When you’re attending an online college, using e-mail is the most common method of communicating with your professors. Because of the absence of face-to-face interaction, your online communication skills are put to the test. Your ability to understand material and assignments could hinge on whether or not you pose clear questions. Additionally, your professor’s perception of you could be affected by the tone you present. It’s important that you pay close attention to your e-mail etiquette so that you maintain positive relationships with your professors.

Regardless of whether your major is electrical engineering or English, your e-mails should be free of grammatical errors. Even when you’re unsure of a particular rule, take a small amount of time to research and figure out if you’ve made a mistake. Your writing should be formal, so don’t write in all lowercase letters like you’re chatting with a friend on Facebook. The rules of proper capitalization, punctuation and spelling should be applied. Always begin your e-mail by addressing the professor to whom you’re writing. Unless they prefer to be addressed by their first name, begin the letter with "Professor Smith" or "Dr. Smith," for example. Your message should be concisely written and to the point. You’ll find that long-winded e-mails usually don’t get responses, and many times it’s because they end up deleted after the professor’s first glance at the message. Keep in mind that professors are usually short on time, and your concerns and thoughts aren’t their number one concern – though they are still important. After they reply, be sure to respond in a timely manner depending on the depth of the response required. If the sender’s message contains numerous questions, the Purdue University Online Writing Lab suggests writing responses below each question.

The content of your e-mail should always carry a professional tone. Stay on topic and keep the jokes to a minimum; you don’t want to offend the person who can make or break your semester. If you have a question regarding a grade, don’t come across as angry – it’ll hinder your chances of receiving a proper explanation and possibly having it changed. Never ask for notes from a class you missed or make any other inappropriate requests. Because you’re a college student, you’re expected to keep up with the lessons and solve your own problems. Don’t flood your professor’s inbox with tons e-mails throughout the semester. If you have numerous questions pertaining to every topic, you should either study more often or consider taking the class at a different time under a better professor. Although you’ll be using e-mail more often than you would at a traditional college, you should still use it considerately.