College is a time for exploring new ideas through classes or other social settings, like joining clubs and organizations. Often, we let our desire for one become a priority over the other, but camaraderie and education are not mutually exclusive. With an open and in-person structure, professor’s office hours may offer an opportunity for both.
Office hours can be daunting, but they are a great way to take control of your education while also fostering connections, not only with the professor or TA, but with other students in your class.
Lauren Barrow, biology and Plan II senior said that in-person office hours can be a great way to meet peers who can become study partners or tutors.
Although Barrow appreciates the personal connection that can be made with by-appointment office hours, she also sees the benefit of students being able to talk and study together.
“Sometimes that’s as valuable as an actual office hour session — getting to have those discussion sections with your peers,” said Barrow.
However, students may fear imposing on an instructor by scheduling one-on-one appointments. To open the floor for deeper connection and learning, UT should encourage every professor to set open and in-person office hours at least once a week. This can always be supplemented with Zoom and/or by-appointment meetings for those that cannot attend.
In addition to using office hours to ask questions, psychology junior Jewell Cooper likes to go to office hours to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts by hearing her classmates’ questions.
Copper said that although having office hours by appointment is more convenient for those with a busier schedule, office hours with a set time are much less intimidating. Having an open window can allow for groups of students to come together, encouraging students who may not have the confidence to attend on their own.
Additionally, office hours only on Zoom leave no space for in-person discussion with classmates about the class, which makes college extremely isolating. This absence stunts academic learning and prevents students from making valuable connections with their peers.
Office hours only by appointment make the meeting seem more formal, and discourages the students from attending without a specific question. Meetings by appointment prevent students who simply want to have a discussion about the class from showing up, whereas office hours should be a time in which the student feels welcome to speak freely and listen to the professor and their classmates.
Expanding from office hours, the university can promote further student-teacher engagement through other types of open meetings such as lunches or book clubs. Students who engage with their professors can enjoy the benefits of deeper conceptual understanding of the class and a connection to a professor that could potentially act as a mentor and even write them a letter of recommendation.
“The best letters I write for people are people who come to office hours,” sociology professor Mary Rose said.
Rose estimates that, despite the advantages, she has had only about six students regularly attend office hours in her 22 years of teaching. Students who do not attend regularly miss out on learning how to market themselves and their major when entering the job market, she explained.
Whether you are looking for a letter of recommendation, need an answer to a question, or want to delve further into the material, UT professors should make office hours ours, fostering a learning community by opening time for group discussion without the pressure of a one-on-one appointment.
Conway is a philosophy and Plan II junior from College Station, Texas.
