With Students:

In an online environment it’s easy for students to feel isolated. Students will send a message through the Canvas Inbox or in a discussion forum and there’s a little anxiety about when or even if they will receive a response. You as the instructor may alleviate this anxiety by:

Responding to a message in your inbox or discussion posting in less than 36 hours. Keep in mind that in some courses, 36 hours may seem like a long time if it’s a question about an assignment with a looming due date. Weekends are also very important to adult students, so at least checking communications periodically during that time is also helpful.

Tracking the "Questions for the Instructor" discussion forum in your course. Students will often use this forum for specific questions about course expectations or an assignment. It is often overlooked by new instructors and unfortunately, these questions are often the most time sensitive. Our suggestion is to locate this discussion forum in your course and regularly take a look at it while your course is running.

Establishing regular office hours during the week. Sometimes a student’s anxiety is as much about the uncertainty as it is the amount of time it takes for an instructor to respond. Regular hours, when student know they’ll receive immediate response can also remove some of that uncertainty. Some instructors use the chat or conference tools during those hours, too.

Letting the student see that you are regularly present in your course. Of course, engaging in the discussion forum is the most obvious, but there are other opportunities. Have you read a news story that is an excellent example of this week’s topic? Is there an article that helps the students expand their thinking about a topic as they process a discussion question? Some instructors share that information in the weekly discussion forums while others post an announcement. If you use the announcement tool, it’s a good idea to remind students to set up the Canvas system to be notified when an announcement is posted.

With Champlain:

Your Champlain email account is where you will receive important communications from CPS (contracts, notifications, communications from our academic dean and your program dean or director). You’ll also receive notifications from Champlain’s Academic Affairs office with reminders, directions and deadlines for grades, attendance information for financial aid purposes and other important administrative information. It’s important for you to stay aware of these communications. One option is to have them forwarded to the email account you use regularly.

In CPS we strive to be as responsive to our instructors as we ask you to be with your students. In addition to email, we encourage phone conversations. We have an open office, so for longer or personal calls, it helps to schedule ahead of time so we can chat privately.

The CPS Faculty Lounge includes contact information for those people that can most likely provide information or support to you at Champlain College. We encourage you to reach out to them as needed: https://champlain.instructure.com/courses/48465/wiki/assistance-and-contacts-list