[{"id":1535,"date":"2026-08-28T16:30:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T20:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/?p=1535"},"modified":"2026-08-28T16:32:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T20:32:17","slug":"faculty-office-hours-f26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/2026\/08\/28\/faculty-office-hours-f26\/","title":{"rendered":"Guidance on faculty office hours"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Note: this post was originally published on February 6, 2026<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear VCU faculty:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hope your semester is off to a great start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of this message is to address the topic of office hours. It is designed to complement VCU\u2019s protocols on course modalities, which are posted to this blog<\/a> and located in chapter 2 of the Academic Affairs Handbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the primary points to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Deans may work within their academic unit structures to operationally define this guidance and review and approve exceptions to these guidelines. If needed, deans may consult with the Office of the Provost before making final decisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. All full-time and part-time VCU faculty members who are teaching courses will maintain open office hours.\n
      \n
    1. Excluded courses include clinical\/practicum courses, independent studies, directed research or other types of courses where office hours do not apply.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. \u201cBy appointment\u201d office hours do not count as open office hours; they are considered additional office hours. Faculty are encouraged to be as accessible as possible to students by appointment who are unable to attend open office hours.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Open office hours must be offered in the same\u00a0modality<\/a>\u00a0as the course.\n
        \n
      1. In-person courses require in-person office hours.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Fully online courses require fully online office hours.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Hybrid courses require a mix of office hours that mirror how the course is delivered, with the preponderance of office hours having an in-person component.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      4. As a general principle, faculty will offer a minimum of two open office hours weekly for each 3-4 credit course they are teaching.\n
          \n
        1. Faculty are encouraged to spread the open office hours evenly throughout the week.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. Department chairs are responsible for ensuring that faculty are maintaining open office hours in the appropriate modality, quantity, and frequency.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        3. Office hours must be posted in the\u00a0syllabus<\/a>, the\u00a0Canvas LMS<\/a>\u00a0and on the faculty member\u2019s office door where students can readily locate them.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Open office hours are a crucial part of student success, and fundamental to the college experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Thank you for all you do to promote student success. We hope this office hours guidance will provide you with what you need to ensure a positive instructional experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Best regards,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Andrew T. Arroyo, Ed.D.
          Senior vice provost for academic affairs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Ph.D.
          Senior vice provost for faculty affairs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          The purpose of this message is to address the topic of office hours. It is designed to complement VCU\u2019s protocols on course modalities, which are posted to this blog and located in chapter 2 of the Academic Affairs Handbook.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1874,"featured_media":1227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,7,5],"tags":[329,414],"class_list":["post-1535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-affairs","category-faculty-affairs","category-provost","tag-guidance","tag-office-hours"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1874"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1535"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1540,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535\/revisions\/1540"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":1533,"date":"2026-08-28T16:26:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T20:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/?p=1533"},"modified":"2026-08-28T16:31:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T20:31:50","slug":"course-modalities-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/provost\/2026\/08\/28\/course-modalities-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Guidance regarding course modalities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

          Note: this post was originally published on September 27, 2023<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Dear VCU faculty and staff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          I hope your fall semester is off to a great start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The purpose of this message is to address the question of course modalities. Multiple stakeholders, including VCU Faculty Senate leadership, have asked academic affairs to issue clear and specific guidance on this topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Here are the primary points you should know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          1. Faculty will teach their course(s) in the modality originally scheduled. Please see the\u00a02023 welcome message<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0from senior vice provost for faculty affairs, Dr. Mangala Subramaniam.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          2. Beginning spring 2024, new\u00a0course modality definitions<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0will take effect. If there is a need to change the course modality, this is done\u00a0prior\u00a0<\/strong>to the beginning of the semester following protocols within the school. A course modality change during the semester requires an exception request made by a school\/college dean to the Office of the Provost via the interim senior vice provost for academic affairs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          3. Face-to-face<\/strong>\u00a0means everyone is in the same physical location at the same time. Faculty who find it necessary to miss class for any reason, including illness or travel, will follow their school\/college procedures for ensuring the course content is delivered. The procedures may include as options: rescheduling the class, providing a recorded lecture or other asynchronous content, teaching synchronously via Zoom or securing a substitute.\u00a0Moving a one-off class period to Zoom is not an option unless it is part of an academic affairs-approved school\/college procedure.<\/strong>\u00a0Please consult your dean\u2019s office for more information.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n