1.  Always use Blackboard email to send an assignment to your instructor

When you log into your Blackboard course, you will see a button (Email Your Instructor) on the left side of Blackboard. When you click on that, you will have the opportunity to email your instructor with a short message and attach your assignment to that message. You will receive a copy of the sent email in your student email inbox.

2.  Always include in your message the following information:

• your first and last name (Do not include your emplid.)
• your course, for example, HIS 101
• the name of your assignment, for example, Gilgamesh paper
• the format of the assignment, if attached, for example, Wordperfect
• You should always address your message directly to your professor, i.e., you must include a salutation.  For example, a typical message should look like this  

  Professor Smith, This is my HIS 101 Gilgamesh paper, attached in Word. John Jones

3.  When you have questions, you can use your student email to contact your professor at any time. Please always include your course, for example, HIS 101, on the subject line of your email.

4.  Always make sure that you contact the correct instructor. You may have to recheck your course registration information or your course website home page.

• HIS 101, History of Western Civilization I
• HIS 102, History of Western Civilization II
• HIS 111, History of World Civilization I
• HIS 112,  History of World Civilization II
• HIS 135, History of the Contemporary World
• HIS 241, History of Russia I
• HIS 242, History of Russia II

• Email exchanges are considered to be formal communication; email is not IM, chat, texting, messaging, etc.  So, formal English style and grammar usage should always be observed.
• No IM contractions/acronyms, no misspellings, no slang is allowed; an email message may be returned to you for correction.
• Please also note that inappropriate, aggressive, antagonistic, or impolite email will be forwarded to the appropriate college administrator for possible disciplinary action.

• Please note also that your work is considered to have been submitted only when it actually reaches your instructor's inbox in a gradable form.  In other words, the simple fact that you may have "sent" something does not constitute "submission" of an assignment.

7.  Failure to follow these instructions may mean that an assignment will not reach your instructor.

•   If an email does reach your instructor without the required identifying information, or in a format that is incorrect or improper, he/she will return the work ungraded with a request for resubmission.

• Once you have sent an assignment to your instructor, you can expect a response within 24-72 hours.  If you do not get a reply after about three days, please contact your instructor to confirm receipt of the assignment.
• The response to an assignment will consist of critical comments on the assignment, including any notes of writing style mistakes (Usually, specific grammatical/editing comments are not made unless they are few in number.), and a numerical grade.  Instructors try to be clear and precise in your feedback, but if something is unclear, which is always possible in email exchanges, please make sure that you contact your instructor.

9.  You are required to use your official VCCS email.

• Northern Virginia Community College and the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) ask you to use your official VCCS student e-mail account because of security and privacy concerns.  You can access your official e-mail account at email.vccs.edu/.  There is also an online Guide to Student Email.  Student technical support information for NVCC is at www.nvcc.edu/ithd/.  If you wish, you can set up your student email to forward your messages to another email account. Log into your student email and click on the "Settings" option. Then select "Forwarding and POP/IMAP," and there you can enter the email address that you want your student email to forward to.