Professor emails pic of empty lecture to her 400 English students after no one turns up

A professor emailed a picture of an empty lecture theatre to the entire English course after no-one turned up to her lecture.

400 second year English students were supposed to be attend a "Demystifying Marking Criteria and Assessment" lecture on Tuesday, but every single one of them missed it.

In a furious email sent to all English undergraduates the next day, the lecturer said: "The picture below is of the second year lecture in the Vaughan Jefferies lecture theatre on Tuesday."

She went on to say: "I was frankly shocked at this total lack of interest, from roughly 400 students in second year, in a lecture explaining marking criteria and our marking processes. I can only assume that these are not areas of concern after all."

One student told The Birmingham Tab: "I genuinely had no clue and neither did anyone else."

Another said: "I think it's unrealistic to expect students to show up to a lecture in reading week when many students go home and it's mean coming back for one lecture. I think additional support should be ongoing and not a one off."

In response to the lack of attendance, the English department will now be "using registers in all classes". If English students don't show up to two lectures, they will have a meeting with welfare regarding their attendance. Prior to this, English was only ever registered in seminars.

So next time you're thinking of skipping that 9am remember everyone else may have had exactly the same idea.

A spokesperson for the University of Birmingham said: “In addition to compulsory modules, we also offer a number of optional sessions for students throughout the year on topics such as study skills, assessment and feedback.

“In this case, the session was an optional addition to enrich the standard timetable and was held during reading week, therefore students were not obligated to attend.

"Similar non-compulsory sessions on assessment skills have been held and were attended voluntarily by students.

“Meanwhile, as part of our work to ensure we protect our students’ welfare, we make contact with students to inquire if they need any support should they miss two consecutive compulsory seminars or lectures.”