Finding a time to meet can be a significant barrier to working closely with students and helping them feel supported. Students, particularly first-year and first-generation students, may be uncomfortable reaching out to you to schedule an appointment. Recent research suggests that students misinterpret “Office Hours” as the time when you are busy in your office, as opposed to the time when you are available for students to drop in. That’s where Microsoft’s Bookings with me can help!
What is Bookings with me?
Bookings with me lets a student schedule a meeting or appointment with you through a personal scheduling page. You can use it for office hours so each student has a dedicated window to meet with you, for times when a student needs to meet outside of your scheduled office hours, or for scheduling individual conferences with students.
Bookings integrates with your Outlook calendar so it knows when you are already busy. You can also set specific times when you are available for scheduling, like Tuesdays from 2-4, so you can maintain your own boundaries and work/life balance. Other obligations on your Outlook calendar during those times will prevent students from booking a meeting. You can also set up different types of meetings, including in person or online via Teams. Both you and the student receive an email confirmation, and the meeting is scheduled on both your Outlook calendars. In addition, attendees can update or cancel scheduled meetings with you from your personal Bookings page.
Why should I use it?
Students often don’t reach out for help when they would benefit from it because they are unsure of the process. They also might feel like they are a bother, or they might be ashamed of admitting they need help. Setting up a Bookings with me page is beneficial because it can overcome a lot of those barriers.
- You can use Bookings with Me for multiple types of meetings, like as-needed appointments such as office hours or mandatory conferencing sessions.
- Simply having the page makes it clear that you are available to students and willing to help, which makes it more likely that students will seek that help.
- Bookings with me is easy for students to use and understand, which removes the mystery from how to go about scheduling a time to meet with you. It also clearly articulates times when you are and aren’t available (so students can be confident that they aren’t choosing a time that will be a bother).
- Your Bookings with me page is self-serve and always available so that students can take the step to book a meeting when they are struggling instead of waiting for a reply to an email or to approach you in class. The meeting itself won’t be immediate (because it is limited to the times when you are available), but the action to take that step is!
- Bookings with me is familiar and requires less personal interaction. Ever hesitated to book an appointment you needed just because the process seemed arduous (or might require a phone call)? Bookings with me is as easy as other scheduling systems, like food delivery or picking a movie showtime.
How do I get started?
Bookings with me is conveniently located in Office 365 in your Outlook calendar (click “Go to my booking page”). You can also go directly to book.ms.
Check out our full guide to getting started with Bookings with Me!
