Communication

  • Students are clear about where to find course information and how the instructor will share updates.

  • Students are clear about how to contact the instructor and each other.

  • Weekly office hours are available for both group questions as well as individual student concerns.

  • Students have an opportunity to share their feedback on the course experience midway through the term.

Tips & Considerations

  • Remind students that support material for the course, including announcements, assignment details and other course documents should be available in Canvas. Canvas is a cloud-hosted Learning Management System, accessible from any browser at schulich.instructure.com. Students are responsible for reviewing, in a timely manner, all communications from instructors. To ensure they are notified of all changes and course announcements, Schulich requires that Announcement, Conversation, Message & Appointment Availability Notifications be left at their default setting of Right Away. For support please submit a request here.
  • Develop clear channels of communication and be consistent in sticking to them so that students know where to find information and how to get in touch with you. Avoid sending communications through different channels each time (Canvas, email, Teams, etc.) as this may create confusion.
  • Provide students with a channel to ask questions, either anonymously or without having to post for the entire class to see. Students may be reluctant to post questions publicly. Consider having a mechanism where students can email questions which you will then post for the rest of the class.
  • Consider running group office hours for efficiency (e.g., scheduled drop-in blocks that any student can attend). Also offer 1-on-1 sign up slots for more personal questions or concerns. Office hours can be scheduled directly in Canvas.
  • Consider offering more frequent opportunities for students to share their feedback on the course throughout the term. Use qualtrics to run anonymous surveys. See how it works here.