Office hours are the times an instructor sets aside each week to meet students, and they are listed on every syllabus. Students whose parents went to college are often told to go from the first week, and this article explains what happens there and how to make a visit count when nobody at home mentioned it.
What office hours are for
Office hours belong to students. An instructor holds them so that anyone in the class can ask about a lecture, a reading, an assignment or a grade, and drop-in visits are expected. Students with high grades go often, so a visit says nothing about failing.
Many first-generation students assume a visit means bothering a busy professor, or that only struggling students should go. In practice, the visit is part of how the class is designed to work. Teaching assistants hold their own hours, and some instructors meet online or by appointment when the set times clash with a job.
Making the visit useful
Bring something concrete, such as a problem you could not solve, a draft paragraph or a question about feedback on a returned test. Say your name and which section you are in, since an instructor with large classes may not know you yet.
Go early in the term, before a crisis. A short visit in the second or third week, about a point from lecture, makes the next visit easier and helps the instructor connect your name to your face.
Bring something concrete, such as a problem you could not solve, a draft paragraph or a question about feedback on a returned test.
What a visit can lead to
Instructors who know you can write recommendation letters for scholarships, transfer applications, internships and graduate school. Those letters are hard to request from someone who has only seen your name on a roster.
Office hours are also where students hear about research positions, tutoring jobs and campus programs that are rarely advertised widely. A professor may mention a summer opportunity to the student who keeps showing up.
Steps to take
- Find the office hours on each syllabus
- Pick one class and visit in the next two weeks
- Write down one specific question to bring
- Ask whether the instructor also meets by appointment
Who decides
Your instructor, at the times listed on the syllabus
Office hours are part of the class, and going early in the term makes every later visit easier.