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Center for Academic Innovation

Communicating with Students

“For most online students, their primary contact with an institution is through their communication with faculty” (Betts, 2009).

This above quote references what many of you, as faculty, are experiencing during this time of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT).  Communication with students is always key, but even more critical in ERT as students are depending on you to help them navigate learning, interaction in a remote environment, and ultimately assist them in being successful in this unfamiliar and swiftly changing learning mode.

A few tips for success:

  • Determine communication plan, make it clear, use it consistently 

  • Students should understand the primary method you will use to communicate with them and them with you.  

  • Include communication hierarchy that explains which mode of communication as it correlates with student circumstances, such as: general questions vs. emergencies that must be addressed immediately.

  • Know the end result that you want to achieve when crafting the message(s) you want to communicate to your students.

  • Communication should be timely, relevant, and useful to students.

  • Less is More: Students are more likely to read and seek to understand concise well-crafted communication.

  • Be Clear: Keep it simple in explanation and utilize the appropriate channel (text, video, etc.) to best communicate the message at hand

  • Determine appropriate channel and style of delivery for the message being communicated (e.g. email/announcement, written/video/voice format)

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