> I gave up office hours long ago, substituting a > policy very much like > the one Walter describes, Giving them up would have been a luxury for me... they were a requirement. Obviously that didn't mean I didn't see students other than in office hours, nor -- and this I think must be your objection to them, David -- did students ever think I was only available without appointment during those hours, and/or, would only spend two hours a week seeing students 'outside class'. The real issue here, I think (I thought, anyway, before you posted this) is the systematic denigration of teaching as against 'research' i.e. publication. That's actually a worse problem here than in the US now. Focussing on office hours -- compulsory at both the places I taught, simply to ensure that staff who might not otherwise see students except in formal timetabled teaching contact hours, did -- loses sight of that. Judy Evans, Cardiff, UK __________________________________________________________ Sent from Yahoo! Mail. A Smarter Inbox http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html