Some professors allow students to write own recommendations

Writing a letter of recommendation for a student requires a professor to do a fair amount of homework, but some professors say they don't have the time.

Instead, professors are letting the students do the work.

Elena Plante, an associate professor for speech and hearing sciences, said she allowed a student to write her own letter because the deadline was quickly approaching.

Even though the student wrote most of the letter, Plante said there were parts of the letter she had to enhance because she noticed that students underestimate their own abilities.

"I think doing this is fine because I will only sign a letter if I agree with it," Plante said.

Graduate schools across the country said as long as the professor's signature is authentic, they also do not see a problem with the practice.

Mary O'Rourke, the director of admissions and student services for Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, said if the signature matches, the letter is valid.

"We take a variety of factors into context and consider every piece," she said. "A bigger problem we have is that some students don't write their own essays."

Joan Dim, managing director of the office of public affairs for New York University's school of law, said she was not aware professors did this, but also does not see a problem.

But Joe Ford, the assistant director of admissions for Michigan State University's school of business, said he highly discourages students writing their own letters, even if the professor does edit for content.

"The letter of recommendation can give us insight into the applicant's work ethic, as well as character," Ford said.

Ford recommended that students avoid asking professors who teach large classes to write letters of recommendation. Rather, he said, ask employers who know of specific projects you've done.

Johnny Fares, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology, said he may ask students to write a draft of the letter because he has lecture classes of 150 students.

"If one of them asks me for a recommendation, what would I be able to write, besides he or she got an 'A,' unless they make themselves known to me somehow?" Fares said.

Fares said another benefit of allowing the students to write letter drafts is that it helps him get an idea of how well the students think they performed.

"This helps me in future designs of the course," he said.

In addition, professors emphasize that they do not blindly sign letters they don't agree with; instead, they edit the letters extensively until it meets their approval.

Although some graduate schools disapprove of the process, all agree it is extremely difficult to detect if a student wrote the letter, especially when the professor's signature is valid.

"We prefer to see the professor write it, but there is usually no way of knowing," said Steven Burkett, associate dean of Washington State University Graduate School.

O'Rourke said she is not able to play police officer, but even if she somehow found out the student wrote the letter, it would not be detrimental to the application.

Students on campus are mixed about whether they like the idea of writing their own recommendations.

"In a sense, it defeats the purpose of a letter of recommendation," said Krista Morrison, a mathematics senior. "But, if everyone is OK with it, it is not a problem."

Kassandra Soto, a pre-architecture sophomore, said the procedure is good because both students and professors will benefit.

"Professors don't have much time, but students will at least get a letter from them," Soto said.