Course Preparation

Elements of a Good Welcome Letter

Think of your welcome letter as the first impression you provide your class participants. You want to tell them what they need to know about your class in a friendly, informative style. Here are the suggested elements:

Brief introduction to the course (subject and format).

Course texts (note if you want them to use a specific edition of a book).

Course Google site URL, if you are using.

Class meeting date and time, meeting link if the class is on Zoom.

Course syllabus (if you have not finalized it by the time welcome letter is due, provide first week’s assignment and follow with another email when your syllabus is complete).

Ground rules, how the class will be conducted.

Request for a volunteer co-host (optional).

Note that if you are including a syllabus with your email, please suggest that participants save that email for future reference, particularly if it includes assignments that you will want them to reference for each class. You may want to suggest that participants print out the syllabus if it contains printed materials that will be referenced or analyzed during class.

If you are teaching remotely, please also include the suggested reminder for your participants to update their Zoom application: "Please check to see that you have the latest version of Zoom. You can do this by opening Zoom on your computer, clicking on your profile picture, then clicking 'Check for Updates.' If there is a newer version available, it will prompt you to update. If you are not sure, you can also redownload Zoom. If you are using Zoom on a phone or tablet, you must update from the App store. Those not running the latest version may have difficulty joining class meetings. Please also familiarize yourself with the updated Zoom interface and be sure you know where to find the controls to raise/lower your hand and mute/unmute your audio."

See two sample Welcome Letters below: