Get Used to Using Office Hours

If there was one thing I have learned about student life so far this semester it would be: UTILIZE OFFICE HOURS!!

Unfortunately I can say that office hours have never been something that I was good at adding into my schedule, however, since I have had significantly harder classes this semester, I have absolutely needed to attend office hours this semester. At first I thought of this as kind of a burden to my already hectic schedule, but after attending the office hours of a few of my classes for the first time, I realized just how essential office hours are to doing well in that specific class.

I understand that going in to talk with a teacher one on one can be somewhat intimidating, however, you will quickly realize after attending one or two of your professors office hours that the professors are really there to help you learn and succeed. I always had the impression that teachers had office hours because they had to (which I'm sure they are required to have a certain amount of office hours available to the students), but in all honesty, every professor that I have met with thus far for office hours showed me that they genuinely care about their students ability to succeed.

Office hours are super nice because you have the chance to get some one on one instruction based specifically on the topics you may be struggling with or need clarification on. I actually went into Michael Robinson's office hours this past Thursday to discuss some of the topics I struggled with on the first geography exam, and let me tell you, I left that office with such a better understanding of all of the definitions and concepts I was previously struggling with. I think this is one of the best things about Santa Barbara City College- the fact that all the faculty are so passionate about their field of teaching and are so willing and eager to help every one of their students succeed. I find that it is actually pretty hard to do poorly at this school because there are so many resources offered to help students do their very best. In addition to office hours, the school offers learning workshops on a different topic relating to student success every week, provides textbooks for a 2 hour reserve in the library, offers a scanner to be able to scan library books as well as text books, and has so much more to dedicate to student success.

Really, when it comes down to it... your ability to succeed here at SBCC all depends on how much effort you are willing to put in, because al of the resources are laid out right in front of you.