Join the TLC and campus colleagues for this virtual conversation to explore the phenomenon of office hours. Whether you see your time slots packed to the gills each week, or you feel lucky if one visitor drops by, please come to share your experiences. 

Office hours are an important instructional offering, a key component of faculty workload, and a gateway towards improved student success and belonging. Yet they often are under-utilized by learners. How do we emphasize their value without burning ourselves out in the process? 

We want to hear from you: what are your successful office hour strategies? Where are your frustration points? 

For staff members: do you incorporate any type of office hours in your professional practice? What do those look like, and what benefits do you see from them? 

This session will share practical tips for increasing attendance and reducing office hour workload. Our goal is making office hours time more meaningful for faculty, staff, and students alike. 

Conversation will include

• naming: how do you refer to your office hours on your schedule and in class conversation? 
• scheduling: how do you decide when to hold office hours? 
• location: where do you hold office hours? 
• format: are your office hours in person, online, or a mixture? 
• structure: do you have a particular format, set of expectations, or advance work you ask of participants for office hours time? 
• pacing: do you have different guidance for office hours at different points in the semester?