A note about email communication with your professors

As we start a new year, here's with some advice about emailing your professor. This email responds to years of email receipt that are less-than-professional AND don’t provide enough information to formulate a response.
Please refer to the following statement in your course syllabus about communication:

• Communication is an essential part to your success at university and in a career. Maintain communication with your professor by attending office hours and/or asking questions via email. Maintain communication with your classmates by attending supplemental instructions sessions and/or forming weekly study groups that meet outside of class. 
• While we encourage communication between student and professor regarding course material, we discourage requests for extra points or special consideration regarding grades. All students will be treated equally.
• Communication with your classmates and professor should be clear, concise and respectful. We will not respond to emails or other forms of communication that are not professional. Email sent to your professor is part of your academic record. Always identify yourself and your course name in any email you send to your professor.

It is important for you to know that your professors have close to 120 students in their courses and receive dozens of emails a day that require responses. When we receive an email from a student the student is potentially from one of four courses, this makes it very important that you identify yourself, the course in which you are enrolled and the nature of your request.

Details matter!
Your email is very likely to go unanswered if you don’t clearly explain the situation and indicate that you’d like a response.

Politeness matters!
Salutations and an introduction are important in professional communication. Don’t skip the niceties! Treat every email you send to your professor as you would if you were sending an email to your boss. Remember that you are very likely to be in a situation down the road to ask that same person to provide a recommendation for you for a job or school application. That recommendation will likely address your ability to communicate in professional situations, such as through email.

There are many helpful guides available for email communication with your professor. We particularly like this one:
http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/campuslife/five-things-to-remember-when-e-mailing-a-professor

Thanks and we look forward to your email,

Your professors