Exeter Pilots New Delinking Process for Students

A new protocol this fall has shifted the way students can request to de-link from their teachers

Students pursue de-linkage from a specific teacher to avoiding being scheduled into a teacher’s class again. Clarification of the de-linking process comes as a way to empower students to take charge of their studies, but raises questions about what constitutes as a legitimate reason to de-link from a teacher.

“It’s individual to the student, so we can’t list specific reasons that may be considered legitimate,” Saltman said. “But students should do it for the right reasons, not because the teacher is hard.”

In an email sent to the entire student body, Dean of Academic Affairs Brooks Moriarty emphasized that the intent of the new protocol is not to “allow students to choose teachers.” However, according to Moriarty, “rare requests to not be scheduled into a specific teacher’s class for a second term” may be considered on a case-by-case basis, and granted only when schedule and staffing allow.

The protocol sets a strict timeline for such requests, which must be made during the term in which students are enrolled in the teacher’s class and no later than the first day of the “end of term” week. For this term, that day is Saturday, Nov. 17. Students are expected to make a written request and have a follow-up conversation with the department chair before the end of the term. If the student requests to not repeat a class with a department chair, the student will have to notify the Dean of Academic Affairs.

Some community members noted inconsistencies in the previous de-linking system. “Students may have known the policy in one department, but it’s different in a different way,” said Interim Director of Studies Scott Saltman. According to Saltman, this confusion led to imbalanced student enrollment if a number of students asked to de-link very late in the process, after the schedule and enrollments had already been established.

With the new system and clarifications in place, Saltman hopes students will carefully consider their reason for de-linking. “It’s individual to the student, so we can’t list specific reasons that may be considered legitimate,” Saltman said. “But students should do it for the right reasons, not because the teacher is hard.”

However, the question of having the “right reasons” is subject to interpretation. Chair of the Math Department Gwyneth Coogan said that for her department, the previous protocol mandated two terms with a teacher to give the student more time to assess their ability to learn from a particular teacher.

Coogan believes, however, that the new requirement for students to speak directly to Department Heads would similarly prevent them from being able to “run away from the situation.” She hopes they would instead feel empowered to take initiative to have an adult conversation and receive advice.

Chair of the Science Department, Allison Hobbie, on the other hand, commended the addition of the written request as a way of encouraging students to think through their situation carefully.

Chair of the History Department William Jordan noted that since the new protocol has been administered, there has been an increase in the number of de-linking requests, despite the department’s traditionally few requests. “Before, the only ones who would make the request were those in the same class with that same teacher. Now everybody who doesn’t want to have a teacher again is going to contact the department chair,” Jordan said.

Besides his concern of an influx of de-link requests, Jordan expressed full support for the new protocol, which he believes benefits both teachers and students. “It helps the teacher because the teacher doesn’t want a student who is unhappy with them,” Jordan said. “I don’t want to have students who would rather not be in my class. I want students to be happy and excited when they’re in my class.”

Similarly, Coogan spoke about how the requirement would both give Department Chairs information that will assist in the professional development of the teachers and give the department chairs a chance to help the student understand a teacher’s perspective. “I think—forgetting about whether this policy update makes it easier or harder to de-link from a teacher—the idea is to again empower students and teachers and department chairs, to learn and grow as much as possible,” she said.

Many students appreciate the transparency of the new system. Upper Wallen* decided to de-link from her modern language instructor because of a confusing teaching style. “I can never keep track of his class because of how disorganized a teacher he is.” Wallen simply spoke with the Department Head and switched out.

However, it seems that the transparency and ease of this new system might incentivize students to switch out of classes for other, less “correct” reasons. Upper Morgana* gets along well with his current science instructor, yet plans on de-linking due to the difficulty of the teacher’s classes. “It doesn’t seem fair that I’m doing more work than other kids are doing in other classes for the same course. If it’s the same [course] number then the workload should be similar,” Morgana said. “We might be doing more rigorous things and learning more, but that’s time that can be spent towards my other classes and I don’t think that sacrifice is worth it.”

Morgana stressed that the desire to de-link was not for “any personal reasons at all,” but for practical reasons. “If I have the opportunity to have a lighter workload with the same [course] number, then yes, I will take that opportunity,” he said.