Purpose of the Policy

This university-wide office hours policy establishes minimum requirements for instructional faculty and how instructional office hour schedules will be made available.

Policy Details

As part of their instructional assignment, faculty shall hold office hours to provide students with regular opportunities to meet with faculty outside of lecture or lab to find support for coursework, engage in professional conversation, and to seek academic advising and career counseling. Office hours enrich the academic life of faculty, students and members of the community.

For a faculty member with a full instructional load (12 or more WTUs), the minimum expectation is that they will hold three (3) scheduled hours of office hours per week. For part time instructional faculty and/or faculty with a reduced instructional load, the number of hours shall be scaled commensurate to the instructional workload, with a minimum of 1 hour per week.

Further specifics, such as the acceptable methods of holding office hours, may be determined by department or college policy (for example, virtual office hours for online courses). Office hours shall be finalized no later than the sixth day of instruction and shall be stated in course syllabi and posted at the faculty member’s office.

To the extent that face-to-face meetings are required by this policy, the University must provide a reasonably accessible location for those meetings.

History

Faculty Affairs Committee: 11/28/2023

Reviewed by University Senate: 01/30/2024

Approved by the Provost: 01/31/2024