Communicating with Your Instructors 

​​​​SNHU courses are asynchronous, which means there is no real-time, live participation. You will not be logging into Zoom or a Google classroom for a lecture. There are also no pre-recorded sessions. Instead, you will have the flexibility to log into Brightspace and complete your discussions and assignments on your schedule. 

​

​In this type of learning environment, interactions with your instructors will be mainly through email. Instructors are not required to have contact with students via phone or online chat. However, the university requires that instructors respond to student emails within 24 hours.​

​

While my hope is that every instructor will respond to you within 24 hours, I recommend giving your instructors some grace, if possible. Instructors are human too, and something may have come up for them. If you can, wait up to 48 hours for a response.

​

If 24 hours have gone by and you need urgent feedback on an assignment, please email me, and I will follow-up with the instructor directly.

 ​Concerns about Instructor Communication

Occasionally, you may receive feedback from an instructor that feels unclear, overly direct, or inappropriate.

​

Please email me at advising@snhu.edu and share screenshots of any feedback or forward me any email exchanges between you and the instructor where you felt they responded inappropriately. I will review the communication and determine the appropriate next steps.

​​

My Instructor is Not Honoring my OAC Accommodations​

If you have Online Accessibility Center (OAC) accommodations, at the start of each term, please make sure to email your accommodations letter to your instructor(s). ​If an instructor is not honoring your OAC accommodations when grading your assignments, please email your instructor directly to remind them of your OAC accommodations and reattach the letter you received from the OAC. ​

​​

When you email your instructor, please copy the OAC (oac@snhu.edu) and me (advising@snhu.edu) in the email. By copying the OAC, you give them permission to intervene on your behalf and connect with your instructor. We may also need to reach out to the Dean's Office or the Office of Dispute Resolution, depending on the circumstances.​​​​

​​

How to Identify a Great Instructor

It's easy to identify the bad instructors, right?  That's never a problem. But how do we identify the good ones? Here are some ways to know if you have a great instructor, one that may be going above and beyond for their students. 

• They consistently provide you with detailed feedback. You can tell that they have taken time to craft their responses to you. They're not just giving you generic feedback in the discussions or in the graded rubric.

• They want to work with you so that you're successful in their course. If you share that you don't understand an assignment, are struggling, had an emergency situation, they are flexible, kind, understanding, and provide you with the help you need to move forward in their course. They don't leave you hanging.

• They provide detailed announcements each week, making sure you understand what you need to do.

• They offer virtual office hours or provide their phone number so that you can call or text them when you need help. Again, instructors are not required to do this, so this is a clear sign of an instructor who goes above and beyond for their students. For information about virtual office hours or your instructor's contact information, always check the announcements section of your course. This is where you will find this information. 

• They use video feedback to connect with their students! From what I have seen, this one is rare, but when I see instructors doing this, it makes me very happy. When you see an instructor taking the time to create videos to connect with their students, they are likely great instructors! These are examples of instructors who are providing support beyond the university's minimum communication expectations

​​