Class size. Student-faculty ratio. Faculty advisors. You’ve probably heard the terms or see them on college websites. They matter because teacher-student interaction is just as important in higher education as it is in elementary, middle and high school — perhaps more so since those connections in and outside the classroom means professors are able to help students consider career options and speak up for the students.

Professors at our colleges are available to students when they have questions or need advice or guidance. But that doesn’t happen everywhere — especially if classes are very large or taught by graduate assistants instead of Ph.D. faculty, as is often the case at large research institutions.

Read how student-faculty interaction benefited an economics student at Macalester College.