Students can run into problems with classwork during all hours of the day, but professors’ opinions vary on whether it is OK to call them after the working day is done.

David Hoffman, professor of chemistry, does not mind answering students’ questions when he’s off-duty.

“I assume when people call it’s because they have a serious question they want to ask, and they’re not doing it to be a bother,” he said.

Hoffman said he would not appreciate students calling constantly, but that has not been the case.

“Students rarely call, and if they do it’s because they have a serious question or concern,” he said.

Also ready to take students’ after-hours calls is Ralph Patterson III, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.

“I don’t mind a bit,” he said. “I give out my telephone number. The only thing I ask is if it’s past 11 at night, it better be pretty darn important.”

However, Terry Besser, assistant professor of sociology, does not like students to call her at home.

“I would as soon not, unless there’s some kind of an emergency,” she said. “I spend plenty of time in the office, and students should be disciplined enough to talk to me while I’m there.”

She said unnecessary calls at home have not been a problem for her.

“The students that call me at home almost always do so because there’s an emergency, and they apologize,” she said.

Pamela White, professor of food science and human nutrition, said several factors contribute to whether a student should call a professor at home.

“I think for the most part professors don’t like being called at home. It’s a long day, and getting through to us at work is preferable,” she said. “But if it’s an emergency of some sort, of course no professor would mind being called at home.”

There are other ways to reach professors without calling them at home, she said.

“People can contact and leave messages for professors at work by e-mail or even by voice mail,” she said. “You can put in your message 24 hours a day.”

White said it also depends on how well the student knows the professor. Graduate students who work with professors can get to know them on a more personal basis, she said.

“With students in a class, professors can really get barraged by a lot of questions if students were to call habitually,” she said.