Dallas College has an obligation to update its students when crucial changes are made to their classes.

For example, several students on campus, including staff at The Et Cetera, have had their professors changed without so much as an email informing them of the swap. Considering students spend hundreds of dollars to take these classes, notifying them doesn’t seem like such a tall order. 

There currently is no formal process in place to notify students when a change like this occurs to their course before the start of their classes. Dallas College will notify you if the swap occurs halfway through their course, but students are expected to constantly check the class catalog if they want to ensure they’re still attending the class they actually paid for. 

Changing an instructor without warning is a slap in the face to the students who take the time to pick specific classes. Students do a lot of research before they pay for a class. They may hone in on a particular professor who fits their learning style only to learn at the last minute they’ve been switched to a different teacher. 

That’s like making an appointment with one doctor and showing up to find an entirely different physician has taken their place. 

What’s worse is that by the time students notice a change to their course, it could already be too late to transfer, given how quickly classes fill up. 

This leaves students in a tight spot: Either they suck it up and finish the class or drop it altogether. Dropping these courses could set the student back by months, depending on how many classes they’re taking.

This lack of communication erodes the trust students have in Dallas College as an institution. Though it may seem like a minor oversight, it sets a bad precedent when thousands of students attend classes each semester. 

A simple email or phone call would go a long way in saving students some trouble.