Connecting with your Professors
Whether you are enrolled in online, hybrid, or in-person classes, building relationships with your professors can significantly impact your satisfaction and overall success in a course. Considering larger class sizes and less frequent class meeting times than in high school, you may be tempted to think initiating a conversation with your professors is challenging or daunting.
However, we are here to tell you that it is pretty simple and absolutely something that professors want you to do! Just ensuring that your professors know who you are by name can make all the difference in your motivation and feelings of connectedness to your courses.
Additionally, building connections may open the door for future support/opportunities, including:
- Serving as a teacher’s assistant
- Independent Study/Research
- Letters of recommendation for professional or graduate school
Below are some easy ways to get started and tips for doing so!
How to Connect: Stop by During Office Hours
Utilize your professor’s office hours! The sole purpose of these hours is to help you outside of class. Whether it be the assignment you’re confused about or a simple check-in on your progress in the course, you’d be surprised at the kind of insight you can gain from one-on-one sessions.
Office hours may be held in person or virtually. Refer to your class syllabus to determine where and when these hours are held.
Helpful Tip: Many professors are willing to set up meetings with you on days, and at times, outside of their listed hours to better accommodate you. Some professors with challenging schedules are willing to have meetings via phone call. Just take the initiative to ask.
EMAIL, EMAIL, EMAIL!
Our busy schedules as students don’t always allow for a 1:1 meeting. Connecting through email is better than no correspondence at all. As a courtesy, please allow for a 48-hour response time. It may take a bit of back and forth to get your questions answered, but in the end, you should still be able to get the assistance you need.
Note – Your emails should include an initial greeting, name, Campus ID, class (sometimes professors teach multiple courses/sections), and a respectful closing.
When to Connect
Don’t wait to set up a meeting until you are struggling in a course. Connect early in the semester! Suppose there are extenuating circumstances, including student-athlete travel schedules or accommodations you receive through Student Disability Services. In that case, these are helpful things to inform your professor about at the beginning of the semester.
When emailing, try to stay within the frame of typical business hours (Monday-Friday /8:30am-4:30pm) or their office hours if possible—you may get a faster reply this way.
Network
Attend departmental or other campus events your professors promote in class to establish a rapport that surpasses the classroom and discover new interests.
After You Connect
Follow up with your professor after your sessions. Whether it be an assurance that you are implementing their advice correctly—or to say thank you—following up with your professor shows you care and makes the relationship one of reciprocity.
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