Students advocate for office hours

Between extracurricular activities, a job and service hours, senior Jennifer Durham has difficulty fitting in time to see her professors.

“Lots of professors have very set office hours. I dance, work and volunteer, so sometimes I don’t have time,” she said.

And Durham’s not alone. Faculty members said they have noticed a decrease in the number of students who use office hours in recent years.

In response, Student Body Vice President David Bevevino is spearheading an effort to encourage students to use office hours more frequently.

“I don’t think we would be doing this if we had thought students had been using them to their fullest extent,” Bevevino said. “This is something that’s been a long-term interest of ours.

“Now we’re moving into the action phase.”

Students and faculty members both said better use of office hours would lead to better performance in class, a closer relationship between students and faculty, a more personalized education and a greater emphasis on academic life — priorities set by Chancellor Holden Thorp.

Student government is trying to emphasize these advantages and find ways faculty members can reach out to a busier generation of students.

Their current plan is to publicize office hours through residence halls to show that the benefits of office hours extend beyond homework help and test reviews. The halls are ideal places to launch this effort, Bevevino said, because they house many freshmen and sophomores — often the most hesitant students.

Barriers to office hours

In addition to schedule conflicts, some students said they don’t attend office hours because they feel intimidated or think attending would be a waste of time.

“It’s important for faculty to seem available even if they’re very busy so students don’t feel like they’re infringing on their time,” said English professor Jessica Wolfe.

Other students said they don’t attend office hours because they don’t see their professors as approachable.

“With some, you can tell they just want to get back to their research,” said senior Ben Flitter.

Senior Jesse Martin said it becomes difficult for students to hide when they interact with a professor one-on-one and haven’t done their homework. If students haven’t done assigned work for the course, they might be afraid of looking like suck-ups for coming to office hours unprepared, he said.

Economics professor Geetha Vaidyanathan said being personable and encouraging students to attend make students feel more welcome.

Junior Kerry Townsend said she frequently takes advantage of office hours. “I wish I could come every day,” she said while going over homework problems with physics professor, Nalin Parikh.

“She sleeps outside my office,” Parikh joked. “I make it so hard, they have to come.”

Getting them in the door

Nina Martin, associate professor of geography and international studies, said office hours are probably the best part of her job because she gets to know students better, and they get to know her.

Some professors have creative ideas for promoting interactions outside of class, such as holding office hours at restaurants and coffee shops or on weekends.

Jesse Martin said meeting in a more relaxed atmosphere, such as a coffee shop, can reduce any tension that might be present in an office.

Durham said she has had professors offer extra credit for attending office hours.

Office hours show the teacher that students care and are applying themselves ­— not just focusing on getting credit, he said. Nina Martin said students can also come to office hours for personal reasons. She said she likes to hear about students’ lives and the interesting things they are doing outside of class.

“It’s such a unique opportunity to have one-on-one time with a professor, especially for students who are in large classes and don’t get a chance to talk and discuss in class,” she said.

Office hours can also benefit students when requesting letters of recommendation, she said.

“If I’ve met with them and I know about their lives and goals, it makes writing them so much easier,” she said.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.