Student Email

Introduction

As a college student at SMC, it is very important you use your campus e-mail account. You may receive important information about your financial aid, counseling appointments, and other notifications or opportunities. Your professors will also use e-mail to communicate with you.

All professors have different recommendations for how often you should check your campus e-mail but a good rule of thumb is to check it once a day! This way, you won't miss anything important that could come up between class meetings/communication or happen over the weekend, such as if the homework was canceled or a test was postponed! 

It's also important to use your campus e-mail address (rather than your personal one) because it is easier for your professors to identify who you are. If your personal e-mail address is "purplebutterfly1212@fake.com," how will your professor know that it's you?

Finally, you should use your campus e-mail address for privacy reasons. You want to keep all of your school-related business separate from your personal life.

Tip: Once you graduate, transfer, or take a break from SMC, you will lose access and your emails. Be sure to back up anything important. 

Accessing Your Student E-Mail

SMC automatically creates an email account for every student, which is used to communicate with SMC.  Student email addresses end with "@student.smc.edu."

The email account will not exchange email with non-SMC addresses unless your classes have started.  The restriction resumes when you stop taking classes.

The main login page for student email is a link inside Corsair Connect (on its main menu).  However, there is a backup email login page.

Tip: Your SMC student email account is a rebranded Google email account.  If you have a personal Google account (such as a Gmail email), you might want to set your computer or phone to handle multiple Google accounts simultaneously.  Google also has general instructions for working with Gmail.

Please, learn more about your student email account.

Do you want to check your email on your smart device?  Use these guides to learn how to set that up:

• iOS devices

  • Written instructions

  • Video instructions

• Android devices

  • Written instructions

  • Video instructions

How to Write an E-mail to Your Professor

Tips for Writing an Effective Email

1. Use a clear subject line. The subject “Rhetorical Analysis Essay” would work a bit better than “heeeeelp!” (and is much better than the unforgivable blank subject line).

More examples: "English 1 Summary Essay" or "Attendance Tomorrow, May 05th"

2. Use a salutation. Instead of jumping right into your message or saying “hey,” begin with a greeting like “Hello” or “Good afternoon,” and then address your professor by appropriate title and last name, such as “Prof. Xavier” or “Dr. Octavius.” “Professor” is usually a safe bet for addressing a college teacher.

More examples: "Hi, Professor Kent," or "Dear Professor,"

3. Use a signature. It's important to remind your professor who you are, especially if you are writing from your personal (not your Corsair) e-mail account. Instead of concluding with “Sent from my iPhone” or nothing at all, include a signature, such as “Thank you” or “Sincerely,” followed by your full name and the class that you are in.

Another example: "Thank you, Bobbi Brown, English 1 #9000"

4. Use standard punctuation, capitalization, spelling and grammar. You are writing an email to your professor, not sending a text message to your friend! Instead of writing “idk what 2 rite about in my paper can you help??” try something more like, “I am writing to ask about the topics you suggested in class yesterday.”

More examples: "I'm writing to inform you that I will be absent tomorrow," or "I'm having a hard time getting started on the draft. Are you available during office hours on Thursday?"

5. Do your part in solving what you need to solve. If you e-mail to ask something you could look up yourself, you risk presenting yourself as less resourceful than you ought to be. But if you mention that you’ve already checked the syllabus, asked classmates and looked through old e-mails from the professor, then you present yourself as responsible and taking initiative. So, instead of asking, “What’s our homework for tonight?” you might write, “I looked through the syllabus and course website for this weekend’s assigned homework, but unfortunately I am unable to locate it.”

More examples: "I'm having a hard time fixing my comma splices. I already checked our grammar handbook for more information, but it still isn't clear. Can you help me?"

Example Email

Below is an example of an email to a professor who is a colleague of mine:

Subject Line: Essay #1 Help with Comma Splices

Salutation: Good afternoon, Professor Lewitzki,

Issue: I am having a hard time fixing the comma splices that you pointed out on Essay #1. I checked our textbook, but I still don't understand what I am doing wrong. Are you available to help me during your office hours this week?

Signature: Thank you!

Bobbi Brown

English 1A #9000