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Home > Workshops and Classes > Teacher Training > Beginnings > Online Beginnings > Table of Contents >Beyond the First Day > Handling Office Hours

Handling Office Hours

Students come to office hours for many different reasons. They may be confused about something you explained in class or something from their reading. They could be upset about a grade on a test or paper. They may have a personal problem.

The interaction they have with you during that first office hour visit will determine whether they use this resource in the future. It is important that students feel welcomed, valued and respected.

Please consider the following suggestions for conducting office hour visits:

1. Be consistently ready and available to see students during your designated office hours.
   
   If possible, situate your desk so that you can see who has come to your door. Some students (especially freshmen) will be intimidated if they come to see you and you have your back to them and seem to be engrossed in work. They will be reluctant to disturb you. If you don't want to rearrange your office, put a friendly sign on the door that says something like...Knock and let me know you're here.
   
2. Invite the student in and ask him/her to sit down. (This may seem like an unnecessary reminder, but students have often been left standing at the door for an entire office hour visit.) Be friendly and welcoming. It will be less intimidating if you sit beside or in front of your desk rather than behind it. It's also a good idea to keep your door open.
   
3. Listen well to your student's concerns before responding. Give the student your full attention. Let the message service pick up phone calls and tell people who try to interrupt that you are busy and will get back to them.
   
4. Be patient. It can be frustrating to work with some students. The fact that they made it to your door is a positive step. Many students are poorly prepared, many have difficulty articulating their confusion, some are behaving immaturely about a low grade they received. Use this opportunity to influence this student positively.
   
5. Know your limits. If a student's concerns are beyond your ability to handle well, refer that student to other campus resources (counseling, health services, financial aid, student judicial affairs).
   
6. Invite students more than once. If you announced and encouraged students to visit you during office hours on the first day of class, try making that announcement several times during the term. Sometimes it helps to say something like...."I've noticed that several of you have had trouble understanding X. This week in office hours I'll be going over some more examples for anyone who's interested."
   
   Be sure that office hours are listed on your syllabus and posted on your office door. Try to vary your availability as much as possible to accomodate student schedules. You might also think about giving your students some tips about how to use the office hour resource effectively (write down your questions, bring all the materials that pertain to your problem or concern, ask for help in learning good strategies for preparing for exams and writing papers).
   
7. Consider requiring at least one office hour a term. This is more directed at first term freshmen, but it has value for all students. It doesn't need to even be called an office hour. Call it a teaching consultation.
   
   If you have a reasonable number of students (less than 40), consider asking them to schedule one one-on-one appointment as an assignment. This individual session with can provide you will valuable information and insight about your students. It also makes it more likely that they will use office hours again in the future.
   
   A positive and productive session with you can change the climate of the classroom. It can contribute to increased participation in discussions and to taking your course more seriously. When you extend yourself to your students, you demonstrate your care and concern about their success in the course and that makes a difference.
   
   If individual conferences seems unmanageable, consider having students come in small group (3-4 at time).
   
8. Conduct informal office hours by arriving to class early and hanging around after class to catch the students who may feel uncomfortable coming to your office. This kind of accessibility is very helpful to students whose lives are as busy as yours. Some instructors invite students to a local coffee house after class or, from time to time, hold their office hours in non-office spaces like the student union, pizza place or a coffee house.
   
9. If you have a line of students waiting to see you, try to group students with the same concerns and meet with them together. Put reasonable limits on each visit and let the other students know how long they will have to wait to see you.

 

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