UK Faculty, Staff and Student Leaders to Visit Residence Halls 'After Office Hours'

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 22, 2012) — A few weeks after students settle into their new University of Kentucky homes, the Office of Residence Life offers a distinctly rewarding experience for them, as well as for the faculty, staff and administrators who volunteer for After Office Hours.

After Office Hours is a UK community-building initiative of the Division of Student Affairs designed to reach out to all students and give them an opportunity to meet with key and influential members of the UK community in a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. The outreach program allows faculty, staff and student leaders the opportunity to spend time in an assigned residence hall, ask students about their college experience, answer questions and share helpful resources. And the students benefit from the rare opportunity of getting unfiltered information, sometimes from representatives of the office that created the policy, process or procedure.

This year’s event is scheduled during the evening hours of Oct. 23-24.

After Office Hours is a spin-off of two previous programs, House Calls and Ask an Advisor, but one element has remained the same, the commitment to promoting academic success among our student residents. According to research, students correlate their overall institutional satisfaction with the faculty, staff and student interactions they have throughout the year both inside and outside of the classroom. The Office of Residence Life is committed to offering residential students a supportive environment that embraces learning opportunities and meaningful connections outside of the classroom setting.

Watch the video story above to find out what students think about the efforts and why this simple concept could help UK's retention goals.

MEDIA CONTACT: Gail Hairston, (859) 257-3302; gail.hairston@uky.edu

VIDEO CONTACT: Amy Jones, (859) 257-2940; amy.jones2@uky.edu or Kody Kiser, (859) 257-5282; kody.kiser@uky.edu