Reenvisioning Office Hours to Increase Participation and Engagement

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of rebranding office hours to happy hours on student engagement at Florida International University, where class sizes often exceed 100 students and can be as large as 400. The initiative aimed to address the challenge of low student attendance during traditional office hours, a critical time for student-professor interaction. Implemented in summer 2021 during COVID-19, happy hours were held in lab spaces to allow for social distancing and create a more inviting atmosphere. A focus group of 36 students across four semesters provided feedback, revealing increased attendance and positive perceptions. Students appreciated the informal and welcoming environment, which reduced intimidation and fostered a sense of community. The study highlights that happy hours promoted not only academic support but also peer connections, enhancing the overall learning experience. This flexible approach improved student participation and academic performance, emphasizing the importance of an inclusive and supportive educational environment.

Keywords:

• Office hours
• Happy hours
• Student engagement
• Student retention
• Student-Professor interaction

At Florida International University, class sizes vary considerably depending on the major. In the Department of Biology, several lecture courses have class sizes of more than 100 students, with several having more than 200 and up to 400 students. Such large enrollments occur in both online classes and face-to-face courses. Class size can have a big impact on students’ confidence in approaching their professor, especially if a student just got out of high school, where the class size was considerably smaller (Bettinger & Long, 2018).

In addition to class size challenges, the limited time available for interactions before and after lecture and laboratory further restricts students’ engagement with their professors. Beyond the classroom setting, opportunities for these interactions may occur during informal campus encounters or during the structured time frame commonly known as office hours. These scheduled office hours are intended to allow for student-professor interactions that might not occur during regular class time. Several studies highlight the importance of students attending office hours (Cafferty, 2021; Guerrero & Rod, 2013), which may include clarification of specific topics, time to review exams, or the opportunity to seek advice on study habits and strategies to enhance a student’s class performance. Office hours also provides a valuable opportunity for students and professors to get to know each other, particularly in large-enrollment courses.

This article discusses how a combination of holding office hours in an open space and rebranding the name office hours created an inclusive and welcoming environment that attracted several students to participate.

Participants and Design

The Human Anatomy undergraduate course at our institution uses a face-to-face format and has an enrollment of up to 288 students in the lecture and up to eight sections of 36 students in the dry lab per semester. A discussion between professors aimed at addressing the low attendance rate of office hours yielded a proposal to rebrand office hours with a more informal name such as happy hours. The rationale behind the rebranding was that this name change would be enough to modify students’ perception of this structured student-professor interaction. Starting in summer 2021, instead of referring to our weekly optional meetings as office hours, we renamed them happy hours. In addition, as we were still trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, our happy hours were hosted in a lab space, instead of in our small office spaces, to allow us to social distance.

To address the changes observed from the rebranding, a focus group was led by an anthropologist with extensive experience in these activities. Current and previous students who had attended the happy hours format were invited to participate. The focus group session comprised a total of 36 students from four distinct semesters and lasted 90 min. The session was conducted in a blinded manner and transcribed in its entirety to ensure impartiality.

Results and Discussion

Students’ attendance at office hours is a point of concern for several professors who have implemented various strategies in an effort to improve attendance. Efforts include relocating office hours to different environments, such as an active running (jogging) session (Cafferty, 2021), or holding office hours in the dorm (Felten & Lambert, 2020). Although these approaches showed some benefits for student-professor interactions and an increase in student attendance, they do have limitations. For instance, with the jogging session, the author reported that out of all students who claimed they would attend, about 20% of the students did not attend because they did not like to run (Cafferty, 2021).

After rebranding office hours to happy hours, we observed a consistent increase in student attendance through the semesters. Students would attend happy hours for various reasons, including to seek clarification on certain topics, to review their exams, or simply to satisfy their curiosity. One student said, “I just wanted to check what the happy hours was about.”

Using the name happy hours instead of office hours made the activity seem less formal and more welcoming in the students’ view. Additionally, students felt that being in a bigger space, instead of the professor’s office, made the interaction less intimidating, therefore increasing their attendance. Some students’ confidence stemmed from the opportunity to hear other students asking the same questions they wanted to ask but did not have the courage to ask if they were alone in a tight office space just with their professor. Through this experience, fearful students were able to recognize that their question was not a “stupid question,” like one student said. This environment led students to overcome their fear of asking questions, as they would start complimenting other students’ questions. Gradually, students felt confident enough to expose their own doubts, as they understood that this behavior did not mean they were not smart.

The accommodating atmosphere of a larger space and the presence of several students also made some feel like they were not attending office hours; instead, they felt like they were attending an extension of the lecture or laboratory. As one student said, it was “more like a bonus class time rather than office time” because they had the anatomical models to study and the professors available to them.

Another important factor that students mentioned was that they used this meeting time to connect not only with the professors but also with their peers. As one student said, “In happy hours, you make friends … It is like a support mechanism.” The implementation of happy hours created a relaxed atmosphere where students felt comfortable and enthusiastic about engaging in conversations, even beyond the course topic. The importance of social networking is one that cannot be overstated, particularly after experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused students to feel isolated and unsure of how to socialize under these new circumstances (Hu et al., 2022). As one student remarked, attending happy hours gave them a “sense of community,” a feeling that they belong and deserve to be part of this community. This socializing is guided to some extent by the professors, as students who are underperforming are encouraged to meet with students who are performing well in the course. As one student said, “Some students prefer to study by themselves, but happy hours make them enjoy studying with others as well, either by asking questions or helping others out.” A particularly interesting observation came from a student who succinctly added, “Teaching is the best way to learn, and it makes you want to try harder.” The process of teaching and learning from others provides students with a different perspective of how to assimilate and comprehend complex concepts more effectively.

Certain students attended happy hours with no intent of asking questions, but rather to meet with their classmates. These meetings provided students with the opportunity to study as a group for any topic or simply to engage socially. The larger lab space and the absence of disruption from other students waiting to enter a small office space created a welcoming environment. As one student said, “What I like is the pace of happy hours. You can go at your own pace.” This realization demonstrated that when students have the liberty to move at their own pace, they are more inclined to participate in the happy hours sessions.

Some researchers believe students need specific guidance regarding the purpose of office hours (Smith et al., 2017) because uncertainty in the format may cause students not to attend at all (Kim & Lundberg, 2016; Smith et al., 2017). Our findings suggest that happy hours, in contrast, do not need to be structured. Instead, they should be an event where students feel comfortable attending independent of the purpose or their achievements during this time. It is important to let students know that professors will be present during happy hours to assist with any questions or concerns they might have, but happy hours can go beyond this purpose. We were able to identify that this flexible approach resulted in increased student attendance and participation, leading to improved academic performance in both lecture and laboratory settings.

Furthermore, other researchers have reported the significance of student-faculty interactions during office hours (Kim & Lundberg, 2016). While we concur that such relationships are important, we also gathered that promoting an environment that encourages student-student interactions benefits all students, independent of their academic standings. As a bonus, the professors are present should students require assistance. As one student said, “Happy hours [are] like connection hours,” meaning they could form connections with their peers and their professors. Consistent positive interactions enhance students’ intellectual growth and academic self-concept, fostering higher grades and stress reduction and leading to more effective learning (Guerrero & Rod, 2013).

While these findings offer useful methods for how to increase student attendance at happy hours, it is equally important to identify and avoid harmful beliefs that undermine teaching success and restrict students’ willingness to attend these elective events. A professor who demonstrates enthusiasm for the topic being taught and a positive attitude when interacting with students, both inside and outside the classroom, will motivate students to attend happy hours.

Conclusion

We designed an enriching learning experience that fosters collaborations among students, as well as engagement with professors. The first step for ensuring successful happy hours is to establish a reference space that can accommodate a group of students and at least one professor at a time. An empty classroom or a meeting room with reserved slots for professors is one environment that can allow students to attend on their own terms while promoting both faculty-student and student-student interactions that are integral to a positive academic experience.

Effective implementation of happy hours significantly impacts students’ perception of inclusion, retention, and success. The opportunity to come together casually in happy hours reinforces this sense of community. Even when students thought they were isolated, they established connections that resulted in a valuable support system. The importance of forming this engaging community is multifaceted and extends to several aspects of students’ professional and personal lives.