Develop a Welcome Message

It is important to welcome students into your class, to share your excitement about the course with your students, let them know who you are, provide them with basic information about the course, and let them know what they can expect to do and learn in your course. Sharing information about yourself and why you love this class helps your students to see you as a person and it begins engaging your students with the course material. Students also need to know the most important information about the course (course syllabus location, proctored exams requirements, number of papers they need to write) and what they will learn so that they can make important decisions about whether or not your class fits their needs. Organizing all this information into a letter that has a friendly tone, while being informative and not overwhelming them, is a tall order. You may choose to share some of this information in a course video or other announcements. Provide a link to the video or announcement in your Welcome email (Also, post this welcome email as an announcement).

Your welcome email message should contain:

  • Course name and designation (XXXX ####)

  • Important steps to begin class

  • What they can look forward to learning in your class

  • Information about their instructor (including a photo is great, but not required)

  • How students can contact their instructor (and encourage them to do so)

  • Above information presented in a friendly, positive tone

  • Your name

Sample Welcome E-Mail

Dear Students,

Welcome to the world of online teaching and learning! Please be sure to read the following message carefully to prepare you for your best performance in this course.

First, here are some important announcements:

  • Print out a copy of the syllabus. Review the syllabus periodically.

  • Print out the course calendar, located on the toolbar under the “Calendar” tool. You will find a button that allows you to print out the calendar month by month. All deadlines are final, so please review the calendar carefully and plan accordingly.

  • Purchase your course materials and text as soon as possible to stay on track. It is extremely important that you do not wait to obtain these resources.

Why you will love this class!

Provide information here about the highlights of the class and interesting questions that will be answered.

A little about me

Share information about your teaching philosophy (see Module 1) and your research or other interests.


Guidelines for Effective Online Learning


  1. Online courses require just as much time (or more) than face to face courses.

     You must stay on top of the coursework, or it will overwhelm you. DO NOT get behind or think you can catch up if you take time off. You most likely will not be able to submit late assignments or take late assessments. A general rule of thumb is that a college student should study two hours outside of class for every one hour in class. Since there is not a regular meeting for an online class, you should be willing to devote about six hours a week to succeed in an online class.


  1. Frequent participation is essential.

    While successful students learn quickly that they must log-in on a daily basis, some students do not grasp this important concept until it is too late. We suggest that the minimum number of log-ins is at least four times a week. If you cannot commit to logging into [Insert the name of your LMS site] on a consistent basis, this type of learning may not be the best for you. Remember that this is NOT a self-paced course. You have weekly assignments and deadlines that must be met.


  1. Some courses require students to take at least one proctored exam.

    Some courses require students to take at least one proctored exam to receive credit for your course. Check with your instructor if you are unsure about which exam (midterm, final, or both) is proctored. If you are unable to test during the exam window you must contact your professor immediately to make alternative arrangements. It is advised that you schedule your proctored exam as soon as possible.

  2. Technological literacy is a must.

    To be successful in an online course, you have to possess some basic technological skills. You should be able to use a keyboard and mouse well. You should know the basics of creating and saving a document both to the computer hard drive and to a flash drive or other storage device. You should know how to save documents as Rich Text Files (RTF). You should be familiar with how e-mail and discussion boards work and able to send attachments in either area. Most importantly, you should get to know the technical support people at your college or university.

  3. Timing is not negotiable.

    While the online teaching environment inevitably will have some legitimate delays (power outages, networks being down, military duties), you should still be prepared to deliver your work by the stated deadlines. If you have a problem getting online or anticipate a delay, let your instructor know as soon as possible.

  4. The workload is heavy.

    You may feel overwhelmed, especially at the beginning of the semester, and this feeling is normal. Online courses often require more work than face-to-face courses. The tradeoff is that you don't have to be in a classroom at a set time; you can work on a much more flexible schedule, even within the stated deadlines and weekly assignments. Most students say that once the first few weeks are over, they get into a routine and the workload is easier to manage. It is very important that you do a couple of things every time you log into the course:

    1. Read any new e-mails.

    2. Read all new discussion postings.

    3. Check to see if there have been any calendar updates. While working on lessons, you should read any online content, the textbook assignments, and any other material needed to prepare for discussions. Just reading the textbook or only reading the online content is not enough.


  1. Falling behind is dangerous.

    Especially in the first few weeks of class, it is essential that you keep up with the class. Missing even one deadline can cause a snowball effect. The more you get behind, the harder it is to catch up. Students often think they can catch up, but it is nearly impossible to do so.

  2. If an emergency occurs, let the instructor know.

    If an emergency occurs, you need to let the instructor know. The worst thing you can do is simply vanish during the semester.


Please feel free to ask questions at any time. If I can't help, I'll try to put you in touch with someone who can. Enjoy your online learning experience!

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