Having trouble with a professor

Periodically, students come to me describing some level of difficulty they are having with a professor (for whatever reason). Usually, by the time it gets to me, it's late in the term, it's difficult to address, and the solution is (frequently) not going to benefit the student much. So, let's now examine the process you might follow if you have trouble with a professor:

1. Talk to the professor directly. Be constructive. Have a conversation; don't accuse. Speak, listen, respond, and repeat. Work on determining if there has been a misunderstanding and clarify it. Figure out in this conversation what you can actively do to help the situation improve. Be clear about what you would like the professor to do to help the situation improve.
2. If the above process didn't seem to help, and follow-up meetings with the professor don't seem to be helping, then you should — early in this communication process — talk with a BBA Student Advisor (Rob or Katie). They should be able to provide an experienced viewpoint and will be able to give you advice on what next steps you should take.
3. Generally, if the above process fails to lead to a satisfactory conclusion, you should contact the professor's area chair. I would recommend that you stay in contact with an advisor leading up to this meeting. The advisor might also recommend that you come talk with me to get my take on things.

Why do I recommend that you talk with an area chair instead of with me when you're looking for further resolution? Because the professor's area chair is the person in charge both of setting the professor's teaching responsibilities and reviewing the professor's performance each year. In my role, I am not involved in supervising the professor in any way. I certainly can provide one professor's view of a situation (after all, I am a professor), but I am more like a liaison among students, faculty, area chair, and the rest of the Dean's Office than someone who has some power to yield in this situation.

Generally, I don't like to worry about these issues too much, and I generally don't have to. We have a very good faculty here at the Ross School and, on the whole, the faculty wants classes to go well for all concerned. Given the large population that we have, this isn't always going to be the case; however, following the above process should generally lead students and faculty to better conclusions than otherwise would be available.