Bruin Brief 2022-03-11: Office Hours

Owned by Paul Macey
Last updated: Mar 11, 2022
4 min read

Inclusion and Belonging through Office Hours

 Try something new with Spring quarter: Exploit the power of office hours.

So far, you may have found yourself lone, listening to crickets while playing the latest game of wordle or nerdle on your phone during scheduled office hours. That can change. Office hours can increase student inclusion, belonging, and equitable access to faculty support.

The purpose of office hours

Office hours are intended to enhance a humanistic connection between teacher and learner that boosts student engagement. Conversations with students during office hours can clarify concepts, answer questions, review test questions, or simply provide a little uplift during a personal exchange. Sometimes problems are averted through these discussions, saving hours of trouble later.  

Why first-generation students (and others) miss out on office hours

As a diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative, office hours offer all students a safe, welcoming space. Marginalized students and those who feel alone in an unfamiliar environment need us. To make DEI real in nursing education, we need to bust these five myths:

Myth 1.  ‘Office hours’ means the teacher is working in their office and shouldn’t be disturbed.

Myth 2.  Students invited to office hours should assume they’re in trouble; it’s like going to the principal’s office.

Myth 3.  Only phonies go to office hours to show off or flatter their professor.

Myth 4.  Only students sliding into failure go to office hours to plead for mercy or cry about their problems.

Myth 5.  Only students with accommodations need office hours.

Myth-busting

It’s our job to make office hours welcoming and useful for everyone.

Start by explaining where your office is located. Wayfinding is not a skill possessed by all students. Your syllabus could provide a map to your office. Next, explain what you mean by ‘office hours’ and how you want to use that time. Set expectations about whether you can or will meet before or stay after class, and how informal hallway chats differ from office hours.

On the first day of class, explain to your students that office hours are the times that you have set aside specifically for them in case they need help outside class. Give some examples of the kinds of things you are willing to do during this time (go over drafts of papers, talk about the readings and so on) and reassure them that all of them are welcome and, indeed, encouraged to attend. (Megan Condis, Inside Higher Ed)

 Once class gets rolling, attend your own office hours. Set up your furniture so there is a comfortable place to sit with appropriate light and spacing. One of our mental health faculty colleagues brings flowers to her office every week to create a gracious setting in her office. Leave the door open, or if you’re in a Zoom room, make sure you’re there.

 You can signal your availability and responsiveness to students by planning Special Occasion office hours the night before a test or major due date. Another colleague of ours invites groups of students to attend office hours together so that everyone working on a group project hears the same advice.

 If you hold by-appointment office hours, it takes extra encouragement to assure students you are not inconvenienced by their request to meet. Remind them of your availability throughout the quarter. One of our faculty members requires students to meet at least once with her during office hours, and arranges 15-minute sign-up appointments in CCLE to accomplish that expectation.

 The UCLA expectation

The Faculty Code explains what we must do in our faculty role (see APM-015).  The Code indicates that office hours are expected.

What’s allowable?

Academic freedom allows faculty to hold office hours in the format and time slots that work best for their students.

  • Required or Optional

    Zoom office hours or In-person appointments

    Routinized at regular times on a set day or By-appointment to fit students’ schedules

    Individual or Group

What’s practical?

Allow two hours per week for office hours for each course. Publicize it. Schedule meetings with students to avoid overlap and long delays in the hallway or Zoom waiting room. Limit encounters to about 15 min per student appointment (when possible) to allow more students to attend. Use the online features in your CCLE or BruinLearn platform to schedule  office hours.

Pro Tip

Use BruinLearn Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) for Office Hours

As CCLE begins to sunset and we transition to our new LMS BruinLearn by Fall 2022, there is a nifty calendar scheduler tool that allows faculty to set up office hours on the course calendar and students can sign up either individually or in groups so you know who to expect.

How do I add an appointment group in a course calendar?

What they see:  The Student view of scheduler tool

How do I sign up for an appointment in the Calendar?

How do YOU promote office hours attendance?

What makes your office hours matter for you and your students?

Share your tips and suggestions to lclark@sonnet.ucla.edu

Significant contributor to this issue:
Brenda Yeung, RN, MS

Project Policy Analyst

Academic Affairs

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