Office hours give students the opportunity to ask in-depth questions, seek personalized guidance, clarify points of confusion, and build stronger connections with their instructor. Yet a number of studies indicate that many students do not attend office hours for a range of reasons, including scheduling conflicts, trepidation about seeking help, or misconceptions about the nature of office hours. Some students assume that office hours are only for weaker students who are failing or that they refer to times when the instructor doesn’t want to be disturbed.
Instructors can encourage students to attend office/student hours using the following strategies:
- Reframe office hours as “student hours” to help students understand that this is time for them. If you choose to call them “office hours,” be sure to clearly communicate their purpose.
- Normalize attending office/student hours. Signal that all students at some point will need help, and office/student hours are a great way to get support. Consider sharing anonymized stories from past students about how attending office/student hours helped them.
- Call attention to your office/student hours: Include office/student hours in your syllabus and regularly remind students about them.
- Be explicit about the process of attending. Make it clear whether students need to sign up for a time or if they can just drop in. Make signing up easy by using the Canvas Scheduler tool.
- Offer students options. Let students know that if they have another obligation during scheduled office hours, they can work with you to identify another time to meet. Consider offering at least some of your office/student hours on Zoom.
- Let students know if they need to prepare. Reducing barriers for attending office/student hours may encourage more students to come. If you want students to bring specific questions or materials (e.g., their exam or paper), let them know in advance.
- Consider making office/student hour attendance an assignment. If possible, require each student to visit with either you or one of your teaching assistants during the first few weeks of class. This can familiarize them with your office location and may also help you get to know your students.
Email help@uw.edu if you’d like to learn more about technology options for managing office hours.