Yes to virtual office hours!   Working from home minimizes carbon emissions
air pollution, and the consumption of fossil fuels as well.

Stacy Alaimo
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From: Center for Theory [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Cole, Richard L [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 10:27 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: why didn't we think of this?!

Tim makes a very good point.  As anyone who has actually taught a class in the past 10-15 years knows, today’s students are more interested in knowing, and far more likely to use, a faculty’s e-mail address than his/her office hours.

In the spirit of “accessibility,” perhaps it makes more sense in today’s virtual world to post times available for “on-line” consultation rather than, or in addition to, “office hours.”

Richard Cole


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From: Center for Theory [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Morris, Timothy R [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 7:36 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: why didn't we think of this?!

Policies that mandate faculty "office presence"
(common at 2-year schools and now, we see, increasingly
at 4-years), show a contradiction between pressure
to go virtual and pressure to be in a fixed, supervisable
location.  I'm starting a 14-hour workday in my office right now, so
I don't have any problem being accessible to students; the spirit of the
rule is actually fine with me.  But I was just as accessible yesterday
"at home" when I was dealing with advising problems over the Internet
all day long.  (What's the difference, since most of my "work" takes
place over e-mail anyway?)  It's ironic that technologies that have freed faculty from
the physical office create counterpressures to nail them down where they
can be seen: it's one of those "despite or perhaps because of" situations.
TM

Tim Morris, Professor and Associate Chair
English Department Box 19035
University of Texas at Arlington
503 W Third St Carlisle 203
Arlington TX 76019
817.272.2739
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From: Center for Theory [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Silva, David [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2010 11:07 PM

Josephine writes:

"Both adjunct and T/TT faculty are facing multiple sets of competing goals"