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Students no-showing for appointments?

In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

How do you deal with students not showing up for office hours appointments? I feel like the pattern is MUCH worse recently than it has been in the past.

I find the no-shows are more prevalent for virtual appointments, but it happens for in-person appointments, too. They book an appointment through Google Calendar, and then either don't show up, or send an email (or RSVP "no") a minute or two after the appointment is supposed to start.

How do I communicate that this is extremely rude behavior without coming off as a total grump? I am considering just not taking appointments anymore, and not offering virtual office hours at all. I am tempted to penalize students for no-shows somehow (a point off their participation grade?), as it does hurt their colleagues – although I also worry whether this might be taken as vindictive. FWIW I'm a young female prof.

Good questions. Do any readers have any helpful tips?

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8 responses to “Students no-showing for appointments?”

  1. absences

    Do you generally have an absence policy? If so, incorporate something about missed appointments. I have a line in my syllabus that says, “Missed appointments will be counted as absences.” I warn them about it at the beginning of the semester and employ it a couple times of a semester. Students just take it as the class policy and don’t complain.

    Reply
  2. acceptance

    I’ve given up. I just assume, now, that students won’t show for the appointments they’ve made. I keep at the ready low-stress philosophy-adjacent reading I haven’t had time for (Daily Nous heap-o-links type things) and catch up on that reading when they don’t show. I’m less annoyed, now, when they don’t show. Pleasantly surprised when they do.
    I have also stopped offering any special appointments outside my posted office hours times. (I have four hours of availability scattered through the week.) It enraged me too much to go to campus, or fire up zoom in the evening, only to have the student who begged for that time not show. Near as I can tell, refusing to make special appointments has had zero effect on my students, my relationships with them, or their progress in my courses.
    The free tutoring center at my college has had some luck with a policy that students who miss three scheduled appointments are blocked from scheduling any more that semester. When they miss an appointment they get a canned email that they have taken a step toward losing access to tutoring support. That seems to have been effective in changing most students’ behavior.
    For various reasons have been unwilling to try a similar policy for office hours. But maybe it would help?

    Reply
  3. one perspective

    If a student misses a scheduled appointment, then do not allow the student to schedule another one. Insist they come to your office during posted office hours, and you will see them then if you are not with another student. But do not escalate things with a punishment. Further, DO NOT do on-line office hours. The student has to have some skin in the game – they have to be willing to come to your office.

    Reply
  4. Cap

    I don’t advertise online office hours and I just have a time period of three hours a week they can show up — don’t use a booking portal. If students specifically ask for an online meeting, or to meet at a different time, then I oblige.

    Reply
  5. Less grumpy

    Thanks everyone! OP here. These are helpful suggestions. I’m going to turn a new leaf next semester and just hold in-person office hours, no appointment slots. I can’t be mad about them not showing up if I don’t know about their intention ahead of time!

    Reply
  6. Charles Pigden

    If they don’t show they are not getting the benefit of your services. You on the other hand are getting a bit of extra time to devote to other tasks. So it’s their problem not yours. Don’t make a fuss, don’t devise a punishment regime, just use the time to read a book, read an article or mark an essay. It IS part of your job to provide students with reasonable opportunities to interact with you outside the classroom, for instance during office hours. But it isn’t part of your job to force them to make use of those opportunities. If you showed up ready and willing and they did not, you have done your part and can use the free time for other purposes with a clean conscience. So I say ‘Rejoice in the no-shows! Their loss is your gain’.

    Reply
  7. the students are stressed

    One thought: Don’t penalize them for not showing up. It’s my sense that this policy might disadvantage first-gen/low-SES students who are working jobs on top of their coursework or who might be juggling other family obligations. Such students are perhaps more likely to run into conflicts because there is more demands on their time or they may have to cancel last minute if a care work obligation pops up. It’s also my sense that my students are just pretty stressed and dealing with mental health concerns at a might higher rate than previous generations – so I would err on the side of cutting them some slack (even if it’s annoying).

    Reply
  8. assc prof

    I once showed up an hour early to campus to meet with a student. He didn’t show up, so I emailed him after maybe ten minutes had passed. He replied saying he was still in bed (he lived on campus). Given that depression often manifests by not being able to get out of bed, I sent him some info about the counseling services offered on campus. He replied saying that he wasn’t depressed but simply really comfortable. I refused to re-schedule outside of normal office hours with him again, but no penalty. Since then, I don’t meet in person outside of normal office hours until a student has shown themselves to reliable enough to show up, e.g., by having shown up on time to other appointments, by being a reliable participant in class, etc.

    Reply

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