The Welcome Module, or Getting Started Module, orients students to the course instructor, course outcomes, and grading rationale. It provides students with communication expectations and links to campus resources to support their success in college. This module is important because it helps students to get their bearings and build confidence in navigating the course site. Whatever your course delivery format, online, in-person, or hybrid, a course Welcome Module is an essential element to help students feel connected and ready to get started.

What does a Welcome Module look like?

Welcome Modules will differ according to the preferences and personality of each instructor, but they generally contain the following pages:

• [Page] Instructor Welcome
  • The Instructor Welcome page typically includes a short welcome written by the instructor to their students as well as salient biographical information about the instructor, including their research interests and personal goals as a teacher. Often instructors can begin to build rapport with students by sharing a few personal details about their favorite places for travel, their favorite foods, or any pets at home. A few details about life beyond the classroom can help to emphasize that the instructor is both approachable and willing to get to know students.
  • Instructors can also create a short welcome video (5 minutes or less) to help students orient themselves to the learning experience ahead. For some excellent sample introductory videos, check out the following:
    • SOC 206 Instructor Welcome Video
    • Connecting with your students – Welcome videos for your course [Learning and Teaching @ Australian National University]
• [Page] Course Information
  • On this page, it’s a great idea to note the format of the course (online, in-person, on Zoom) and any required synchronous class sessions.
  • Please list the hours of expected course work per week. It’s also helpful to link to your institutional policy on course credits hours as they relate to expected hours of course work if it is available.
  • On this page, it’s useful to link to the syllabus.
  • Listing course-level learning outcomes is super helpful on this page as it sets the stage for the work ahead.
• [Page] Grading and Assignment Information
  • Sometimes instructors group this page as a subheading on the course information page, but often it is helpful as a page on its own in the module view. This way students can more easily find out how they will be graded.
  • Please provide a grading rationale for students:
    • How do you score or evaluate their work in the course?
    • What matters to you most about their performance?
    • Why did you choose the assignments and their weight toward the final grade?
    • How should they interpret feedback and what should they do if they have questions?
  • Please list and describe the assignments for the course. Often it is helpful to have a short description of assignments on this page and direct students to the appropriate course site location for more information.
• [Page] Communication Expectations
  • On this page, it is helpful to share office hours, email information, and office location information.
  • Tell students about your expected response time for emails (48 hours during Monday-Friday is common).
  • If you have guidance for students on preferred email format or email etiquette, this is a great place to share it!
• [Page] Student Services
  • If your campus has a Student Services website, you may wish to copy/paste key content you want to emphasize as well as link to that site directly on this page.
  • It is very useful to include links and descriptions of the following services:
    • Library Services
    • Academic Tutoring and Writing Support
    • Disability Services
    • Counseling Services
    • Advising Services
    • Basic Needs Services
      • Food Security
      • Housing Security
      • Childcare
• [Page] Technology Support
  • To save you and your students valuable time, direct students on how to request and receive technical assistance when accessing software, connecting to the campus internet, or accessing their institutional student accounts. Providing links to technology services as well as a short description of what they can help students to do is invaluable!
  • If technology support information is available elsewhere on the course site, please describe how students can find it (“On the home page of our course site, select Technology Help in the lower right corner.”)
• [Page] Class Q&A Board
  • Students can often answer one another’s questions faster than their instructor. To help facilitate their discussion of logistics and support with one another, offer a discussion board. The following prompt can help students to understand the purpose and use of the board:
    • “This is a discussion board to help us manage course logistics. Please post any questions that come up about navigating the site, submitting assignments, or accessing content. I will review this board every 48 hours. If you know the answer to a question, please feel welcome to reply before I do! If you have questions you’d like to ask me directly or concerns about your performance in the course, please email me at ”

Licenses and Attributions

All content on this page is by Veronica Vold for Open Oregon Educational Resources and is licensed under CC BY 4.0.