Consider how you want to welcome students and prepare them to engage with the program community. Engaging incoming students as early as possible invites them to be excited to start the program and provides them with opportunities to get to know the students they will be working with throughout their academic journey. Additionally, it allows you to answer any questions students may have before they begin coursework. To welcome and orient students, consider the tools and technologies they will be using, and how you might empower students to build new relationships with one another, faculty, and staff.
Whether students are on campus or online, community building and a sense of belonging enable them to thrive. In fact, research shows that a low sense of belonging can have a negative effect on program retention and completion rates. For online programs, there may be increased difficulty when attempting to foster community due to a lack of shared physical spaces and varied time zones, among other factors. Fostering a sense of belonging requires intentional planning and attention to the challenges and benefits of an online environment. Instructors interested in building community within their courses can review the CETLI page on community-building tools for teaching online.
This page includes strategies, practices, and tips that online administrators can consider to build strong communities within online programs.
Welcome, Orient, and Support New Students
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- Schedule synchronous get-to-know-you activities before the beginning of the semester. Develop orientation materials, such as video tours of Canvas sites and other digital spaces, introductory videos, and quick-start technology guides.
- For an asynchronous connection opportunity, use the discussion feature in Canvas to make small student groups and send prompts for students to answer on their own time. or more information on how to set up these groups in Canvas, contact CETLI.
- Host synchronous information sessions at the start of the semester.
Empower Student Engagement
Many students coming into online programs care deeply about connecting with the community and can serve as leaders and connectors. Consider how you might engage students in your community-building efforts. What steps might you take to encourage students to help build community?
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- Encourage students to exchange contact information and connect outside of formal program spaces.
- Create spaces that allow students to connect asynchronously on mutual interests (ex: similar career paths, current events related to their field of study, etc.)
- Host virtual networking sessions with program alumni to engage students who are interested in connecting with both current and previous students.
Utilize Inclusive Practices
Establishing an inclusive and welcoming environment is key to creating a thriving community, as it ensures all students can be active participants. It is important to be intentional when thinking about how to engage all the students in your program. Consider how you might diversify the ways that students can contribute their voice and personal experience to the conversation. Additionally, be aware of how these experiences can be made accessible to students across time zones and locations.
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- Prioritize tools that are accessible, usable, and inclusive, and that most students in your program may already be familiar with.
- Work with a variety of program stakeholders (students, staff, and faculty) to co-create norms for online engagement, including the ways that the program will be welcoming to the diverse perspectives and experiences that each person brings. For example, consider including your gender pronouns as part of your participant name or profile and let attendees know they have the option to as well.
- Consider how you will handle situations where students may violate community norms.
Develop a Community Building Action Plan
It’s important to be specific and intentional when establishing a community-building strategy for your program. Some strategies might include setting specific goals about how you personalize your communications for students’ needs, deciding how often and in what modality you will communicate with students (for both essential information and other communications), and thinking through who in the program staff will be in charge of the various community building aspects in your program.
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- Make clear up front where and how often students can expect to communicate with you and with each other on various platforms, and keep your approach consistent.
- Consider how you can leverage social media and other popular platforms to promote authentic communication.
Select Tools and Technologies that Align with Your Goals
Once you have defined your community building strategy, consider which tools will be necessary to properly execute your plan. When selecting the tools and technologies you might use, it may be helpful to think about the tools you already have access to, as well as the alternatives you can provide for students with access issues or those joining from countries that may have technology restrictions. Once you have made your selections, reflect on ways you will help your team and students feel confident using those tools. Penn has many technology tools and platform options that can be leveraged to support your program’s unique community building needs.
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- Consult with your local technology support provider for tools and technologies that might accomplish your goals.
- If considering a new tool or technology, contact CETLI for resources that can help with evaluating new tools.
Learn From What Does (and Does Not) Work
Regularly seeking feedback from students and program staff will allow you to evolve your community-building approach to fit the needs of your program. Consider how you will evaluate what is and is not working, and include student voices in the process. Collecting both qualitative and quantitative data can help you build a more complete picture of your program needs and think about how to iterate and try new approaches. If you try something that works well, consider sharing with CETLI so we can add it to the center’s growing list of practices.
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- Create short feedback opportunities at the end of synchronous events using a Zoom poll or a Qualtrics post-event survey. For asynchronous community building activities, send out a message with the survey link or place the link in the instructions of the activity.
- Provide opportunities for longer-form feedback throughout the academic year and clarify how students and staff can provide feedback.
Connect with CETLI
If you have any questions about how you might build community in your own online program, or want to learn more about additional tools, technology, and resources to support your community-building goals, please email CETLI to set up a consultation.