My Professor Is Ignoring My Emails

Professors in larger learning institutions have busy schedules and may have limited resources to respond to individual email cases every day.  Responding to students’ emails is a huge task and can be overwhelming if your professor attends-to multiple classes.

Sometimes, students can send emails that need lengthy replies, to which a professor may not have time to attend to as expected.  

What to Expect if Your Professor Is Ignoring Your Emails

The majority of students have unreasonable expectations on how fast a professor needs to respond to an email.  If you send an email to your professor minutes before your class, it may be unrealistic to expect an answer within the next hour or two.

Though your professor ignores your email, you need to know the penalty for overlooking mail is not as severe as that of failing to submit your coursework.  Do not assume that by your professor ignoring your email, your delay of failure to email your coursework on time will not be detected. 

You also have to put into consideration that your email is not the only one in your professor’s inbox. It is wise to plan when to send your email and exercise patience when waiting for your response. 

Is It Normal for Your Professor to Ignore Your Mail?

Your professor is human, and it is natural for human beings to forget. This doesn’t mean your mail did not reach the recipient. Your mail may have been read, but before your professor could respond to it, a more urgent issue came up.

It is not common for your professor to ignore your mail on purpose. Sometimes it is an oversite or an overload.  If you are persistent in sending your emails, your professor may find it hard not to pay attention to it.  After all, a professor’s  duty is to teach and offer assistance to students. This is indicated in your professor’s terms of tenure. 

If your topic is appropriate, your professor will acknowledge the email, even if it is not a complete response to your subject. 

Your Professor Will Ignore Your Mail if It Is Irrelevant

Sometimes your professor may choose to respond to emails according to precedence. However, there may be other emails that require immediate attention. Depending on the bulk of your professor’s inbox, some emails can easily be overlooked.  

Some students may send emails intended for college administration to a faculty member. If your email has got nothing to do with your professor’s academic obligations to you, it becomes irrelevant and may not warranty a response.  If your professor has no direct responsibility for the subject in your email, it will be treated as spam and won’t be answered.

Email That Doesn’t Need to Be Answered Will Be Ignored

Sometimes a student may email a professor content that is forbidden. If your email falls in the category considered to be discretion, such as research, it may be disregarded. This doesn’t mean your email was not seen. It is because it falls in the category of emails that do not have to be answered.

You need to understand how your college correspondence systems work to avoid sending emails to incorrect destinations. Otherwise, you may send reminders that will still be regarded as spam mail.

What to Do if Your Professor Is Ignoring Your Mails

If your professor ignores your emails consistently, you may have to take a personal approach.  A student who walks into a professor’s office will be hard to ignore. Try other means like calling your professor, which is also not easy to ignore.

If you feel that you need your response by email, you may have to send two or three more reminders. Before you resend your email, check again to ensure that your email’s topic and content are relevant.

Conclusion

It is frustrating when your professor ignores your emails. However, due to various reasons, it may be understandable. It is wise to send a reminder if you don’t receive a response after waiting two or three days. Even though your emails are being ignored by your professor, you will be penalized for failing to email your coursework.

If you think your email needs an urgent response, you may consider other means of communication like calling or physically going to your professor’s office.  Even so, you need to understand what categories your email belongs to so that you avoid sending irrelevant correspondence to your professor.