Have you considered that students may not be aware of your expectations regarding communications and boundaries?

Not knowing how to contact you or feeling insecure about it, may be a reason for first year students not seeking help. Clarifying expectations about communication can support students and overcome these barriers, in addition to establishing clear boundaries. These aspects form part of the transition challenges’ main dimensions: University Culture and Academic Engagement.

Clarify Communication Expectations

Clarify your expectations in terms of communication on your course. Include how to communicate, when to expect an answer, and how different courses and teachers may have different expectations.

• Make Sure to Explain Unfamiliar Terms and Expressions. It is important to keep in mind that students may be unfamiliar with terms, expressions and practices that may seem perfectly clear to people already socialised in university environments. Clarifying expectations is a key part of clear communication. For example, it is not enough to say ‘office hours will be on Tuesdays at 3pm’, as many students may be unfamiliar with the concept of ‘office hours’.
• Explain and Give Examples of Professional Etiquette. It is always good to explain matters of social and professional etiquette. Clarifying how students should address you; how they should write an email; or when it is okay to send a reminder, facilitates rather than hinders communication. See Quick Win 1
• Use ‘How do I…?’ and ‘Who do I…?’ resources. These are very helpful in orienting students to communicate clearly. See Quick Win 2

Adapt your Communication to the Settings

Adapt your communication expectations to reflect the type of teaching you do and the size of group you have. Having a very flexible approach may work well with small groups, but may quickly become unmanageable in the context of a large lecture. Thus, while an open email policy may be suitable in small groups or in mentor groups, other strategies can be helpful in larger groups.

You can use group-specific techniques that allow students to reach out and communicate while maintaining healthy boundaries:

• Use Online Open Office Hours. This strategy is particularly suitable for large groups. Specific office hours can be identified online where students’ questions about the course can be answered using an online teaching platform such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Blackboard collaborate, for example. Students can submit any questions they may have via this format, rather than individually via email. Questions can be answered publicly so that all students who log in can benefit from what are often frequently asked questions and benefit from the learning. This can facilitate those  students who may be uncomfortable asking questions of their own. The online mode of interaction can also be more accessible for students with scheduling or personal life challenges. In addition, many students may find this mode of communication less intimidating than attending a professor’s office. Access to online sessions can even be done from students’ mobile phones. From the perspective of setting boundaries, using online office hours for answering students’ questions can help in managing larger groups and allow you to give students clear expectations of when they might receive an answer.
• Online Discussion Forums Can Provide a Good Way of Supporting Students. Students can ask questions and also answer questions posted by other students. It is important to monitor these sites, as sometimes students may provide incorrect information. However, the asynchronous mode of interaction can help maintain healthy boundaries.

Have you considered that students may not be aware of university support structures beyond their teachers?

An important challenge in the transition to university is moving from a system where the teacher is the main point of contact to a more complex environment with multiple services and university personnel. Helping students navigate this new environment can move students in the right direction in terms of accessing the correct support structures and maintaining a good work/life balance.

Facilitate Access to Information

Preparing information about university support structures at a program level can provide students with important information. As well as clarifying access times for teachers, information can be provided on the range of resources available across different courses.

Here are some strategies that may help:

• Use a Program Handbook that contains all the information students may need about the program and university support structures. This should include details of the various structures and services available, along with clear and up-to-date instructions on how to access them.
• Design an induction program that provides students with essential information about available resources before they need them. Letting students know about these resources in advance can be highly beneficial. However, it is important to remember that during the transition to higher education, students may struggle to absorb large amounts of information at once. Induction programs should account for this by carefully considering how to best disseminate information in a clear and manageable way.
• It can be helpful for those involved in a university’s support network to organise short workshops or presentations. Students are more likely to remember and establish contact with these services if they have the opportunity to interact with the personnel involved.

Target Accessible Information within Courses

While programme-wide resources and induction initiatives may convey information to students efficiently, teachers in specific courses remain a vital point of contact for students. Therefore, it is important to develop in-course strategies that guide students towards the appropriate university support structures and services.

• Adapt Your Resources to the Needs of Your Course:
  Students may face a variety of challenges, but providing too much information at once can be overwhelming. Focus on the types of resources students are likely to need in the context of your course, and ensure they are directed appropriately. For example, identifying resources and services that support academic writing or research presentation will be particularly relevant in courses where these are key components.
• Introduce the Resources Orally in Class:
  Simply listing resources on the course website or syllabus may leave students unaware of how to access or utilise them. Remember, this may be the first time students encounter the university-specific names for these services, so explaining what each term means and the support provided is essential. Introducing these resources in class, in conjunction with course components for which they are relevant, can help students understand when and how to use them. This can be done at the start of the course and revisited throughout, especially when assignments or activities arise that align with particular support structures.