"Do they really think the students don't know what "two (2) hours later" means??"

YES!

And I am sure that they felt they HAVE to spell it out like that because some students said they didn't know what a two hour delay meant....

Or maybe it's those writing the memos who have the problem conveying what they mean because THEY themselves wouldn't get it without a long-winded explanation.

I imagine they are just covering all the bases.

LOL, Wildchild. That could explain it!

uhh are you familiar w/ the students today LOL!!??? yeah they definitely do need dumbing down redundant explanations. my dh is attending UCF and is 37, he has students in their early 20's in classes and study groups. he tries not to allow them in his groups because they need alot of hand holding and repetitve explantions that are a waste of time to us seasoned adults. he has had soooo many incidents of meetings that got messed up because 'students' didn't 'understand' what it meant to change a meeting time.... i remind him that things like that just make the intelligent look far more organized and intelligent LOl. ~ liz

I sympathize with your son, Liz. I went back to college at 43 and couldn't get over the attitude and lack of interest among most of the students. There were a few good ones, of course, but so many others were just getting by academically.

And I remember reading a Master's thesis in the library as I waited for someone. The quality of the writing was appalling!

Yep, most 18-20 years old, who are products of our "wonderful" underfunded education system, have no common sense at all, and need to be talked to like small children. It's sad, but very, very true. Ah to go back to the days when boys were considered men at 18, and had to act thusly.

Take from someone who has to send instructions and assignments to college educated professionals; If the message is sufficiently "dumbed down", the chances of someone saying "I did not understand!" or "The message was not clear!" significantly decrease.
My take is that whomever wrote the announcement has heard every excuse in the book twice.

I have to agree with you that some of the young adults (and I use that term loosely) leave a lot to be desired when it comes to common sense and maturity. Yet, I have 2 kids in college and have met many of their friends and have to say that there are some very intelligent, mature, considerate young adults out there. There is hope!
Ron

I guess it's true of some college kids.

However, the only 3 I know are a friend, my nephew and my niece. They are all in honors programs. My nephew is graduating in engineering from UCF with a very high GPA, so I agree with Ron, there are many very intelligent mature, considerate young adults out there.
Lynne

Well, sure. There are loads of bright, motivated kids out there. But I think we used to be able to safely assume that someone with a degree from a four-year college had a certain level of knowledge and "thinking ability," and that simply isn't true anymore.

I used to think my opinion was skewed because it was possible that our local universities didn't attract the same caliber of students as some of the more sophisticated schools. But then my stepdaughter told me she encountered the same phenomenon at Harvard Law.

After years of arranging and attending meetings and events with BUSINESS ADULTS, I can tell you it isn't limited to students. It amazes me that some professional people cannot seem to understand simple instructions or comprehend and remember written words.

Seemingly insanely simple instructions need to be dumbed down and still I can guarantee a handful of people still won't get it. And of course, when they don't it is always somebody else's fault.

That is what I find lacking, not education - but the simple ability to take responsibility for ones own actions. There is a difference between "I am sorry, I misunderstood the directions" and "The instructions were unclear".

However, I do agree it is annoying when even the simplest instructions need to be spelled out.

I was at a conference and we were supposed to take our ballot, write our name on it, fold it along the dotted line and place it in a box on our way into the hall. It had been written on all the prep materials, we were reminded at every station along the way during check-in, and there were signs literally everywhere. Getting into the hall was taking a very long time, and we were carrying heavy things in our winter clothes and I was positively melting and getting ready to combust or pass out. The delay? "People are confused as to what to do with their ballots".

Dances - gee, I wish I had a dancing bunny here.

I'm guessing if they don't cover their bases, there WILL be students claiming they "didn't know" they were supposed to take a test at 10:00 instead of 8:00, and these students will (not surprisingly) insist it's the school's fault, not theirs!

I agree with Nikoleta. Don't let them say "I didn't know about the time change."

I think that a college education is not what it used to be. When I graduated from HS, there were tons of people that did not go directly to college and it truly did not matter, at least at first. Today it seems that most HS graduates go on to at least some post secondary schooling. In my DD's HS class 2 years ago, every student had plans to go on to some type of schooling whether it be college, technical school or the military. My DH's nephew who is in special education is planning on going to a technical college after he graduates. The reality is that he did not get on the job training and education suitable for his needs and now he'll have to pay for it.

Oh, Susan, it appears you have not worked with as many people as I, or you would surely know the answer to your question. And like Dances noted, it definitely is no limited to just young people. Where this one is concerned, you should have been at that school today to hear how many of them asked if the memo also applied to tomorrow's exam times. hahahahaha!!!