How Does a College Professor Spend the Workday?

Office Hours

In addition to teaching, a college professor must also maintain office hours for students. Quite often, students have additional questions or concerns about the course and they need additional assistance from the professor. Having office hours gives all students a chance to meet with the professor for academic advising, mentoring, career counseling and to receive extra help with the class assignments or projects. Professors normally post their available hours on the office door and in the course syllabus, and students can also contact the professor to schedule an appointment. A college professor may also use office hours to correspond with students via email or over the telephone. Many college students are employed or have other obligations, and they may not have the opportunity to meet with the professor face-to-face, so using email or the telephone is their primary means of communicating outside of the classroom.

Administrative Duties

Although teaching students is a professor's primary obligation, a college professor is also required to perform a variety of administrative duties in the office and on the campus. Many of these duties require good computer skills along with excellent organizational skills. These duties may include attending departmental meetings, completing paperwork and forms, preparing reports for the department and supervisor, attending workshops and professional development trainings, updating student files, performing data entry tasks and serving on various committees at the college.