<p>I had a professor this past summer for a couple week class and I really enjoyed it. I stopped by his office to say hello a couple weeks after the class ended, and he said to keep him informed and stop by occasionally. Is every other week too often just to say hello and see how everything is going? (only for a couple of minutes)</p>
<p>That seems like a lot, if you aren’t talking his class. Unless he is one of the types that has groups sitting around shooting the breeze in his office and treats it like a drop in center. I think once or twice a semester seems more like it. Maybe you’d like to take another course he teaches.</p>
<p>If you just had him for a 2 week class, that might be a lot. But it depends on his/your personality and how much of a connection you guys had. </p>
<p>Personally, I developed a close bond with one of my profs last year. I had her for a class both semesters and went to her office hours almost every week to get help/learn more advanced content/just shoot the breeze. </p>
<p>You know what I do now? Still pretty much see her every week. I pop in and tell her about my triumphs in my current classes (she teaches the prereqs), and last week she even treated me to coffee. She encourages it too (she says “hey, next week we can do this, come see me next week”) and it’s a really cool thing. </p>
<p>I had a prof this summer that I really liked too, but I had her for an 8 week course. So far this semester, I’ve run into her thrice by chance and have sought her out twice. She’s also the Chair of my department, so I naturally have academic reasons to see her. But she too encourages me to keep her posted, and I do in our impromptu meetings or even course equivalency discussions. </p>
<p>Just take it naturally. See how it goes. If something significant happens, tell him. If you want his advice on something, ask him. Just don’t show up with nothing to say because then it would probably be uncomfortable for both of you.</p>
<p>Here’s kind of the background story I guess if that helps!</p>
<p>I had this professor for a probably 8 week summer class, before I was even at the college. I was really interested in his research so he spoke to me about what they had done a couple times (once during office hours, once for a couple of minutes after class), arrived 40 minutes early one day to go over the different aspects of the publication (it was too hard to discuss it during office hours since others were showing up for help) as well as demonstrate a program they use. He also gave me advice on which class to take and a major I might enjoy. I stopped by his office to chat for a minute a couple weeks after the class ended and we talked for probably 5 minutes and he said to stop by occasionally and keep him informed. I stopped by again a couple weeks later (just for a few minutes) when his door was wide open. We usually talk for probably 5 minutes and he finishes what he’s working on, turns and faces me, asks questions about how my classes are going, jokes around and we’re usually smiling and joining around. The second time I stopped by he said he had to finish something right away and as I was going to say i’d come back another time, he started talking to me for a little bit. The third time I stopped by (two weeks later) I knocked on his door and said I had a few minutes and I wanted to say hello and he said “that’s good” while finishing what he was working on (he told me what it was for). We talked for probably 5-8 minutes (he was facing towards me, asked a couple of questions about my classes, asked if everything else was going well) so I think the conversations are becoming more personal and he hinted he needed to finish what he was working on so I took the hint and said goodbye. Do you think he minds me stopping by like that? I haven’t stopped by in a little over a month, do you think I should?</p>
<p>If you like him that much, consider taking another class by him.</p>
<p>The only problem is he teaches advanced classes, so I won’t be in his lecture again for probably 4-5 years…</p>
<p>Every other week isn’t exactly ‘occasional.’ Professors are busy. They have students stopping by their office hours for help, they have papers to grade, course plans to work out, colleagues to correspond with, email to check etc. I’d say 2-3 times a semester would be a little more appropriate, especially given that you only had one class with the professor for a couple of weeks. It might seem a little weird to stop by more than that, unless you guys truly made a strong bond.</p>
<p>Think of it this way: 4 times a semester would be approximately once a month (lumping the last part of August and first part of December as another month), right? Every two weeks would be more like 8 total visits. That might not seem like a lot, but I’m sure a lot can happen in a month, which will give you more to talk to him about. </p>
<p>Just don’t creep him out. See how he responds. If he’s warm and welcome about it, by all means maybe go every three weeks. If he seems annoyed, maybe just go at the end of the month to wish him a happy holiday. (you don’t want to bother him during finals week. He’ll be swamped with grading and helping students at the last minute)</p>