Something that I love is a good communication plan (or comm plan for short). When you are an advisor, you need to routinely send out messages at certain times of the year. Rather than starting from scratch each time, I save the messages I sent previously and tweak them for the next time I need to send them. This gives you the benefit of building on them as well because you can add anything you learned last time that will be helpful this time.
When I build a comm plan, I typically use any combination of the 5 following parts:
- Invitation
- Confirmation/Introductions
- Details
- Reminder
- Follow up/Thank you
Below, I’ll break down what each message is for and what I like to include in them. After that I’ll give you some ideas of comm plans that I use and what details I would include. There are different levels of importance that I would assign to different types of notices/events. Depending on that, I would send more or fewer of the five messages. For instance, I only send reminders for one of two reasons: the information is going to students or it has been a very long time between the last message and the event.
Email 1: Invitation
- In the first communication, critical details like the date and time if you have it
Email 2: Confirmation/Introductions
- You may be inviting a bunch of people, so it’s good to confirm with each person who states they can attend early on
- If you are inviting a bunch of people, it might be helpful to copy them on the email for collaboration
Email 3: Details
- Schedule, where to meet, if meals are provided, what to bring, parking & pass, and all the other details that weren’t originally available for the invitation email
Email 4: Reminder
- This depends on how long between the last email and the event date, as well as your confidence in their ability to remember and/or organize their schedule
- Sent one week to one day before, and a good idea to include any additional details
Email 5: Follow up/Thank you
- Share info that was provided like presentations or handouts
- Answer any questions that were unanswered during a Q&A portion
- Thank the participants if they did something (I don’t really thank people for coming just to be an audience; only if they presented or helped or did something)
- Indicate any upcoming events you want them to be aware of
Example A: OPT Info Session
If you’re working on a campus with hundreds or thousands of international students and you are planning only one or two OPT info sessions per semester, you really want students to attend so you don’t have to repeat the same information over and over during one-on-one meetings. This is a time where I would use a reminder email.
Invitation | Purpose: Notify them of the event and potentially get RSVP numbers.
Include:
- Date,
- time,
- location,
- schedule,
- will there be refreshments,
- what to bring,
- link to RSVP,
- brief itinerary
Reminder | Purpose: To put the event back on students’ radars and capture any final RSVPs, sent one week to one day before.
Include:
- RSVP link and
- any additional details that may have changed or been added
Follow up | Purpose: Share info and resources that were provided at the event
Include:
- The presentation slides,
- links to key websites, and
- answer any questions that were unanswered during a Q&A portion if everyone would benefit from the info (not info specific to an individual’s situation)
Example B: International Orientation
At my current school, the first batch of students are notified of admission in December(!). We’ve already started planning international orientation even though it’s 8 months away because we need to be able to tell them the dates. In this case, we want to share the date and the expectation of required attendance from the very beginning in the first email. Your first email may be the actual “Congrats, you’ve been admitted!” email or it may be the “How to apply for an I-20” email. Either way, you’re unlikely to have all of the orientation details hammered out, but you would be daft to wait until you did to share the basic details with the new admits.
Invitation | Purpose: Notify them of the existence of international orientation, date(s) and if participation is required. This date could affect their flight and housing move-in, so it’s best to share this asap.
Include:
- Date,
- time,
- location,
- highlights of the schedule (that you know you will do even if you haven’t planned it out yet, such as an F-1 immigration regulations session),
- timeline they can expect more information and/or link to a webpage with more info
- This might be sent as early as December so there will be a lotttt of time between then and when your classes start. (Unless you’re on a quarter system.)
Details | Purpose: Fill in pertinent details that weren’t available before.
Include:
- Schedule (full if you have it so they can plan ahead, especially helpful for people who have other obligations such as scholars or athletes),
- where to meet,
- if meals are provided and which,
- what to bring (overdue documents, passport and I-94, etc.),
- where to park,
- if they have been assigned to any type of breakout group,
- how to RSVP
- This email will probably be sent in late spring or early summer. Alternately, you post all of these details to a web page and in a spring/summer email include the link to it notifying them there have been updates and to check out the website.
Reminder | Purpose: Sent one week to one day before, this email is a reminder because a lot of time, effort, and money went into planning and it’s important to a new students’ success to be oriented, so you really need them to attend.
Include:
- Easy and quick to read details with basic date, time, location, and
- any additional details that weren’t originally included (such as you reserved a large computer lab for check-in but were bumped to a smaller space so you ask students to please bring their smartphone, laptop, or tablet to complete check-in).
Follow up | Purpose: Share info that was provided for students to look back on / for the first time if they missed some portions.
Include:
- Presentation slides,
- links to key websites, and
- answer any questions that were unanswered during a Q&A portion if everyone would benefit from the info (not info specific to an individual situation),
- group photos,
- feedback form,
- flyers for upcoming events you want them to be aware of
Example C: Info fair
Invitation | Purpose: To ask them to participate and provide guidance about what you need them to do.
Include:
- Date,
- time,
- location (if confirmed),
- how many people you’re expecting to attend,
- the format they should plan to present (a full or shared presentation versus a panel)
Confirmation/Introductions | Purpose: You may be inviting a bunch of people, so it’s good to confirm early on with each person who states they can attend so that you keep track of who you’re expecting. It can also be useful to copy them on the email for collaboration in case you’d like them to use a shared presentation slide deck, or some other reason it could be useful for them to be aware of the other invitees.
Include:
- Shared presentation slide deck,
- prompts,
- FAQs,
- resources if they have opted in
Details | Purpose: Fill in pertinent details that weren’t available before, like a finalized location and if outlets will be available in said location, sent one week to one day before.
Include:
- Presentation time,
- table/booth location,
- who to check in with upon arrival,
- actual number of RSVPs,
- schedule overview,
- where to park,
- how to get a parking pass (or an actual pass if your campus provides email versions),
- campus map/any specific maps or directions that help them find where they need to go
Reminder | Purpose: This depends on how long between the last email and the event date, as well as your confidence in their ability to remember and/or organize their schedule. I often start scheduling the info fair for international orientation during early summer, so I don’t usually send a reminder email unless there are other details I need to share. I expect that all of the on- and off-campus partners I’m working with are professionals who have added this event to their calendars. However, if you have any student groups or anyone that you are concerned about (such as someone who was on vacation the week prior to the event), it could be useful to send a reminder.
Thank you | Purpose: Thank them for participating and being a partner. (Sending a written card is always a nice touch, but if you can’t send a card, at least send an email.)
I hope these ideas helped! Would you like to know what topics I use comm plans for or templates? Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for stopping by,
Sara