If you don’t really know what office hours are, you’re not alone! Take the Stalled challenge: go to office hours with each one of your professors at least once this semester!
WHY SHOULD I GO TO OFFICE HOURS?
Most students don’t start college with a clear understanding of the purpose of office hours. Here are some tips to help you make the most of them!
WHAT ARE OFFICE HOURS? Every professor holds weekly office hours so that students know when to find them for one-on-one conversations. Some professors require students to attend office hours, but you should go even if office hours are not required. Some professors may ask you to schedule a time to go to office hours, so be sure to check your course’s syllabus for details (and for the location of your professors’ offices).
BUT WHY GO? Getting to know your professors will make you more comfortable in class — and it helps them know how best to facilitate learning in their courses by better understanding their students.
WHAT SHOULD I TALK ABOUT IN OFFICE HOURS?
You won’t have time to talk about all of these things in one visit, so we suggest picking just one to start.
HOW THE READING RELATES TO THE COURSE.Readings are assigned for particular reasons, so you should ask your professor if you don’t understand how a particular reading relates to course themes. This is also likely to help you if you need to grapple with readings in an essay or other assignment. If you need advice about how to read the course’s texts effectively, talk about that, too!
HOW TO DO WELL.If you’re visiting office hours at the start of a term, ask about the habits or behaviors that help students succeed in the course. You can also ask how to improve your performance on tests, essays/reports, presentations, or any other task. If the professor works in the department in which you are seeking a major or minor, consider asking about how your work in this specific class fits into your work towards your major or minor. You can also ask about what habits successful majors or minors cultivate.
What you should not do is ask how to get an A in the class. Different people need different things to achieve high grades, and your class performance will be better if you focus on how best to learn rather than how to achieve a specific grade.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING. Different disciplines have different ideas and guidelines about what constitutes good writing. So, consider asking your professor for writing advice before your first writing task in their course is due. If you have specific questions about any feedback your professor provided on draft or final versions of your writing, bring a copy of your work with their comments.
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION. If you need a letter of recommendation, go talk to your professor. Tell them what the letter is for, what the letter should emphasize, and, if it’s been a while since you took a course with them, remind them about what course(s) you were in. Pro tips: give them the most recent version of your resume at the same time, and give them at least 2-3 weeks advance notice.
WHAT’S NOT GOING WELL. If you find something in the course material confusing, if you don’t understand the parameters of an assignment, or if you are experiencing personal difficulties that affect your schoolwork, talk to your professor in person during their office hours. It’s helpful to talk face-to-face to discuss these things, which can be harder to do effectively via email, phone, or other communication channel.
ABOUT THEM! Ask about their research, or ask about what got them into their field. You might find a professor with whom you’d like to do research, and you might even be surprised at what you learn!
FURTHER RESOURCES
Cornell University Learning Strategies Center. “How to Use Office Hours.”
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Learning Center. “Using Office Hours Effectively