Class materials like books can be expensive, and not all students can afford to purchase them. Sometimes students may end up withdrawing from courses solely because they cannot afford the required materials. Other times, they may stay in the class to meet a course requirement, but end up purchasing the materials late or not at all. This can hurt their learning. 

Professors should regularly provide all students with comprehensive resources, so that students who do not have access to class materials do not have to miss out on all of the benefits they provide. 

Students who cannot afford to buy resources such as class books are left without useful information, examples, and practice work that the books have, which is unfair.  Providing students with worksheets that have interactive activities can allow them to practice the class content even if they do not have access to class materials. 

Although most professors provide PowerPoints with notes on them, these notes can be basic-level information that do not delve deep into the topics, which does not help students as much as it could. They sometimes do not include more detailed explanations and information, examples, steps and practice questions that might be included in purchased material. Professors should provide students with PowerPoints or other forms of notes that are more detailed and comprehensive. 

Providing practice worksheets and more comprehensive notes can be extremely helpful for students, especially for those without access to class books and other class materials that their peers can turn to for help. 

Patricia Meza, an international relations and global studies sophomore, said she does not think it would be difficult for professors to provide students with resources such as worksheets with interactive activities and detailed notes. 

“It’s what they’re trying to teach. They should make it accessible to students. I don’t think it’s too much to ask the professors. They should be able to provide that quality education for anyone,” Meza said.

It is not too much to ask professors to provide students with notes that are as informative and helpful as possible and other resources such as practice worksheets with interactive activities, especially since professors have expertise on the courses that they are teaching.  

Yenibel Ruiz, an assistant instructor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, explained that she does not see any issue with making notes like PowerPoints more comprehensive. 

“Usually the PowerPoint is just a support for the explanation that a professor does in class. I don’t have any issue or problems (with) more PowerPoints, more explanations on the PowerPoint or more examples,” Ruiz said. 

The resources that professors give their students, including practice worksheets and comprehensive notes, should be available to students on Canvas for free in all cases. This gives students the opportunity to refer back to these resources whenever they need to throughout the course of the semester.

Lack of access to class materials, such as books, can hinder students’ learning. Professors can help students by providing them with resources that give them what they need to succeed in class.   

Kamal is an international relations and global studies and economics sophomore from Irving, Texas.