Office hours are designated periods when students can approach professors or their teaching assistants for one-on-one academic support.
Students typically overlook this form of academic support as a key to their success, making it an excellent opportunity for you to leverage its benefits.
Read this article until the end to learn why you should attend office hours to succeed in college!
Office Hours: An Underutilized Resource
Office hours exist so students can get the personalized academic support they require. Unfortunately, many students underutilize this support for several different reasons.
Researchers like Guerrero and Rod (2013) found that students understood the value of office hours but didn’t use them due to scheduling conflicts or simply forgetting that they were available.
Worse yet, they found that some students hesitated to seek help, while others didn’t believe they needed help at all.
This issue has a silver lining: the underutilization of office hours also means less competition for you to get one-on-one academic support from professors or their teaching assistants.
Office Hours And Academic Achievement
Guerrero and Rod (2013) have also found a positive correlation between office hours and students’ grades.
Simply put, students who attend more office hours tend to do better with their studies.
That’s because students use that precious time to dive deeper into the points their professors make during lectures, to obtain clarification on reading materials, to discuss their academic performance, and to seek general advice.
As a result, those office-hour interactions outside the classroom also encourage students to perform better during class time, leading to better academic performance overall.
Making The Most Of Your Office Hours
Showing up is half the battle, as they say.
In this case, the other half is having a few good strategies to make the most of the office hours you attend.
Here are 4 tips to remember when seeking academic support through office hours:
- Show interest: First and foremost, let your professor know in advance that you’d like to meet them during office hours. Some professors might assume students aren’t interested in meeting them. So, letting them know you’re coming gives them time to prepare to meet you.
- Come prepared: You must attend office hours with a clear plan of what you’d like to discuss, such as by preparing a list of essential questions to ask. Coming prepared shows the professor that you’re serious and have no intentions of wasting time.
- Read up: Similarly, you should read up on the topics you plan on discussing. Remember: Office hours are meant to be when you discuss topics you’ve already learned.
- Follow up: After attending office hours, follow up by presenting any additional answers or questions your professor has requested or by simply thanking them for their time.
Final Thoughts
Attending office hours is a strategy you can rely on to get ahead in college, but it shouldn’t be the only one.
Remember to leverage other forms of academic support, such as group studying, peer tutoring, and professional mentorship from Equity Metrics!
References
Guerrero, M., & Rod, A. B. (2013). Engaging in Office Hours: A Study of Student-Faculty Interaction and Academic Performance. Journal of Political Science Education, 9(4), 403–416. https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2013.835554