Mail Call!
We all love email, don’t we? (Don’t answer so quickly!) Your academic advisors love getting email, too, but sometimes, instead of saving time, emails result in more work.
It’s like the email you get from Aunt Bessie about bringing dessert for Thanksgiving dinner. When you reply to her email with the news you’ll bring brownies, she sends you one back that she’s invited 30 people. Now you’ll need to make A LOT more of those brownies, won’t you? Your relatives don’t do this to you? Darn, why is it just me?
Just like Aunt Bessie’s dinner guest count, giving your advisor important information upfront means that your request will be accomplished quickly, without sending emails back and forth.
First off, you’re not the only one with your name in the whole USF system. Odds are great that there is at least one other current or former student with your name (unless you’re me-seriously.) That’s why we have U numbers-so your transcript doesn’t have the other guy with the same name’s D in Botany messing up your 3.5 GPA.
Similarly, your advisors need that U number to complete your requests, so make it a habit of adding it to EVERY email you send while corresponding with an advisor or teacher. Maybe write it on a post it note and stick it to the computer if you’re prone to forgetting. Or, if you’re the forgetful sort, you can put it in a signature that goes into every email.
To do that:
- Click on your email hyperlink in the upper right hand of your USF email screen.
- Choose ‘Account Settings’.
- Next to Gmail, click the ‘Settings’ hyperlink
- Scroll down to Signature option, deselect ‘No Signature,’ then add your U number and any other information that you’d like to share.
- Scroll down to the bottom and click ‘Save Changes’.
Your advisor is happy because he or she doesn’t have to figure out which Jane Doe is emailing and you’re happy because you got a really fast reply to your request.
Now if that didn’t encourage you to make sure your U number is included in your emails, maybe this will?
We’re not finished, because some information is good, but more information is better. When emailing, after enclosing your U number, please let your advisor know:
- What assistance they can provide
- What you’ve already done regarding your concern (spoke with the professor, tried to register for a class, etc)
- Any additional information they may need to complete your request (for instance, if you’re seeking credit taken at your previous out-0f-state school, let them know the equivalent USF course number and provide a catalog description from that school’s current catalog)
Now that all that information is in your message, feel free to click on the ‘send’ button. Then it will go through cyberspace and show up in your advisor’s inbox. Some advisors do like to have an automated message bounce back to you to let you know that it’s been received, but not all do.
However, unless you get a bounce back message or a ‘message not sent’ one from the USF mail server, it WAS delivered. Depending on the volume of requests your advisor has in their queue, it may be a couple of days before you get a response. They’re not ignoring you, they really are that busy. (I see the calendars and they’re scary, really scary!)