Some time ago, I wrote how admin here at the University of Not-Bielefeld (if not admin types the world over) like to send chain e-mails, where some e-mail from central admin is successively forwarded down the chain of responsibility (central admin to faculty to department to …) with no one bothering to clean up allContinue reading “Corporate resign”
Tag Archives: University of Not-Bielefeld
Passing the b*ck
With Northern Germany’s annual attempt at winter being upon us again (dark, drizzly, not really cold, definitely not snowy), my thoughts at this time of year always turn not to Christmas (which to this Canadian requires snow), but to how the chain of responsibility inevitably seems to be tied to the ankle of the averageContinue reading “Passing the b*ck”
Killing time
I’ve mentioned before how time in Academia doesn’t really flow the way it does in the rest of the world. And not just for students in the middle of a death-defyingly boring lecture either. It gets worse … At a recent meeting of the profs in my department, it was revealed to us that, onContinue reading “Killing time”
Belabelling a point
Every time that I start to worry that I’m running out of material for this blog, admin comes through for me. I suppose that means that I should be grateful somehow … … but definitely not in this case. We all know the drill. Once we set up an e-mail account, the very first andContinue reading “Belabelling a point”
A question of form
Forms are synonymous with admin. And forms are simply awful. Period. (Although most people would agree with each of these sentiments, I strongly suspect that they have never contemplated the logical consequence of linking them together.) There is, of course, the pain inherent to any form in and of itself. However, there’s whole bunches ofContinue reading “A question of form”
Working the chain gang
Remember the good ol’ days of the internet? The days before endless numbers of spam e-mails about penis enlargements or from Nigerian princes? (Or about penis enlargements for Nigerian princes? I mean, they have to invest those millions somewhere, right?) When life was simpler and people were so unsavvy that you actually had to explainContinue reading “Working the chain gang”
Leerevaluations
First off, I should probably explain that title … Despite their stunning underdog victory to claim the title as the funniest nation in Europe in 2001 (sorry for the repetition, but I still can’t wrap my head around that one), most people who don’t speak German don’t realize that it’s actually possible to make punsContinue reading “Leerevaluations”
We are Anonymous
To combat cheating, my University here in Not-Bielefeld recently implemented an online tool (PlagScan) to help to assess the degree of possible plagiarism in student reports and theses. (As an extreme bit of irony, the program came online exactly one day after I submitted a report on a thesis where there were some instances ofContinue reading “We are Anonymous”
Hours are not to reason why
If you’ve ever wanted a good example of the old saying that time is relative, you need look no further than the admin behind teaching in Germany. It all seems so simple going in. When I arrived at the University here in Not-Bielefeld, I was told that my teaching load was nine hours a weekContinue reading “Hours are not to reason why”
An open-and-shut case
For our “protection”, the IT Department here at the University of Not-Bielefeld recently restricted the types of attachments that could be received via e-mail. Most affected by this were the older Microsoft Office documents (e.g., .doc or .xls files), which could be compromised with vicious macros and other similarly evil stuff. Instead, for the pastContinue reading “An open-and-shut case”
The Blog About Fog 