As we approach the end of a semester or academic year, we are sometimes flooded with requests from students to write them letters of recommendation. I’m usually honored to be asked to write these letters, and I usually look forward to working on them but only if they are warranted and meet the criteria that I establish for the students requesting the letter.

Screening and Managing Student Letters of Recommendation Requests

As faculty, our duties and responsibilities extend way beyond the classroom, and while we are typically compensated for working 40 hours a week, many of us actually invest 60-80 hours or more engaging in campus related work. Due to our limited time, we need to be selective about who we write recommendations letters for and when.

(more…)