During this school year, students have contacted Student union Kaakko about having difficulties to reach the teachers with their school-related questions. Some of the messages were answered after a very long time, which impacted study perfomance negatively. We find it important that the departments in Xamk make their own service promises internally and inform it to the students at the beginning of each course.
The service promise should for example determine, by which point the teacher should respond to a message from a student – for example after 3 or 5 school days – and what communication channel is to be used. This would clarify things for the student and help the teachers with their scheduling, as well as stop certain communication channels from being congested.
We are aware that these past couple of years have had as significant impact on the working habits and schedules of the teaching staff, and we already want to express our gratitude for the teachers quick adaptation in this difficult situation. This time has also had an impact on students’ mental health and study motivation. If their messages don’t get a response, it could both hinder their study performance and postpone their graduation. The teachers need to understand the difficulty and complexity of the situation the students are in.
On November 3rd, all Xamk students will come back to campuses, which will increase the need for counseling and accessibility of the teachers. We can only fully see the long-term consequences of the remote studies in the future. This is why the accessibility of the teaching staff is extremely important right now, both for the students and the university.