Is the Campus Novel Dead?

Stephanie Land didn’t know about office hours. She saw them listed on every syllabus during her undergraduate years at the University of Montana, but she didn’t know they were dedicated blocks of time where students could develop mentorships with their instructors, ask for clarity about curriculum, or inquire about scholarships and recommendation letters. She understood that networking was part of “the college experience,” but she assumed those opportunities were reserved for graduate students or an elite cohort of especially gifted undergrads. “I had no idea that as an Algebra 1 student, I could go to my instructor’s office during this hour and ask them questions about the assignment,” Land said. She considers office hours part of the “hidden curriculum” of academic jargon and social codes that excluded students like herself: a decade older than most of her peers and working multiple jobs to support her daughter.