Printed neatly at the top of our syllabi each semester, office hours are announced almost as quickly as they are forgotten. For some, these blocks of time prove a resource much like Virgo, utilized periodically when coursework so requires. But for many students, getting to know the genius behind the podium is more like the idea of hiking out to Runk for dinner: not only is it viewed as an experience reserved for a selected few, the thought itself makes us grimace, if it even crosses our minds at all.
US News and World Report statistics would suggest the University's faculty-student relations are strong. The 15-to-1 faculty/student ratio rivals University of California-Berkeley and University of California-Los Angeles, while the percentage of full-time faculty tops those of Harvard or Princeton. The convenience of e-mail, the close proximity of residential colleges and the free "lunch on the Corner" programs, though still largely unused, have helped shorten the leap in taking initiative even more.
But translate statistics to daily reality on Grounds, and the situation looks quite different.
Veteran professors point out that viewing office hours as reserved for the proactive student - armed with strong opinions and sharp questions - creates a mental hurdle for those not as prepared.
As Commerce Prof. Bruce Reynolds admits, the majority of students benefiting from regular communication with professors often are the most organized and high-performing students.
But according to Politics Prof. Glen Beamer, who spends 12 to 15 hours with students each week, the students who really profit from the one-on-one contact are not so much the platinum, 3.96 GPA, resume-building student on seven committees. Rather, it is the stressed student who admits he or she needs help.
"One student came to me struggling with a 2.4 GPA - a real disaster - and later graduated above a 3.0" Beamer said. "It is far more rewarding to watch a struggling student grow a lot, than to work with a student who might have done just as well without my help."
For Beamer, much of the "real teaching" occurs in one-on-one office hours.
Aside from the obvious benefits of developing a long-term rapport or getting good recommendation letters, third-year College student Vivek Jain said his office hours experiences have helped his professors understand why he writes the way he does.
"Office hours can provide you the insight of a workshop," Jain said.
Minal Rahimtoola, a resident advisor and fourth-year College student, takes a different spin on the issue. She asks underclassmen to imagine themselves in the professors' shoes.
"They spend a lot of time preparing and get up and talk everyday," Rahimtoola said. "Professors can regret the fact that students rarely stop by."
Even though the College and the Engineering School offer "lunch on the Corner" programs that pay for students to take faculty members out to eat, they aren't always utilized. Rahimtoola said that some students feel as if they are "buttering up" their professors if they take them out, and many of her suggestions are met with an "Eh, what's the use" response.
"It is a personal preference at the end of the day," Minal said.
Frequenting the professor's office happens as much as twice a week for students like second-year College student Chanel Gather, and perhaps not even once a semester for others, like third-year Education student Rashida Johnson.
"I'm doing fine in all my classes,"
Rashida said. "If I have a problem, I'll go, but usually I'll just talk to my professor before or after class."
Second-year Engineering student Clement Song said although he discusses projects and questions with his professors daily outside of their office, visiting office hours is entirely different.
"Professors here are always on task, with meeting after meeting," Song said. "I always have to wait 10 minutes, and when I leave there is another group waiting outside."
For Song, that's where TAs come in.
"It's more comfortable asking my TAs how to do a problem," he said. "They'll tell me easily, 'Yeah, just do this...' whereas the professor gives a long drawn-out answer."
Gather would agree. TAs "really know your habits and to what extent you can work," she said.
Joanne Van De Woude, a graduate student in the English department who has worked as a TA for the past three years, said her status makes it easier for students to approach her.
"The large classes create that distance and makes students more respectful of professors, whereas TAs are seen as people," Van De Woude said. "They're students too."
Elizabeth Thompson, a history professor who has been at the University for seven years, compares her experiences as an undergraduate student at Harvard with those at the University today and laughs.
"Back then, it was terrible!" Thompson remembered. "As undergraduates, our professors were gods and you had to sign up for office hours two weeks in advance. One professor I visited tried to bargain telling me, 'Look, I'll take the time to answer your question if you type this up for me.' I just left."
Harvard emphasized professor research and getting published, Thompson said - teaching often came second. She said it is up to the professor to send the right signals to students, and she herself continually works at making herself more accessible. Because her office is hard to find, Thompson recently gave her classes a hand-drawn map to her office.
"Students also need to realize they can make an appointment outside of office hours," she added.
Many faculty members already organize events outside of the classroom, as a means of making a greater connection. After Sept. 11, Beamer welcomed nearly 70 students to a benefit dinner at his home.
Commerce Prof. Brad Brown maintains good relations through efforts simple as a cracked office door, or stopping to chat with students as he strolls across the Grounds.
"We often look to those hazy days at Yale and idealize what we think the student-professor relationship should be," Brown said. "Students now say they just can't do everything - but that's often used as an excuse to do nothing. Just try and do one extra thing a month. Take a professor to lunch. Pop in for office hours."
Who knows, taking that extra step could mean a better grade on the next exam, a great recommendation letter or a new friendship with that genius behind the podium.
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