Pre-Course Contact

Pre-course contact represents a high opportunity zone between registration and the first week of instruction.

Pre-Course Contact between registration and the 1st week

The following video is an explanation of a liquid syllabus.

A Liquid Syllabus...

  • Shapes our students first impression of you before the class session begins

  • Conveys a student centered tone while providing information about expectations and support before the class session

  • Displays your commitment to students before the class session

  • Welcomes students to their new learning online environment before the class session

Here is an example of a 6 Weeks Intersession liquid syllabus created by Fabiola Torres.

Pre-Course Contact Countdown

  • 5-7 Days - Introduce yourself and/or your liquid syllabus (Introduction video sample)

  • 3-5 Days - Send a welcome letter and open the Orientation Module (Course Introduction video sample)

  • 1-3 Days - Monitor your student engagement. Check in with your campus policies on student authentication procedures.

"Socio-historical discrimination of Blacks and Latinos students benefit from “full-disclosure of the terms of success.” In this process, faculty can demystify the academy’s ambiguous and confusing processes, gives students access to the language of the course, and improves their chances for success. Content and style choices of the syllabus tell students whether or not instructors clarify how they can achieve success through the support of their instructor.

Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux, of the Center for Urban Education (CUE) at the “Global Learning in College: Defining, Developing, and Assessing Institutional Roadmaps” conference 2015.