Best practices for PLUS emails

1. Keep it as short as possible.
2. Start with the action you want the reader to take.
3. For SPs and preceptors, ALWAYS include the time frame: immediately, within 24 hours, by X date, etc.
4. For professors, ONLY include a deadline if the action is urgent - plan to follow up with a personable nudge by phone or email if you don't hear back.
5. Batch as much as possible, aiming to send no more than 1 email per week to SPs. Number action items if necessary.
6. Include a specific, recent positive to create a sense of community and progress: "I'm hearing good things about first study groups," "Thank you all for getting the observations scheduled in a timely fashion."

SAMPLE action email to SPs:
Dear SPs,

What a great semester! I’m sorry the following email is so long, but it contains lots of useful information. Grab your calendar and a cup of coffee, and settle in to read it through.

The Round 2 observations list is now live in the googledoc. Please hop online this weekend to indicate what you will be observing (or “help needed”) and any known cancellations. My goal is for all study groups to be observed for a second time before the end of the semester. I will be honest – it has never happened before. But we’ve come really close in the past. Let’s make this a banner semester!

DO fill out an observation form and send it to Kate.
DO include an expected improvement (if there was one) on the googledoc for each of your own study groups.
You DON’T need to give specific feedback to preceptors this time – just thank them.
You DON’T need to stay the whole time.

The Personal Statement workshop will be at 5 pm on the 11th in JES A115. Laura Weingarten will be amazing. We have 13 planning to attend. More are welcome, but if you can’t make it at the last minute, please let me know by email or text.

SP meetings this week (all in JES A309) will be doing special topics. Please attend your regular meeting unless you have a burning desire to experience one of the other topics, in which case send me an email (so I can make sure we keep numbers up for each session):
Monday 9: interviewing skills with Laura.
Monday noon: improv workshop with Tevis – learn to think on your feet!
Monday 5: Advanced public speaking with Kate. This is probably going to be about persuasion/making a sale.
Thursday 11: interviewing skills with Laura

Another place to get real-world information and help is the CNS career services office. For those not in CNS, every college has a career services office. http://cns.utexas.edu/careers/career-design-center
Coming up, for example:
Cover Letter/Resume Writing
Wednesday April 10th, 5-6, NHB 1.720

And last but most important:

During Student Staff Appreciation Week (April 7-13), stop by either of our two Sanger Center offices (Jester A332 or FAC 338) and pick up a bag of popcorn from Cornucopia. We’ll have a variety of flavors for you to choose from, including vegan options. It’s our small way of saying thanks for making our center the #1 resource for academic support at UT!

Another SAMPLE email
Hi SPs,

I look forward to seeing many of you this evening at the Personal Statement Workshop with my awesome colleague, Laura Weingarten. We will start at 5 pm sharp in JES 115 (first floor, corner between the two entrances, Center for Strategic Advising and Career Counseling).

Alex, Meghan and Derek – hop onto the googledoc, please, and indicate whether you will do your own Round 2 observations or “help needed” instead.

Everyone please go onto the wiki: https://utexas.atlassian.net/wiki/display/PLUS/Appreciating+My+Preceptors+by...
And add a comment (or edit the wiki page itself) to indicate what you will do to appreciate your preceptors next week. A warm speech during the planning meeting, or email, is A-OK. Thank you, Tevis, Lily, and Jared, for paving the way. Jared gets the prize for making me laugh because he put the exact same thing as last semester.

And one more SAMPLE

Dear SPs,

Thanks for bearing with me this week, as I was out for three of our four SP meetings! Phoning in went reasonably well, and I appreciate your efforts.

1. Sign your timesheet by 5 pm on Friday, please. Brown folder in JES A332.
2. Round 2 observations can start anytime. I will set up a new page on the googledoc. Stay tuned for an email when it is ready, and I’ll have some more information about the purpose of round 2 and what to tell the preceptors that you observe.
3. Applications for future SPs can start. Read about the process on the wiki: https://utexas.atlassian.net/wiki/display/PLUS/How+to+Become+a+Senior+Preceptor
Tell your preceptors about it (they can also access this wiki page). Aim to get paragraphs endorsed and sent on to me by the 19th, please. And tell me whether you yourself would like to continue as an SP.