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[paprof]

Anyone else have this problem?? When I am scheduled to teach an online course, I often get emails from students weeks  and even months in advance of the start date requesting the details of text ISBNs, course requirements, access to the course site, etc. I have been extremely firm about this saying that the course begins on such and such a date and that we will begin the course then. Anyone else find this annoying? Any great solutions to the incessant emails and expectations of when you should actually begin to treat these emailers as students to whom you have a responsibility?

[namazu]

This happens in face-to-face courses, too, though students do often have especially wacky or "not-your-problem" questions in online courses (e.g. asking you, the prof, for tech support or registration help, when these are not your job).  However, I don't think students are out of line to ask what textbook you'll be using or what the course requirements will be.  They may want this information to decide whether or not the course is one they want to take, and to order books so that they'll have them at the beginning of the course.  If they wait until day 1 of the course, they may not have the book until week 2.  For students with disabilities, book information may be needed to obtain copies in alternative formats.  And then some students just like to know what's coming. 

Some schools have more informative course catalogs or information systems than others, and in some systems it is standard to have this information available to students in advance so that they should not even have to contact you, but rather be able to pull the info off of the course search system.  It sounds like you don't have this, which is too bad, as it can head off a lot of questions.

If you have the course information prepared, or a tentative syllabus, it might be helpful to prepare a boilerplate response with
- the course information you have,
- a note that it is subject to change,
- a comment that students will find the information they need in (/attached to) the e-mail or on a website, or that you'll send info or update the website as info becomes available (or on the first day of class), and
- whom to contact for non-course-specific questions (e.g. site access, technical questions, registration, etc.)

If you don't prepare far enough in advance to be able to give students the textbook info or a basic idea of the scope and assignments, then you can still prepare a canned response letting students know when the information will be available (and anything you do know).

This will spare you having to type a separate e-mail to each "early-bird" student, and it may help them start the class more prepared (or decide against taking it in the first place). 

[dept_geek]

Anyone else find this annoying? Any great solutions to the incessant emails and expectations of when you should actually begin to treat these emailers as students to whom you have a responsibility?

Not annoying - it's part of the territory. What works for me: Make a FAQ for "all my online students" and put it on your web page. Answer as many of these types of questions as you can:

Q: What is the text?
A: For Fall 2984, the text for ENG 8765 is Blah, B. "English is Fun". Publisher: Eng Pubs, Inc. ISBN: 99-999-999X

Q: Course Requirements?
A: {post here all information that you want to share about approx number of labs, assignments, exams, papers, quizzes...... And then say "Subject to change without notice!!"}

Q: Can I have access to the course site early? Can you send me assignments? Can I have a copy of the syllabus?
A: Sorry, No. Online classes start at the same time as "in the classroom" classes (link to academic calendar). Once we are at that date, the site will be opened, and you can get to this information. This makes sure the entire class starts at the same level and at the same time. No exceptions, so please, don't ask.

Q: I can't get to the system! I can't log in! And other technical questions
A: I can't help you with these kinds of questions. Please call the help desk/tech support at ....

Q: I need the book early for ...
A: If you are registered, disabled students services should have called me. They will have the book information by (Date)



etc.....

Then.. boilerplate the following:
Questions for all online courses are answered at http://....... If you have read over this site and still don't see what you are looking for, please resend your email and include in the subject "Not in the FAQ".

.....

You get the idea. You can even have the boilerplate as part of your autoresponder email message and your phone voicemailer answerer.  We do this for (almost) all the courses in our dept for exactly the reasons namazu suggests.

[groundhog]

Both of the other posters give good ideas.

I'm at a CC that publishes the instructor's syllabus as soon as the schedule is posted, usually 3 months in advance of the term.  The instructor's email is available too, so students can and do email early.  The school encourages instructors to post the syllabus, so I comply. The syllabus is very detailed, and has the caveat that it is subject to change. I teach a pretty challenging course and I like it that students know the challenges going in...no-one can say that they weren't warned. 

The syllabus has the text(s), the ISBNs, date of final exam, etc.  The school limits access to the class site until class starts, so most students don't question the fact that they can't access it until then.

I have "canned" responses to "the class is full, will you let me in?" and for tech support-type questions.  I just type the student's email in the draft message and send it off.  That saves time. 

[fingerpaint]

Yes, these sorts of questions do seem to come with the territory. I've been doing what the others have been suggesting. I won't let them start early, but I see no harm in telling them what the textbook is, or giving a copy of the syllabus (if I have one yet). It may actually even chase away the ones who might have been problematic (about 1/2 of inquiring students seem to have never enrolled in any of my courses), but who knows for sure.

I also send out a sort of "orientation email" to the class a few days before the class begins, which contains the current syllabus and makes all policies clear. It says in several different places that I cannot help with technical problems on their end and am sure to prominently feature the relevant departments and phone numbers for such issues.

[finallyfullprof]

I leave up the old links to my classes until the Friday before classes begin. I generally don't make many changes to the syllabi but do make changes to the schedule and the readings every term.  Since we use WebCT, I put a note up on the front of the shell telling students, "This site will be updated on the evening of (Date.) At that time, check your college email for a welcome message that includes orientation information." I also keep a generic email in my files that tells students when the class will start, how and where to get their books, and how to access their college email.

My classes actually open the Saturday before the term begins because I make students do an online orientation prior to being allowed into my WebCT materials.  Maybe 20% of them actually complete the orientation before the first day of class. Virtually no one does any of the assignments other than the "introduce yourself" post prior to the start of the term.

[msoexpert]

You can't really blame students for planning things in so far in advance. I've worked at places where registration for the next quarter is available several weeks or a month in advance.  So it's not uncommon at all for them to contact me with these sorts of questions.

What I do in these situations is give the students info regarding:

• When the class actually starts
• The book we'll be using, especially the edition since many online students will want to buy cheaper secondhand ones that may not be the right one.
• If it's too far in advance and I haven't gotten the syllabus ready yet, I tell them I'm still working on getting the class ready.  But I give them the main topics we'll be covering and how class will be run.  For example, we'll have weekly quizzes and homeworks, plus some discussions.
• They'll be given their logins and passwords once they're enrolled in class, and don't need to contact me for it because I don't have anything to do with this process.

At some places where I've worked, we had a faculty web page where I could put all this on there and direct it.  This way, I wouldn't have to repeat myself "a million times."  But not every place has this option.

[curly]

Regardless of your institution, if you teach online, you need an orientation page/site of your own containing general information and FAQs.

The biggest FAQ that is never posted anywhere else except your page (exaggerating) is "The class is full.  How can I get in?"  That's my number one question.