You can expect your lecturers to:

  • Provide all the information that you need before the course begins.
  • Identify your assignment dates by the time the course begins.
  • Read the forum posts.
  • Provide a space for students to ask questions and have office hours when your questions are answered.
  • Explain the assignment tasks and expectations clearly.
  • Tell you (as a class member) if they are going to be away from the course for a period of time.
  • Provide feedback on your assignments in a timely manner (for example, within two weeks of submission).

You cannot expect your lecturers to:

  • Answer your questions instantly. Your lecturers should tell you the course office hours, and inform you how frequently student questions are answered.
  • Always be present or available in the course.
  • Reply to all your forum posts.
  • Provide the class with an email address.

Your lecturers expect you to:

  • Participate in all the class discussions. See: Online discussions for guidelines about what this means, and Writing in a discussion for tips about deciding what to write. Our page called Effective communication online - disagreeing politely has sentence starters for when you wish to take an alternative position.
  • Ask questions if you need help or do not understand. Your lecturers can only help you if they know that there is a problem.
  • Submit your assignments by the due date (or use the official forms to request an extension).
  • Read the feedback that they provide on your assignments and follow their advice in subsequent assignments. Your lecturers expect you to seek advice from the Student Learning service to help you improve your writing.

You can expect of your classmates to:

  • Treat your contributions to class discussions with respect
  • Acknowledge reference to your ideas using an appropriate citation style
  • Participate in discussions on time, and engage with your ideas as they do with everyone's

Your classmates will expect the same of you.

Student Learning