For decades, instructors in higher education have known that student-faculty contact plays an important role in student motivation, learning, and persistence (Chickering & Gamson, 1986; Kuh et al, 2010; Tinto, 1997). And yet, many instructors struggle to get students to show up to office hours, possibly because so many of the factors that drive students to attend or not attend office hours (course size and type, student and instructor identity) are often outside individual instructors’ control (Griffin, et al., 2014). Nonetheless, there are possible ways to create office hour experiences that are more attractive and meaningful to students.
Strategies and Examples
Explain how students can use office hours. Instructors may understand the usefulness of office hours to support student learning, but students have less experience and may not share that understanding (Griffin, et al., 2014; Hogan and Sathy, 2022). A way to close this gap in understanding is to discuss office hours in class, mentioning what kinds of questions students can bring, what kinds of help you can provide, and openly discussing your own experience with office hours when you were a student. Dr. Viji Sathy shares a slide with her students that explains the three ways of using office hours (“we greet,” “we meet,” and “we work”) explaining the difference between the three options with a few words each (Hogan and Sathy, 2022, p. 165). Students may also benefit from hearing about the range of topics they can discuss in office hours (Smith, et al., 2017). Some possibilities are:
- Broad conversations about the discipline
- Career advice
- The process for requesting recommendation letters
- Study strategies
- Research opportunities
Rename them. The term “office hours,” for those who are new to the concept, can sound dry, unwelcoming, and, well, officious. You can make them more welcoming by calling them “Student Hours,” or something else more student-centered (Hogan and Sathy, 2022).
Make student office hours convenient. Research shows that students are more willing to show up to office hours if the time and location are convenient. Consider polling them at the beginning of the semester about times and locations that might work better for them (Griffin, et al, 2014). Some UMass professors have found it beneficial to move office hours to “neutral territory,” such as in the dining hall, the Blue Wall, or other gathering spots on campus. According to one study, “[s]hared space seems to have the virtue of encouraging [faculty-student interaction], reducing student discomfort, and increasing faculty satisfaction in fulfilling their ‘teaching’ role” (Briody, et al, 2019). If you do chose a public location for office hours, always offer an alternate, confidential space (in person or online) for students to discuss anything that merits privacy (e.g., grades, personal matters, etc.). The Libraries offer various spaces one can reserve for a variety of purposes. See their website for details.
Destigmatize office hours. Students sometimes see office hours as a venue for when things are going wrong – when they’re having trouble or don’t understand something specific (Smith, et al, 2017). Help them see the value of office hours by telling them they’re not just for dire situations! Some professors make it an assignment or offer a point of extra credit for students who attend office hours in the first few weeks of a class, when things are usually going well for students. This sets a pattern of positive connection and interaction.
Encourage sign-ups. To ease the mental barrier of having to reach out to you, you can invite students to sign up for office hours in class, either online or using a clipboard and scheduling sheet (Gabriel, 2018). Conference sign-ups are a regular practice in UMass Amherst first-year writing courses.
Make office hours social, and make group interaction your friend. Not all conversations need to be one-on-one. In fact, you can leverage peer learning in your office hours by inviting multiple students, who might benefit from hearing each other’s questions and learning processes (Bruff, 2024). Consider sign-ups for group office hours so students can see that other students will be there, reducing potential anxieties of attending alone.
Pay attention to your approach to what happens in office hours. Students are more likely to attend office hours if they receive feedback they perceive to be useful (Griffin et al, 2014). Some instructors have advocated for using office hours to inspire student confidence through affirmations, including telling them that they are capable, and that if they put in hard work, they can succeed (Gabriel, 2018). Sharing stories of past student successes after struggling can also be helpful for students facing challenges.
Consider alternatives to meeting in person. Student-faculty interactions need not only be in person. There now exists a wealth of electronic platforms we can use to build connection with our students (Smith et al., 2017). Some possibilities include: video calls (Zoom, Teams), chat rooms (Teams, Google), and within Canvas. Some of these platforms have the added benefit of easily letting your record important explanations or demonstrations for frequently asked questions for sharing with students.
References
- Briody, E. K., Wirtz, E., Goldenstein, A., & Berger, E. J. (2019). Breaking the Tyranny of Office Hours: Overcoming Professor Avoidance. European Journal of Engineering Education, 44(5), 666–687. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2019.1592116
- Bruff, D. (2024). “Wherefore Office Hours.” Accessed at derekbruff.kit.com/posts/wherefore-office-hour
- Chickering, A. & Z. Gamson. (1986). “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.” AAHE Bulletin 39: 3–7.
- Gabriel, K. (2018). Creating the path to success in the classroom: Teaching to close the graduation gap for minority, first-generation, and academically unprepared students. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
- Griffin, W., Cohen, S. D., Berndtson, R., Burson, K. M., Camper, K. M., Chen, Y., & Smith, M. A. (2014). Starting the Conversation: An Exploratory Study of Factors That Influence Student Office Hour Use. College Teaching, 62(3), 94–99.
- Kuh, G. , Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. H., & Whitt, E. J. (2010). Student success in college: Creating conditions that matter. United States: John Wiley & Sons.
- Smith, M., Chen, Y., Berndtson, R., Burson, K. M., & Griffin, W. (2017). “Office hours are kind of weird”: Reclaiming a resource to foster student-faculty interaction. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 12, 14–29.
- Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as communities: Exploring the educational character of student persistence. Journal of Higher Education, 68, 599–623. doi: 10.2307/2959965
