Scheduling Office Hours Using Microsoft Bookings

Questions

  • How do I set up office hours in Microsoft Bookings?
  • How do I let students book appointments with me online?
  • How do I create a Bookings calendar for office hours?
  • How do I configure Microsoft Bookings for the first time?
  • How do I set up online appointment booking for students?
  • What is the step-by-step process for setting up Microsoft Bookings at Bowdoin?

Environment

This article applies to Bowdoin College faculty and staff who want to use Microsoft Bookings to allow students or others to self-schedule appointments during office hours. Microsoft Bookings is included with your Bowdoin Microsoft 365 account at no additional cost.

Resolution

The steps below walk through a complete setup example for a faculty member (Professor Ursa) who holds office hours on Monday and Wednesday from 1:00–4:00 PM with 30-minute appointment slots.

Tap or click a section below to jump directly to it:

Log in to Bookings Step 1: Create a calendar Step 2: Business settings Step 3: Service setup Step 4: Staff profile Step 5: Booking page Step 6: Save and publish

Log in to Microsoft Bookings

  1. Go to https://www.office.com and sign in with your Bowdoin email address and password.
  2. Click the app launcher (waffle icon) in the upper-left corner and select Bookings. If you do not see it, click All Apps and select Bookings from the list.
  3. Click Get it now on the Bookings landing page.

Office 365 home dashboard showing app shortcuts for Outlook, OneDrive, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and SharePoint.

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Step 1: Create a Bookings calendar

  1. Click + to add your first Bookings calendar.
  2. Enter a name for your calendar — for example, Professor Ursa’s Office Hours.
  3. Click Continue.

Bookings calendar setup

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Step 2: Configure your Bookings settings

  1. Click Business Information in the left navigation.
  2. Confirm or enter your business name.
  3. (Optional) Enter your office address and phone number.
  4. (Optional) Upload a photo to display on the main Bookings page.
  5. Under Business Hours, set the days and times you want to hold office hours. Click X next to a day to mark it as closed. In our example, Professor Ursa holds hours Monday and Wednesday from 1–4 PM.
  6. Click Save.

Setup your business in Bookings.

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Step 3: Set up your service

  1. Click Services in the left navigation.
  2. Click on the default Initial Consult service to edit it.

Service name, description, location, and duration

  1. Change the Service Name to what you want students to see — for example, Office Hours.
  2. (Optional) Add a description.
  3. For Default Location, enter your office location. To hold virtual office hours, toggle Add Online Meeting to On — a Teams invitation will be sent automatically.
  4. Set the Default Duration to the length of your appointments (for example, 30 minutes).

Service Name, Description, Location, Duration

Buffer time, attendees, price, and notes

  1. (Optional) Enter buffer time between appointments.
  2. Change Default Price to Free.
  3. (Optional) Add internal notes about this service (visible to you only).
Buffer time tip: Do not set any “Before” buffer time. If you do, students will not be able to book the first available slot when your office hours open.

Service settings form with options for buffer time, customer appointment management, max attendees, default price, and internal notes.

Custom fields, reminders, and confirmations

  1. (Optional) Add custom fields with questions for students to answer when booking — for example, “What topic would you like to discuss?” Fields can be required or optional.
  2. Edit the pre-set email reminders as needed. You can set when reminders are sent and add additional ones by clicking Add email reminder.
  3. (Optional) Add additional information or links to be included in the confirmation email.

Custom fields, reminders and confirmation

SMS notifications and publishing options

  1. (Optional) Check the box to enable SMS notifications for students.
  2. Check Show this service on the booking page to make it bookable.
  3. Uncheck Use the default scheduling policy to set policies specific to this service.

Form with checkboxes for enabling text notifications, showing service on booking page, and using default scheduling policy. 'Show this service' is checked.

Scheduling policy, email notification, and availability

  1. Under Scheduling Policy, select your preferred time increments.
  2. Under Email Notification, select to send confirmations to both you and the student.
  3. Leave Staff unchecked if you are the only staff member.
  4. Select Bookable when staff are free to prevent double-booking with your Outlook calendar.
  5. Click Save.

Scheduling options UI showing selectable policies, time increments, lead time fields, email notification checkboxes, staff selection, and availability dropdown.

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Step 4: Configure your staff profile

  1. Click Staff in the left navigation.
  2. Click your name to open your Staff Details.
  3. Verify your email address is correct.
  4. Check Events on Office calendar affect availability. This ensures existing Outlook calendar events block off times so students cannot book during conflicts.
  5. Confirm Use Business Hours is checked so appointments fall within the hours you configured.
  6. Click Save.

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Step 5: Configure the Booking Page

  1. Click Booking Page in the left navigation.
  2. Under Booking Page Access Control, check Require a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 account from my organization in order to book. This ensures only Bowdoin community members can book, preventing spam.
  3. Check Disable direct search engine indexing of booking page so the page does not appear in internet search results.
  4. (Optional) Customize the theme, colors, and photo for your booking site.

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Step 6: Save and publish

  1. Click Save and Publish from the Booking Page section. A unique URL will be created for your booking site.
  2. Copy and share the URL with students — for example, post it in Canvas, add it to your syllabus, or include it in your email signature.
  3. Click Open Published Page to preview your booking site.

Professor Ursa's Office Hours

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Additional Help

If you need further assistance, you have several options:

  • Bowdoin Bot: Chat with Bowdoin Bot directly from any KB page for instant answers.
  • Phone: Call the Bowdoin College Service Desk at (207) 725-3030.
  • In person: Visit the Tech Hub in Smith Union during business hours.
  • Submit a ticket: Request assistance through the Service Catalog.

Additional Resources

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