In my first semester at UT, I noticed that the course syllabi mentioned something called “office hours.” Although I had never heard the term before, I assumed office hours were similar to the after-school tutoring schedule teachers would post in high school.
For the next two semesters, I rarely utilized office hours for any of my courses, believing they primarily accommodated students who skipped lectures or were on the verge of failing the class. Additionally, I was reluctant to interact with professors or teaching assistants one-on-one. Little did I know, my preconceived notion of office hours, coupled with a hesitancy to genuinely participate in them, barred me from valuable personal and professional growth.
Last semester, I finally confronted my misapprehension about office hours through an introductory African American history course. Given the class’s writing-heavy nature, I began to attend my TA’s office hours to soundboard ideas for papers and refine projects before submission.
As the semester progressed, my regular participation in office hours paid noticeable dividends. My professor occasionally referenced my discussion posts in her lectures, and my TA commented on the rigorous effort I put into the class. I also became a more skilled and perceptive writer in just a few months.
The interpersonal rapport I built during office hours even led to opportunities beyond the course material. At the end of last semester, my TA approached me with the idea of converting my final project paper — one we had discussed extensively during office hours — into a comprehensive research paper. He believed my work was an excellent fit for an upcoming academic conference.
I couldn’t have been more pleased to accept the challenge.
Although instructors take time out of their day to facilitate office hours, many students neglect to attend them due to the same misconceptions I once held. Rather than dismissing office hours as a tool for a small subset of the University’s population, we must recognize their inherent value to all students.
Office hours provide an invaluable outlet for academic enrichment. Seemingly small interactions like clarifying concepts or reviewing homework assignments can spark meaningful conversations about the subject matter and widen the worldviews of both students and instructors. You don’t need a specific question or extenuating circumstance to attend, and most instructors are happy to meet with you. I remember my TA was particularly appreciative of anyone who came to office hours, regardless of their standing or performance in the course.
While I initially struggled to justify the time commitment for office hours and questioned their overall fruitfulness, this past semester fundamentally altered my outlook. I have come to appreciate office hours and now view them as integral to my academic experience. Moreover, I started to attend office hours for the rest of my courses and achieved similar results.
Don’t allow your reservations about office hours to preclude your attendance. If you take the leap, you might be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.
As the upcoming semester approaches, professors will release new syllabi that outline important information about textbooks, class policies and grading requirements. One thing is for certain: I will be sure to note when office hours are held for each course.
Gokhale is a finance sophomore from Allen, Texas.
