Office Hours Sample Language for your Syllabus
Sample 1: "¡Bienvenidos! Welcome to [name of course]! This course is designed to [course purpose and outcome]. I encourage you to come by my office hours at any time throughout the semester, individually or with friends. If you are unable to visit during my office hours, please contact me at [email] to arrange another time. I am also available to chat online on [date, time, and online medium such as Blackboard Collaborate]. Office hours provide you and I with a set time to discuss assignments, academic and professional interests, study strategies, or anything that can help you be successful in this class and on campus, and prepare you for your career and graduate school."
Sample 2: "I do hope you will visit my office hours. Come individually or with friends. It’s a chance to talk about the course, assignments, exams, study strategies, or whatever else you’d like to discuss. You don’t have to have a problem to visit. If you find yourself having difficulty with a reading assignment, however, I definitely want to see you; I may be able to help. If these office hours are impossible for you, please let me know so that we can make an appointment for another time (Erickson, Peters, and Strommer, 2006)."
Citation Resources
Astin, A. W. (1977). Four critical years. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Astin, A. W. (1993). What matters in college? Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Erickson, B. L. S., Peters, C. B., & Strommer, D. W. (2006). Preparing a Syllabus and Meeting the First Class. In Teaching first-year college students (pp. 67–86). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat04704a&AN=nug.b3624558&site=eds-live&scope=site
Fusani, D. S. (1994). "Extra-class" communication: Frequency, immediacy, self-disclosure, and satisfaction in student-faculty interaction outside the classroom. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 22, 232-255.
Kuh, G. D., Douglas, K. B., Lund, J. P., & Ramin-Gyurnek, J. (1994). Student learning outside the classroom: Transcending artificial boundaries. Washington, DC: ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 8.
Richmond, V. P. (1990). Communication in the classroom: Power and motivation. Communication Education, 39, 181-195.