Seminar teaches students classroom etiquette

The beginning of the semester brings back the responsibilities of college life, as courses begin and students at UCF learn the likes and dislikes of their college professors. Students will buy the books and do their homework, but with little time for adjustment many will forget, even ignore, one thing – student etiquette.

The Student Academic Resource Center recognized this need to instruct students of all majors and ages about the importance of appropriate behavior with teachers, classmates and the college environment in a seminar called "Campus, Classroom and Email Etiquette" on Wednesday in room 316 of the Student Union.

The event attracted the attention of more than 40 students from all majors who were mostly freshmen and attended the seminar to learn tips on the proper way to conduct themselves on campus, in class and through email communication.

"It takes four seconds for people to have an idea of what others are like," said Abby Paul, coordinator of Academic Advising Services. "You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Whether you are a student or an alumnus seeking for a job opportunity, proper communication is just as essential as getting good grades."

Paul taught the seminar, which focused on the rights and wrongs of communicating with professors and other students.

According to her, students are always making impressions with those they interact with, and teaching students proper decorum is a great way to prepare them for job interviews and the real world.

The most talked about part of the workshop was about professional email etiquette, which included choosing appropriate usernames, writing subject lines, starting emails with respect and getting to the point.

Paul said the biggest mistake students do, especially upcoming freshmen, is not use a proper username.

Summer Rayborn, freshman undeclared major, said she remembers the Orientation Team members mention the importance of using adequate email usernames several times.

"During orientation, they told us how impressions are being made even when professors read emails," she said. "They reminded us that we were in college now and we are emailing our professors, not our friends or parents."

And yet Paul said she receives emails from students who would be remembered not for their style of communication but for their embarrassing usernames.

During the seminar Paul also mentioned some ways to properly email professors that will increase the chances of them being read and responded to.

Students should always include a subject line with first and last name as well as the course number, start the emails with greetings, acknowledgements and with a sense of respect and be specific to get to the point.

Senior civil engineering major, Joseph Massimo, attended the workshop to learn about sending proper emails to professors – and that's it.

"The experience of being a senior has taught me the overall student etiquette on how to deal with professors and classmates," Massimo said. "It was the aspect of writing professional emails that I forgot, and which is not taught in class, especially when you're a senior taking higher learning courses."

Besides teaching email decorum, the seminar also instructed students how to behave on campus and in the classroom.

Some university etiquette tips mentioned included asking relevant questions, respecting the campus, not dominating discussions during class, not brining food and drinks to class unless otherwise allowed by the instructor, and speaking to professors outside of class if students have problems with them.

The college experience for all students like for Massimo and Rayborn is different, yet workshops like this, according to Paul, are ideal for students to taste the real world and practice communication skills in a time when appearances and networking are essential for obtaining a job.