Isn't it time for another poll? I think it is time for another poll. What I would like to know in today's poll is this:
Do you, my faculty readers, have any particular policies or preferences re. having your office door open or closed when meeting with students? For example:
And you, my student readers, I wonder whether:
When I was a grad student, most professors kept their doors closed. I wish some of them had had an open door policy when meeting with students. Even when I felt nervous about meeting alone with a particular professor, I never asked him if the door could stay open. Instead, I would tell one or more of my friends where I was going and ask them to knock on that professor's door after 5-10 minutes. This system worked quite well. This anecdote leads me to my final question of the day:
Do you, my faculty readers, have any particular policies or preferences re. having your office door open or closed when meeting with students? For example:
- no policy (door can be open or closed, it doesn't matter),
- door always open when meeting with students (because.. why?),
- door always open when meeting with students of a particular gender (presumably different from yours),
- door always closed (e.g. to allow uninterrupted conversation)
- other
And you, my student readers, I wonder whether:
- you prefer that the office door be open or closed when meeting with a professor,
- the gender of the professor matters in your preference re. the door,
- you have a particular preference depending on other characteristics of the professor (e.g., you are fine with a closed door for visits to certain professor offices but want the door open for visits to others),
- it bothers you if a professor has a different policy for female vs. male students,
- you even notice and/or care whether a professor has a policy about door position with respect to student visitors
When I was a grad student, most professors kept their doors closed. I wish some of them had had an open door policy when meeting with students. Even when I felt nervous about meeting alone with a particular professor, I never asked him if the door could stay open. Instead, I would tell one or more of my friends where I was going and ask them to knock on that professor's door after 5-10 minutes. This system worked quite well. This anecdote leads me to my final question of the day:
- Would you/did you ever ask someone if the door could stay open while you met in that person's office?