USG discusses centralizing professors’ office hours
The USG discussed plans to centralize professors? office hours as well as the success of its bike tune-up event at its meeting Sunday night.Class of 2016 senator Eduardo Lima presented a new idea to create a central online location for office hours that would allow students enrolled in a class with multiple sections or precepts to find and attend the office hours of professors or preceptors who teach any of those sections.Lima said he met with Office of Information Technology Vice President Jay Dominick and Director of Academic Services Serge Goldstein, who were ?very receptive to the idea and 100 percent on board? with the idea, according to the USG?s agenda.After Dominick and Goldstein suggested that he implement his idea through the Web Appointment Scheduling System, Lima submitted a proposal to change WASS in order to automatically generate calendars for office hours for classes in which students are enrolled.U-Councilor Gavin Cook ?15 said he thought that some professors who enjoy student interaction wouldn?t mind opening their office hours to students outside of their precepts or classes, especially since it can be difficult for students to remember all the different appointment times.It could be possible to provide an option to show the office hours to students on WASS, but to also require a student to email a given professor in order to be allowed to attend office hours, Class of 2014 senator Charissa Shen suggested.Lima said he plans to meet with various department heads next in order to discuss ways that the faculty can get involved with the project.But not all members of the USG agreed that the plan was feasible.?If you want to get professors on board then you probably shouldn?t open their hours up,? U-Councilor Sarah Wiley ?13 said.