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[Chevy Prefect]

I post office hours, and I'm always there when I say I will be.  I use the time to answer student e-mails, grade papers, and prepare for class. Once in a while a student stops by for help with an assignment or just to chat. Because I keep consistent hours and let students know I'm glad they stopped by, I have more student visits than my colleagues who irregularly appear during their office hours.

I don't mind holding office hours. I always have something to do, regardless of whether a student shows up. I teach in a four-year liberal arts college that attracts underprepared, under-motivated students.  It's often difficult for such students to seek the help they need. Whenever one of them gets the gumption to show up at my office, I want to be there.

We are "required" (a rule not enforced that I know of) to hold ten office hours a week.  Keeping those hours doesn't hurt me, and it sometimes helps a student.

[anon]

melba--
You need a "please knock" sign

[melba]

No, I could not be trusted with a "please knock" sign, as I would probably forget and leave it when up when I am not in the office. Then what would the poor students do?

Actually my solution was to remove the paper I had covering the window in my door. That way a student can see that my light is on, and presumably, make the conclusion that I am in the office.

[rattus domesticus]

I tend to leave my door open when I'm offering hours; closed when I'm working outside of these hours.

I used to work at a small private U for underachieving atheletes (that's a whole other thread) and I used to have a particular student who would "pop-in" (Yes, I'm thinking Seinfeld, too) in the morning as I was making copies or grading. In fact, the more time I spent in my office, the more he would just "pop-in." I found out later that he lived in the dorms on campus (literally six steps to the  classrooms), was one of the only ones NOT in sports and had a attention-deficit disorder and (I think) one other problem. I felt poorly for the little undergrad--but at times I really could NOT sit and go over his paper one more time. I had to ask him to return later, either in between courses or during my actual office hour. It broke my heart a little to turn him away (he needed SOOOOOO much help), but if I hadn't gently kept my boundaries, I'm sure he would have simply moved his bunk bed into my office.

It's odd that on occasion, the ones who do need it come. That's why I do set office hours and make them. Consistently. I do have colleagues who blow them off for any reason--but I think the students who have visited their office feel abandoned and that leads to bad RMP reviews and sometimes outright grade reviews. I guess in the end, I do like working with people and if I didn't, heck, I'd sure get out of teaching!!

[%sig%]

[Fiona]

When I was younger, closer to the day students' ages, there were a few students every semester who'd come to my office to confess or unburden themselves. Usually they wanted to say they were gay or lesbian, or that they'd been raped.

I said sympathetic things, as best I could, but I was not good at that kind of counseling/listening. I was just one of very few young women.

Does that happen now? I know students are supposed to be referred to the appropriate counseling office, but I doubt if many of them go.

I'm glad I'm not called upon for that kind of work anymore.

[%sig%]

[psych_teach]

I gave up on having regular office hours after years of sitting around for students who never came.  Now, I specify in my syllabus that students can see me before or after class (in the classroom) or by appointment.

[mouse]

My "office hours" are open lab, and I typically get a LOT of students, sometimes the entire class.  It's as draining for me as teaching the regular lab, but the students love the extra time, and as long as they will take advantage of it, I will offer it.

When I was a graduate student, I generally had a line out the door when I was TA-ing lab classes.  I'm not sure some of my students went to office hours for their other classes, since they were asking me about things like their economics homework (I'm a biologist) half the time.

[Like office hrs]

I've taken to having one scheduled hour and the rest by appointment. I even usually remember to have my schedule with me to work things out with the students around classtime. Most of the rest of the day my door is open and so students just find me. I've come in on a Saturday for my grad students or a non-traditional student with kids (not a common event, but I work here on the weekend, too, so I might as well). I do have a perfectly nice office, though I did the same in less lovely spots back when I did adjunct teaching.

Like others, I do grading and email and phone calls during office hours. I find them rather relaxing.  So, I like hours, even with the advent of email, which is the main form of student communication with me. Sometimes grad students come by, other times undergrads, or just students who want to see me for one reason or another--not to mention other faculty.  Once in a while a former student finds me to say hi.  More important, however, is having the time to create meaning with the student.

The main thing with hours, as with class, is that you have to take the students seriously. Even in the face of opposite evidence, you have to act as though they take their work seriously.  Nothing pulls them up short faster than taking their ideas as something that matter to them, and thus to me. Then you help them develop the ideas and think more about relevant evidence and counterevidence. It's amazing the kinds of transformations one can get.

I always give my assignments (assorted essays in political science) in advance and I tell them I will read drafts before they are due, but that I won't allow rewrites after they are due. [It prevents students from "rewriting" by correcting typos and then expecting a better grade--they really revise this way. I even tell them roughly where their paper lands in the realm of grades when they show me a draft.] I typically see about a third of my class about their papers with that offer. We get to talk substance quite a bit and the papers sure improve. I don't get much grade complaining, either. Usually, by the 2nd or 3rd paper they can even come to me and say (using a rubric I wrote for them) that they think their paper is probably an X grade, because Y reason. Then they tell me the pros and cons of ways they've thought of solving the problem.  The most interesting ones are where they are near an A--which is something that demonstrates such a strong personal command of what they are doing that I don't have easy answers.  All I can do is say "here is your really interesting idea where I see an A lurking; tell me about it."  We talk and, oddly, it is about them and their ideas and their work and not really at all about their grade.

Once they've come by once, they will often come by again; sometimes they end up wanting to talk about non-class issues.  Just someone to listen to them. If there seems to be a serious problem I suggest the relevant campus resources to them.  One was very upset over money troubles, visa troubles, and a sick relative. I was worried about him and almost walked him to the counselling center. But after 15 minutes he had clearly calmed down. I made an appointment at the center for him, made him repeat the time and some of the steps he'd figured out to take. He went to his appointment, but all he really needed was for me to help him focus on a few key issues. What's wrong with being kind to another human being?

I wouldn't like a required X number of hours and would ignore that rule one way or another. That's irrational policy. But, it really is important to be on campus and ready to assist people with their work.  It's when I do some of my best teaching.

[Martha]

Are you at a small liberal arts college?

I have far too many students to be able to do the kind of one-on-one meetings you describe. 140 or more per history lecture class, 3 a semester.

Yours is also the classic description of the nurturing woman faculty member who gives all to students, with open door policy, and then doesn't have time to publish and  so doesn't get tenure.

I hope you're at the kind of school where your work with students is appreciated and rewarded.

[%sig%]

[anon]

At one of the schools I interviewed at (with a large department), I was told by part of the faculty (the older male part) that nobody ever came to office hours or complained about grades.  I was told by another part of the faculty (the younger female part) that office hours were packed with whiny students.  (This was not true of all the schools I interviewed at, however.)

[sandie]

I too have found that scheduling office hours is beneficial. I go so far as to post my office hours within each syllabi and note that I prefer that students schedule appointments. However, I am always in my office during hours and while many students do not casually stop by, several from each class do, which leads to meaningful course-related interactions. In addition, several students stop by each term that are experiencing psychological difficulties (I am a psychologist), need someone to talk to--someone to guide them to the campus counseling center, which I find an extremely valuable service to the students. I never manage to get any work done during office hours (grin).

[Camilla]

My first year I kept the door open whenever I was in the office--even outside of official office hours--and I had a constant stream of students telling me everything (EVERYTHING) about their lives.  Now I keep the door closed even during office hours.  And I remain standing unless the topic is specifically relevant to their classwork.  It took me about ten minutes at the beginning of my second year to mourn the fact that I was no longer seen as "nurturing."  Now, if I could get away with it, I would definitely be available only by appointment.

[%sig%]

[Camilla's Twin]

>  It took me about ten
> minutes at the beginning of my second year to mourn the fact
> that I was no longer seen as "nurturing."  Now, if I could get
> away with it, I would definitely be available only by
> appointment.
>

Amen to Camilla...it took me about three years but I'm with you all the way.

[Chevy Prefect]

When a student comes to me with a tale of woe (and often it is a real tale of woe), at the first opportunity, I ask, "How can I help? Do you need more time on your paper (or whatever)?"  That helps them cut to the chase and helps them avoid seeing me as a shoulder to cry on.  I like to maintain a professional demeanor. I believe that I can express empathy without projecting a "come to Mama and tell her all about it" signal. And yes, I have sometimes called the counseling office on the spot and had the student make an appointment.

Incidentally, I keep a box of tissues on my desk. The few times a student has cried in my office over a grade, I have handed the student a tissue and given the student a moment to collect himself or herself.  Then we continue the conference, along the lines of "I know you're disappointed, but I really can't justify a higher grade because of this, this, and this." The tears are soon gone and we are back to business.

In short, everybody wins when we allow the student to maintain his or her dignity.

On a related note -- I finally learned how to draw student conferences to an end. When it seems that we have covered everything, I say, "Well, was there anything else you wanted to discuss?  If not, then I will let you go. Thanks very much for coming in."  Many students are not socially adept enough to recognize signals that a meeting is over, so I give them a really clear signal that is difficult to ignore, and if necessary I get up and walk them to the door.

[IndianaProf]

We're required here to maintain 10 office hours per week--not difficult for me, since I'm on campus 60+ hours per week anyway. My experience, though, is that students almost never come to posted office hours: in fact, if you want peace and quiet during a certain time, make those your office hours. The most popular times for student visits:

Anytime that you are teaching another class
Three minutes before your next class is supposed to begin
5:15 PM, usually on a Friday afternoon