The welcome announcement should be posted before students gain access to the course; a good target would be five (5) days before the start of the course (which typically falls on a Thursday). However, after students gain access, the welcome announcement should be sent by email to the student as well (this might require the instructor to select an option to email the announcement once the course goes live; the announcement should not be sent as an email prior to students gaining access to the course). This proactive, multi-channel communication from the course instructor will prompt students to engage with the syllabus immediately.

Textbooks are integrated into online courses as electronic resources apart from rare exceptions approved by the Office of Online Education. There may be instances where instructors are required to set up their textbook in the course so that students can utilize courseware. There may also be instances where Sometimes, these resources require separate login credentials or verification codes from students. The instructor should include guidance about the form of the textbooks and the way students access those resources. If a printed textbook is required, instructors should include guidance on how students should obtain the printed textbooks as soon as possible so as not to delay progress in the course.

The community forum is an excellent way for the instructor to introduce oneself to students less formally, describing hobbies and other background information appropriate to the online course. This is also a great place to invite students to introduce themselves to the instructor and classmates. For example, the instructor could ask students to introduce themselves and share their degree program and current city or occupation. These self-introductions in the community forum are like those often occurring on the first day of a residential course. The goal is to create a welcoming, inclusive, friendly, and collegial environment for students to engage with one another and their instructor(s).

Responding to each student’s post in an introductory discussion forum effectively allows faculty to show presence and establish rapport in the learning community. This should be done where applicable. However, faculty can choose to build community with a summative response to the students’ introductions.

An introductory post is a minimal expectation, but instructors are encouraged to use other methods of facilitating community.

In the first week, students must exhibit academic engagement in an online course to avoid being dropped. This involves completing a course assignment or engaging the instructor about the

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Commented [JM69]: We need to develop Roster Verification and Add/Drop for the Registrar.