor after regular daytime business hours, you may not get a response until the next day, but expect 24-48 hours as a general response window.
Many professors have open OFFICE HOURS usually listed on the syllabus. That means you can just drop by during those hours and talk or maybe go over a particular piece of material from class or an assignment. Be patient, other students might have the same idea, so you may have to wait in the hall for a bit to see your instructor.
Below are the listed contacts for core faculty (full-time professors and lecturers) and adjunct faculty (part-time instructors and lecturers) found on the Econ website. We try to keep it up to date as best as possible. If you’re having trouble finding a particular name, use the general inquiries information and ask the department admin or department advisor.
Robert Pawloski, CAHSS Economics Advisor, at robpawl@umbc.edu
Your Economics Department Advisor can help you with all matter of issues and concerns. If you’re having class issues and you’ve already spoken with your instructor, then I would be happy to do what I can or connect you with other resources like tutoring or your academic advocate, add/drop or withdrawal from classes, repeating classes next semester, summer or winter session classes, and planning your pathway to graduation.
If you’re seeking counseling for mental health issues, I can direct you to UMBC’s Mental Health Services within Retriever Integrated Health.
