I have an open closed-door policy.
As a professor at a teaching university, I am encouraged to be present in the office more than not. It also has long been part of our departmental culture to have open-door policies. We truly love engaging with our students in an informal setting. It’s not at all unusual for me to have students in-and-out of my office all day. Some of them are there to talk business, while others just want to chat.
This is positive and negative. It’s positive because I form close, long-lasting relationships with my students. During their four years at the university, I am a daily part of their lives, offering them educational, career and, when solicited, life advice.
It’s negative in that I don’t get a lot of work done in the office. The constant flow of students hinders productivity, especially since my office is located across the hall from the newsroom I advise. I do most of my work early in the morning (when I assume students still are sleeping) or at home in the evenings. Overall, the relationships and fulfillment of making a different for my students are worth the work outside of office hours.
My open-door policy, which encourages students to walk right in and have a seat, sometimes even if another student already is present, also can make it difficult for students to get one-on-one time with me. This is why I’ve created my “open closed-door policy.” Each of my syllabuses reads:
I have an open-door policy and am happy to discuss [insert the course topic here] with you at any opportunity. You do not have to schedule an appointment to discuss course-related matters with me. If you want to guarantee an uninterrupted one-on-one that will take longer than 15 minutes, I encourage you to schedule an appointment to ensure that we can provide one another our undivided attention.
I like the policy. It allows my students and I to have the best of both worlds. We can continue our daily informal discussions without missing educational conversations that require a little more privacy and focus.
Let’s Talk Nerdy!
Professors, what is your office policy? Students, what do you like/dislike about faculty office policies?
