Why Is This Important?

Providing the support resources students need to succeed at the onset of the course helps to foster a supportive learning environment. A welcome message establishes your presence in the course and communicates that you are approachable and available to students.

Items #2 & 9 – Support Services Links

For MU & UMKC, a Support & Policies link should be visible in the course navigation menu.
Otherwise, links to support resources and policies or descriptive language may be included in the syllabus or in the first two modules. Students should be provided with information for all three support areas: Student Resources, Technology Support and Academic Support Services.

Item #8 – Communication Expectations

A big way to connect with students in your online course is through the communications you use in Canvas. Regular and consistent use of Canvas features like Modules, Announcements, Discussions and Inbox helps not only communicate valuable information and a guide for what to do and when to do it, but also gives you the opportunity to make connections with students and establish your teaching presence. Through these communications, you can show your students you are there to support them.

Communicating your plan for when and how you will communicate with students, as well as your expectations for student-to-student and student-to-instructor interactions, is important for establishing a strong, effective community of learning. Here are some ways to establish your communication expectations:

Announce your response time for emails and questions posted in a Q&A forum (we recommend responding within 24-48 hours Monday–Friday and 48-72 hours over the weekend).
Make clear when students can expect feedback on assignments.
Say how you plan to be involved in discussions (e.g., will monitor and answer questions).
Establish a netiquette (or rules for engagement with students and you).
- resource: video explaining netiquette
- resource: example netiquette guidelines

Item #11 – The Welcome Message

A welcome message may be in the form of an announcement, video, statement in the syllabus or a posting in the discussion board forum. Look for evidence of a welcome statement in the syllabus, a Start Here/Orientation Module or another place that is easy to find and open to students at the start of the course.

Examples may include (but are not limited to):

an introduction or video welcome to the course on the homepage.
an announcement welcoming students to the course.
an initial Zoom session.

It is OK to set boundaries

"Availability" does not mean making yourself available to your students 24/7. If you get a text at 2 a.m., it’s perfectly fine to wait until 9 a.m. to reply. In fact, it’s perfectly fine not to give out your cellphone number or accept texts! What matters is that you communicate to students how they can connect with you, when to expect a reply from you and that you follow through with your word.