How Can I Prepare Students for Success Before the Semester Begins?
Research shows that when students feel accepted, valued, and encouraged, they are more likely to persist and succeed in a course—and at the University (Felton & Lambert, 2020; Mangino, 2023). You can help students develop this feeling, often called a sense of belonging, before the semester begins by thinking carefully about how you will initiate and sustain communication with students.
A communication plan that helps students feel welcomed to your course and prepared for success has two parts: a welcome letter that introduces the course and invites students to share their feedback and concerns, and a response to students’ input. This article outlines the purpose of these two elements of a good communication plan and provides examples of each element.
Part 1: A Welcome Letter
A good communication plan begins with emailing students a welcome letter before the semester begins. This letter should provide a broad introduction to the instructor and the course and should help students begin to see the value of the course. It does not need to be detailed or overwhelming: the primary goal is to convey that you have a plan for supporting students’ learning and helping them succeed. Be sure to include a brief description of the course modality or meeting pattern (e.g., if the course is hybrid, online, or fully in-person) and what they can expect from learning in that modality.
If you are teaching an in-person or fully online synchronous course, use this opportunity to help students understand what they will gain from attending class and to assure them that you have made plans for engaging class meetings that will help them learn.
If you are teaching a fully online asynchronous course, use this opportunity to help students understand how the course has been structured and to assure them that you will help them make a plan for managing their time and their work to support their learning.
If you are teaching a hybrid course with asynchronous or synchronous elements, use this opportunity to help students understand how the different elements of the course will work together to support their learning and to assure them that you will guide them through navigating class meetings and asynchronous work successfully.
You may also choose to share information in the letter about any special aspects of the course that students tend to find particularly exciting (e.g., an assignment or project that students always enjoy).
After describing your plans for students’ learning, a welcome letter should then invite students to share their own concerns or questions. Initiating this conversation about students’ learning—and explicitly inviting students into that conversation—makes them feel like they are a part of the course before the first class meeting. Moreover, asking students to share their concerns helps them see that you care about them and their success. Both these feelings are essential to a sense of belonging.
Below you will find sample language for a welcome letter as well as sample questions you can use to learn about students’ concerns and questions before the semester begins. Make sure to adapt this to fit your course and personalize it to match your voice!
Sample language for a welcome letter
Dear students,
I hope this email finds you well. Planning for a new semester can bring uncertainty and stress. That’s the reason I’m reaching out to you—to remove some of that uncertainty. I’ve been spending time the past several weeks developing plans to ensure that the course you’re taking with me is a positive and effective learning experience. I’m writing to check in, tell you a little bit about our course, and gather some information from you that I can use to make sure this semester is successful for you and all students!
First, let me tell you a little bit about our course. Our course is a [insert modality] course, which means [describe class meeting pattern]. I am making plans to ensure that the course will provide you with opportunities to engage with me and with your peers in support of your learning. I’ve designed class meetings that will give you the opportunity to do exciting work together. When the semester starts, I’ll give you detailed information about what will happen during class meetings, how to prepare for them, and how I have planned those meetings so that you will learn and succeed this semester.
Now that you know a little bit more about how we’ll be learning together this semester, it’s time for me to ask you some questions so that I have the right information to ensure that our course is successful.
[At this point in your email to students, direct them to answer these questions in one of the following ways:
Email their responses to you. (This is one way to establish a connection with students that can increase their sense of belonging in your course.)
Open a link to a survey in Qualtrics, Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, or another tool. (You may choose to have students identify themselves on that survey or you can make it anonymous.)
Log in to your course in Brightspace and take an anonymous survey. (Your course must be active students in order for them to use this option.)
Thank you for taking the survey. Knowing about your concerns and questions before the semester begins will help me as I finalize my plans for your learning in the course. I’m excited to meet you soon and I wish you a restful remainder of your break! Be in touch!
Sample survey questions
Do you have a device that allows you to use Brightspace and [other technologies you may be using in the course]?
Possible follow-up questions: What device do you have? Have you had any problems using that device to go to classes remotely or to use Brightspace or to do other required course work? Are you the only person using that device? If you have to share that device with another person, what concerns do you have?Do you have reliable high-speed internet so that you can access course materials in Brightspace?
Possible follow-up question: What concerns do you have about your internet connection?Do you have work, family, or other obligations that you think might interfere with the time you need to study or prepare for class?
Possible follow-up question: What are your concerns about your schedule and time commitments?What other concerns or questions do you have? Please share with me any challenges you may be facing in the coming semester or in this course.
Part 2: Using and Responding to the Information from Students
If you take time to reach out to students and seek their input, it’s important that you also have a plan for how you will learn from what they tell you and respond to any questions or concerns that arise. In some cases, the information students provide may require you to make some small changes in how you approach teaching the course.
If students bring up very specific, personal concerns, you may want to address those individually with an email or an invitation to your office hours. If you see similar concerns across several surveys, you may want to respond to the entire class with an email or plan to spend some time discussing these concerns on the first day of class. Below you’ll find guidance about some common survey responses and how you can respond to students in helpful ways.
Survey responses may indicate that some students do not have a reliable device, have limited access to a device, or certain software does not run on their device.
If this is the case, you can begin by normalizing the challenge those students face (they may feel embarrassed by their situation). Then troubleshoot specific needs students have, such as not being able to run required software, by contacting ITS or colleagues to find a workaround. Communicate this plan and the resulting recommendations to students.Survey responses may indicate that some students do not have access to reliable high-speed internet.
If this is the case, you can begin by normalizing the challenge those students face (they may feel embarrassed by their situation). Reassure students that it is acceptable to turn off their video feed during any Zoom office hours that you hold as that can help with connectivity. You can also let them know how you will manage deadlines for submission of assignments and assessments due on Brightspace. You can accept work from all students across a span of time and this ensures that students with unreliable internet will likely be able to access Brightspace at some point in that time span.Survey responses may indicate that some students have concerns about other obligations that may interfere with their work in your course.
If this is the case, you can begin by normalizing the challenge those students face (they may feel embarrassed by their situation). Remind students of the ways that you have designed the course to help them manage the workload and prepare for major assessments and assignments. Make sure that the course schedule is clear, and show students how they can use that schedule to manage their time and efforts.
Resources
Felten, P., & Lambert, L. M. (2020). Relationship-rich education: How human connections drive success in college. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Mangino, M. (2023, February 16). Students’ Sense of Belonging Matters: Evidence from Three Studies. MIT Teaching+Learning Lab: https://tll.mit.edu/sense-of-belonging-matters/