<no subject>
and Other Poor
Communication Choices
Student Affairs Conference
Shawna McMahon, PhD
May 31, 2017
Email
Subject: <no subject>
Message: nothing but an [important] attachment
Message: Does the Graduate School provide funding/incentives for recruiting URM students?
Message: Shawna, what is the official maximum time line for students who have defended
their PhD thesis to respond to committee’s conditions?
Message: Dr. So-and-So was happy to take over as Chair of the Admissions Committee.
Message: I noticed that my class schedule for this semester doesn't show me being
registered for my independent study credit that was on my special processing form I
submitted.
Email Subjects
From: A colleague
To: Shawna McMahon
Date: Not so long ago…
Subject: URGENT!!!
Hey Riley,
Do we have dean's list? I need to know for my activities for AMCAS. I need to know ASAP
because I have to submit it in less than a week!
Have a great summer!
Best,
Joe Student
University of Colorado Denver|Anschutz MS Program Class of 2017
University of Manitoba Class of 2014
(204) 334-0335
[email protected]
Email Subjects
From: Joe Student
To: Riley, the student’s program administrator (and forwarded to me)
Date: Last summer
Email Signatures
Useful…
Not so useful…
Sent from my iPhone
=+=
Shawna McMahon, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean, Graduate School
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Phone: 303.724.2914
Email: [email protected]
Academic Office 1 Suite 1503 | Mail Stop C296
12631 E. 17th Ave. | Aurora, CO | 80045
Dave
Consider adding…
Your pronouns
Your work days/hours (if not standard)
Upcoming vacation/time away
Subject: FW: Application status
From: Student, Jane
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2015
To: graduateadmissions <[email protected]>
Subject: Application status
HelloI am emailing to check on the status of two applications to programs at UC Denver
AMC. I am wondering when I can expect to hear back about my applications.
Thank you,
Jane Student
Professional Research Assistant
McMahon Lab – Department of Soil Science
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
12801 E. 17th Avenue
RC1S 10345 Mail Stop C296
Aurora, CO 80045 | 303 724 2915
Insufficient
Information
From: graduateadmissions
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2015
To: Graduate, School [email protected]
Email Length
Hi Joe,
I'm so excited to see you graduate this semester. Are you planning to attend
commencement? The registration closes on Thursday. Here is the link if you are
(and please let me know as I need to figure out who will walk in the ceremony).
Best,
Shawna
Effective Strategies
From: Shawna McMahon
To: Joe Student
Sent: Tuesday
Subject: Time Sensitive: Are you planning to attend commencement?
I've noticed paperwork coming through my office that indicates your defense is coming up and that
you intend to graduate this semester. However, it appears that you did not apply to graduate in
UCDAccess, which is a very important administrative step required to receive your degree in a given
semester…
Best,
Dr. McMahon
From: Jane Student
To: Shawna McMahon
Dear Dr. McMahon,
I was just about to send you an email addressing this. I apologize for this omission. I reread through
the graduation checklist after receiving this email. I think I am on track other then this omission. I
would appreciate if you could add me to the roster for Spring 2017. I do understand if you cannot
since I missed this deadline and will accept that consequence.
From: Shawna McMahon
To: Jane Student
Thank you for such a professional email and your willingness to accept the consequence. I will add
you to the roster this afternoon.
Effective Strategies
From: Shawna McMahon
To: Jane Student
Subject: Important! You may not graduate this semester!
Dear Dr. McMahon,
I’ve finally set my defense date but it is a week after this semester’s deadline. Can I still graduate
this semester?
Thanks,
Joe
From: Shawna McMahon
To: Joe Student
Dear Joe,
Congratulations on getting to this important milestone! While you won’t be able to graduate this
semester, you will be able to complete all your degree requirements and you won’t have to register
again (which saves tuition). All you have to do is apply to graduate next semester. Once you’ve
completed all your degree requirements (including submitting your thesis), I can write a letter to
your employer indicating that your degree will confer on the last day of the next semester. Sound
good?
Best,
Dr. McMahon
Effective Strategies
From: Joe Student
To: Shawna McMahon
Subject: Can I still graduate?
Summary of Email Best Pratices
■ Use descriptive and meaningful subjects
■ Use “Urgent” and “Time Sensitive” sparingly and
appropriately
■ Include a richly detailed email signature
■ Include important details such as identifying information,
email addresses, screencaptures, etc.
■ Include links (and copies of forms?)
■ Highlight key messages
■ Start with thank you or congratulations
■ Focus on the postive
Phone
What are some best practices?
In Person
What are some best practices?
Activity: Warm Handoffs
Warm Hand-off Scenarios
1. You are meeting with a student about withdrawing from the
university and know that financial aid is an important
consideration.
2. Someone calls you asking about advising in another program or
department.
3. A student confides in you that they are having suicidal thoughts.
4. A student can’t figure out where their class is located.
5. A faculty member can’t figure out when the semester starts.
6. A teaching assistant can’t figure out how to submit final grades.
Help mitigate runaround by:
■ Asking questions like “Am I the first person you’ve asked?”
■ Admitting you aren’t the best person but offering to try
■ Showing empathy when someone has experienced
runaround
■ Using all tools at your disposal (and learning what they can
*really* do)
To: Shawna McMahon
From: Jane Student
Subject: questions about my transcript record, thanks
Hi, Dr. Mcmahon,
I am math graduate student, my student number is 123456789.
I have questions about my previous degrees record in the current transcript of CU Denver.
My BS degree was from 09/1988 to 07/1992, Univ. of Electronic Science and Technology of China
MS degree
09/1996 to 03/1999, Univ. of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Phd degree
09/1999 to 06/2002 Zhejiang University
My transcript shows the phd study time, but did not show the phd degree.
Could you help me correct my transcript information?
Thanks so much and enjoy your summer!
Jane
To: Jane Student
From: Shawna McMahon
CC: Stephanie Puello, Kelly Santa Maria
Subject: questions about my transcript record, thanks
Dear Jane,
That is interesting. I'm ccing my colleague at the Denver Graduate School office, Stephanie Puello, in case her
assistance is needed (and you should contact her directly in the future). However, I was intrigued so I did a little
digging.
I believe your next stop should be the Registrar's Office. We actually don't pay a lot of attention to this at the
Anschutz Medical Campus, but I was able to determine where the information populates in your record so that
you can ask a very specific question. You can see that on the screen for the school where the degrees do
appear, someone went in and entered your degrees officially (External Degrees). However, your PhD remains
only the self-reported data that came from your application. You want to ask the Registrar's Office how to get
your External Degree officially recorded for your PhD.
The other person who may be able to help is Kelly Santa Maria, as she handles admissions for CLAS.
I wish you luck and if you remember, can you let me know how you get it fixed?
Best,
Dr. McMahon
Try a Google search first…
We are all busy and should want to respect each other’s time and responsibilities.
Rather than starting by asking the person you know will know the answer, try a
Google search first with “CU Denver” in your search string. If you still can’t find it or
need clarification, THEN reach out.
Understand (and
respect) the system
My personal challenges:
■ Appearing deferential to faculty & leadership
– Dear Dr. So & So vs. Dear First Name vs. Hi First Name
■ Appearing authoritative over students
– Dr. McMahon vs. Shawna
■ Deciding
Hello,
MSLE is sponsoring an award for STEM education research
projects and we are in great need of another judge. There are
10 projects to judge between 10 and 12:30 tomorrow.
Thanks,
Colleague
Appropriate Use?
From: A colleague
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday 10:13 AM
Subject: URGENT – RaCAS judges needed
Shawna’s Email Recommendations
■ Use a descriptive/meaningful email subject
■ Use “Urgent” or “Time Sensitive” sparingly and appropriately
■ Include an informative email signature
■ Include sufficient identifying information (email, SID)
■ Use an appropriate salutation (and default to more formal if
you are unsure)
■ Focus on the positive (what you can/will do) rather than
what you can’t/won’t do (or why it isn’t your problem