Welcome Message for Students

An inviting welcome message, right at the start of the document, establishes an early connection between you and your students. This welcoming tone can be carried through the syllabus to convey approachability and to help build relationships with students. The relationships that students form with instructors supports their sense of academic belonging and predicts whether they persist in STEM disciplines (Rainey et al., 2018) and the likelihood that students will approach instructors for help (Gurung & Galardi, 2021).

Key Features:

  • A warm message at the start of the syllabus 
  • Invitations to contact instructors, within boundaries that you set. For example, instead of saying, “I am available any time,” you can say “I am available right after class, during my office hours, or by e-mail appointment.”
  • A description of how, when, and why students should visit office hours or contact the instructor

MIT Examples:

Welcome to 6.1220 (previously 6.046), one of the more unique Course 6 classes! This class covers fundamental algorithmic ideas that have had—and continue to have—a major influence on the evolution of computer science and several other disciplines, ranging from mathematics to biology to the social sciences. We hope you will enjoy learning this material!

In 7.014 (Spring 2023), the Introduction to Biology Canvas page begins with personal introductions to the course staff:

Let’s Talk

If you have any questions or want to talk through your syllabus, please contact Teaching + Learning Lab, GradSupport (for graduate courses), or S3 (for undergraduate courses). If you want to go deeper, please visit the TLL’s Syllabus Checklist to Support Student Belonging & Achievement, a comprehensive, evidence-based syllabus checklist which informed this resource.

Principle:

Syllabus Topic:

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