How to Make the Most of Your Professor's Office Hours
Colleges are filled to the brim with resources that help you succeed academically and prepare for life after graduation, but no one will make you use them. As an adult, it’s up to you to decide how to manage your time, and if your eyes aren’t open to opportunities, you might step right over solid gold without realizing it.
One of these often-underappreciated resources is your professors’ office hours. Beginning freshman year, every professor will offer set times to meet with students outside of class. They usually share the “where” and “when” during the first class of the semester and may print it in the syllabus.
What if I told you that this time spent engaging with your professor outside of class isn’t just solid gold, but the motherlode? What if I said that making the most of professors’ office hours will pay dividends throughout your college journey and beyond?
In this article, we’ll explore these claims, dispel some common myths, and give you practical advice to help you get maximum value from a small investment of your time and attention. The office is open: Let’s talk.
The Benefits of Office Hours
My grandiosity might justify skepticism: Aren’t office hours just a conversation with my professor? Don’t I hear enough from them during class? I’d rather go talk to the cutie who works at Starbucks...
By all means, chat up the barista, but do it outside of office hours! The reason is clear if you really think about it: When you spend time talking with your professors, you’re drawing from a deep well of experience, knowledge, and connections. There’s a lot you can learn from them!
Find Guidance on Assignments
Your professors don’t just assign the homework, exams, and papers that will determine your grades — they design them, and understand what each assignment is supposed to teach you. They’re happy to offer early feedback, help you get unstuck, or brainstorm ideas that will ignite your passion for the project.
The goal of assignments is often to get you thinking about the course material so you can develop your own ideas on the topic. While your professors won’t be willing to do all the heavy lifting for you, it will thrill them to give you input and watch you work things out for yourself.
Get College Advice
Your professors have advanced degrees that took many years of college enrollment to achieve. If you’re struggling with some part of the experience, it’s likely they can offer insightful advice.
You might ask them to share some details about their experiences in graduate school if you’re on the fence about pursuing advanced degrees of your own.
You might seek advice about time management: How did your professors approach this problem when they were students, and how have their strategies evolved over time?
Your needs might be more immediate: Ask for advice about what classes you should take over the next few semesters, or which concentration best matches your passions. You can bring that information to your advisor to create a personalized academic plan.
Remember: The best way to smoothly navigate college life is to consult the ones who have walked that road ahead of you.
Learn More So You Can Go Further
Your professors are experts in their field, perhaps even well-known leaders who are winning awards, publishing papers, and advancing frontiers. What they give you during lectures is only the tippy-top of a very large iceberg. Imagine what you could learn in just a few minutes of candid conversation!
Ask them about their research; it might inspire you. Discover the reasons they chose their specialty, and you may find it appeals to you, too. Compared to your peers, you’ll be getting more value out of each credit hour you pay for and have a clearer understanding of what you want to do down the road.
“Some students have graduation as their goal, but the graduation commencement is only a starting point,” observed Dr. Sanghoon Park, a leading professor in the USF College of Education. “What's important is what you do once you get your degree — what kind of career opportunities you can explore. From that perspective, I think getting help and advice from faculty members is a really important thing to do.”
During his office hours, Dr. Park frequently offers professional guidance to his students, helping them pursue research and build connections. “Having opportunities to talk through what you’re learning with professionals in your field will help you grow to become more professional and eventually get a job,” he said. “Communicating with someone knowledgeable, who is established in the field already, is impactful.”
Personalization and Support
Getting to know your professors will lead to more personalized instruction and lay the foundations for your professional network. Later, when you need letters of recommendation, the professors who know you best will be eager to help you.
“The more we get to know your face and name, the more we can write a really strong recommendation for you when you need it,” explained Dr. Deby Cassill, an associate professor in USF’s Department of Integrative Biology who studies animal behavior. “Just stop by to say, ‘I loved the lecture today’ or ‘I really missed out on this. Do you have a minute to go over it?’ Capture us right after class. We are so willing to help. We really are.”
If you really click with a professor, a mentorship may begin to form. The professor who was a total stranger to you on Day One of the semester may become a vital part of your support network within a year or two. That can’t happen if you don’t reach out.
Office hours are also an ideal time to inform your professor about special accommodations you might need.
Myths and Misconceptions
All those benefits make a compelling case! But if office hours are so great, why do such a small percentage of students take advantage? According to the 2022 Student Voice Survey, which polled 2,000 students from over 100 colleges, only 17% of respondents attended their professor’s office hours more than once or twice a semester while 28% never went at all!
Students have misconceptions about office hours that prevent them from showing up. Here are two big ones:
Myth #1: I’m Imposing on My Professor’s Time
Many students imagine that “office hours” means “time the professor has set aside to work in their office.” Who wants to disturb someone while they’re working? Showing up for office hours isn’t a disturbance, though. Far from it!
“We make a point of reaching out to students and letting them know they’re VIPs,” Dr. Cassill said, “because without students, we couldn’t do the job we love. We're here to help you learn.”
If you need further validation, know that you’re doing them a favor, too. Professors view conversations with students as a valuable source of feedback.
“College office hours aren’t only useful for students,” wrote Dr. Genevieve Carlton, a history professor, in an article for BestColleges. “I [find] it helpful to know which topics confused students or what kinds of issues they ran into when writing a research paper.”
Engaging with your professors shows them that their lectures are reaching you. After the lesson, when a professor asks if the class has any questions, you might think that a room of tight-lipped students signals “job well-done!” Not so.
“I see it very differently: They must be bored to death!” laughed Dr. Cassill. “Learning is fun, and teaching is fun. It makes me feel better when students come up after class and they have questions. It’s like, oh! They were listening. This is fabulous!”
Turning solemn, she continued. “My job is to get you the information you need to succeed. If I'm not doing it well, I really want to know that. End of story.”
Bottom line: You are welcome. You are expected. And the benefits go both ways.
Myth #2: My Professor Will Think I’m Dumb
You can be sure that no one thinks you’re dumb for having questions about a college-level class — least of all your professors. Everyone is there to learn.
Still, this is a common fear. Even the accomplished Dr. Park felt this way as a student. “I was afraid that my professors might see me as incompetent,” he recalled. “They might be shocked that I didn’t know something.”
Now, as a professor, he sees things differently. “I don't think students should feel that way. It’s a learning journey, and nobody's perfect — not even the faculty. What's important is, here at USF, I think all the faculty members try to help students be successful.”
Dr. Cassill echoed his sentiment. “Nobody wants to go to a professor and ask questions and appear to be dumb, but if you knew everything, why would you even be in college?”
Best Practices for Students
Now that I’ve convinced you there’s really something to this whole “office hours” thing, follow these tips to get the most out of your time investment and make a good impression:
There’s No Time Minimum
Don’t think that you need to commit to a long meeting every time. Even if you just swing by quickly, your professor will be happy to see you and won’t be put out when you go. Stay two minutes, five minutes, or 20.
Scheduling
If possible, schedule a time in advance. It’s not required, but it is good manners, especially if you aren’t a current student of the professor. (That’s right — many professors will meet with any student who has an interest.) It can also help your professor manage their time if multiple students plan to stop by.
Speak briefly after class or send an email. Let them know what day you intend to go and ask if they have an exact time within the block that they want you to arrive.
Have an Agenda
Try to go in with an idea of what you want to discuss — an agenda to guide the conversation so you can use the time efficiently. Sometimes, your agenda is just to say, “Hi! How are you?” That’s okay, too.
At minimum, know specifically which questions you’d like to ask before you walk in.
Show You’re Already Making an Effort
While professors are generally happy to help students at any stage of learning, asking for help before you’ve even cracked the textbook or attempted the assignment might raise a suspicious eyebrow.
Before you show up to office hours, pay attention in class, do the reading, outline your paper, etc. Be engaged and make an effort to meet your professor in the middle.
Don’t Expect to Be Handed Answers
College isn’t about rote repetition, but deeper understanding. There’s no doubt your professor will drop some knowledge during your meeting, but it probably won’t be in the form you expect.
The Learning Strategies Center at Cornell University put it well: “Do not be surprised when the professor [replies] to your questions with questions of their own. They are working with you to uncover the source of your questions…They will help you change how you think about the material so that you can answer many different kinds of questions about it — not just the question on the homework that is stumping you.”
Take Notes
Your professor will likely guide you towards useful problem solving and critical thinking strategies, so make sure you take notes during each visit. What you learn there will come in handy again and again as you progress. This is one way you’ll start to build effective study habits.
Don’t Let Nervousness Hold You Back
Even knowing that there’s nothing to be afraid of at office hours, some people still get nervous about social interactions. Find ways around that feeling. While email correspondence may be useful for simple questions, it’s no substitute for conversation.
You could go with a friend for support the first few times until you feel comfortable, or ask if your professor would mind meeting over a video call. Since the pandemic, many professors have adopted virtual meetings. Meeting face-to-face, even if it’s through a screen, helps your professor be flexible and responsive to your questions.
Introduce Yourself Early in the Semester
Funny thing about professors’ office hours: No matter how many or few students stop by throughout the semester, come finals week, there’s often a line around the block. Don’t be one of the procrastinators! They missed out on so many of the benefits of office hours by waiting until the end of the semester to show up, scrambling to save their grades.
Instead, come early in the semester — the first week or two — and get acquainted with your professor. Start building that relationship when it can do you the most good.
Don’t Miss Out on Valuable College Resources
Hindsight is 20/20. Many college graduates I know, including myself, failed to draw these conclusions until our time as students was running short.
As undergraduates, we were presented with more independence than we’d ever had in our lives, and free time was the only time that mattered. We brushed off office hours and engaged only with the lectures and coursework. Only later did we realize what we missed, when the door was already closing.
You can do better. Recognize the value of professors’ office hours early and make room in your schedule. Take advantage of the benefits they offer.
The same goes for other resources on campus. From academic advising to mental healthcare to social connection, USF provides extraordinary services to help our students succeed. In fact, your success is our top priority.
Reach out to Student Success to find out more! Something transformative may be waiting for you.
