What you’ll learn in this article…
- Florida A&M University awarded Ezzeldin Aly its 2026 online teaching honor.
- Thorough feedback and predictable presence earned Aly consistent student praise.
- Forbes ranked FAMU the top HBCU for online programs in 2026.
Scaling online access can quietly drain the human presence that makes a course memorable. Florida A&M University's 2026 Excellence in Online Teaching Award honored Ezzeldin Aly, Ph.D., for outstanding online teaching, innovation, and student engagement.1 His students described thorough feedback and a supportive environment, not flashy tools.
For communication educators and working professionals, the same tension appears in communication education trends and becomes a five-layer framework: choosing among email, LMS, video, and discussions; sequencing a course-long plan; and measuring response data. Deliberate, specific communication consistently outperforms volume.
As online master's in communication programs expand, that standard is becoming the baseline for instruction, not the exception.
What the 2026 Excellence in Online Teaching Award Reveals About Communication
What do award-winning online instructors actually do differently when they communicate with students? The 2026 Excellence in Online Teaching Award from Florida A&M University offers a concrete answer. The award, presented by FAMU Online and Continuing Education, recognized Ezzeldin Aly, Ph.D., for methods that included interactive assignments, multimedia resources, collaborative group activities, and instructional technologies. Students in his courses pointed to thorough feedback and an online environment that felt welcoming rather than transactional.
What Reviewers and Students Reward Most
The award confirms a pattern. Online learners and faculty reviewers tend to reward the same communication habits: clear expectations, visible instructor presence, and feedback that arrives quickly enough to be useful. In the FAMU example, students specifically noted thorough feedback and an environment that pushed them to think in new ways. Accessible course structure also matters; when materials and instructions are easy to navigate, communication has fewer friction points.
The Research Behind Award-Winning Online Communication
Peer-reviewed studies of award-winning online instructors echo this profile. Researchers have identified five recurring instructor roles: Facilitator, Course Designer, Content Manager, Subject Matter Expert, and Mentor. Across those roles, the facilitation practices most strongly associated with awards are timely responses and feedback, reliable availability and presence, and regular communication. Some award-winning faculty report being available by phone or email late into the evening and sending weekly announcements with reminders. Students in a 2024 study valued instructors who checked in, invited questions, and reached out proactively. Award-winning faculty also tend to explain the purpose of activities, technologies, and assessments, and they use evaluation data to keep improving their communication. Teaching-center reviews add that effective online courses consistently combine faculty-student communication, prompt feedback, and social presence. In short, presence is not about logging in; it is the visible, repeated actions that make an instructor feel available.
Choosing the Right Channel: Email, LMS, Video, and Class Discussions
Email and discussions remain the channels students rate most effective for direct contact, but the right choice depends on privacy, urgency, and the kind of presence required. Use email for private or urgent matters, LMS messages for whole-class clarification, video for feedback and social presence, and graded text discussions for peer conversation.
| Channel | Best use | Strengths | Limitations | Workload and evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private or urgent questions, direct instructor-student clarification, and follow-ups on grades or assignments. | Community college students rated email among the most effective tools for communicating with instructors and peers; it is a primary written channel they already use. | Students do not perceive overall online communication, including email, as effective as traditional face-to-face communication, so it may not replace richer presence. | Low to moderate per message; high volume can add up. Evidence from a community college student perception study. | |
| LMS messaging and tools | Whole-class clarification, announcements, task and quiz reminders, and independent learning support. | Students report improved comprehension, promotion of independent learning, inspiration to complete tasks and quizzes, and good learning outcomes; benefits outweigh drawbacks. | Network instability and limited opportunity for real-time discussion and immediate lecturer feedback make some LMS communication feel impractical. | Moderate; a 2023 study in an Indonesian language education journal found benefits outweigh drawbacks but noted real-time limits. |
| Video and audio messages and feedback | Personalized feedback delivery, instructor presence, and video posts within discussions for oral communication skills and community. | Increases instructor social presence compared with written feedback; students rate instructor videos among the most effective communication tools; video posts support engagement and a sense of community. | Requires more instructor time than written feedback; audio-only formats such as podcasts may be rated least effective; little to no impact on instructor performance evaluations. | High; video feedback takes more time. Evidence from an online learning investigation and a teaching and learning technology journal. |
| Text discussion boards | Structured peer conversation, graded participation, and asynchronous class discussion. | Students perceive higher engagement and interactivity than video-based discussions; explicit participation requirements increase use. | Poorly designed forums can limit interaction and satisfaction; students may be neutral or dissatisfied; without grades, students typically do not use them. | Manageable when instructors set response times, use FAQs and announcements, and assign 10-50% of course grade. Evidence includes paired-sample comparisons showing text discussions score higher overall. |
| Video-based discussion boards | Increasing social presence and visual or auditory interaction, especially when goals include oral communication. | Students perceive higher social presence than text-based discussions; video posts support oral communication skills, engagement, and community. | Students prefer text-based discussions and report higher engagement and interactivity in text modalities; instructors say evaluating video responses consumes more time. | High instructor evaluation time; paired-sample comparisons show text discussions scored 3.84 versus video discussions at 3.29. |
A Course-Long Communication Plan: From Syllabus to Final Feedback
The compliance conversation around online teaching has shifted from checking that a course contains content to checking that an instructor is visibly present, responsive, and engaged. That shift follows the federal Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) standard, which has shaped online master's in communication course design since July 20211 and continues to guide reviews in 2026.
A six-phase communication rhythm
Build instructor presence on a predictable schedule rather than treating communication as ad hoc. A defensible plan has six phases2: pre-course welcome, week one norms, recurring weekly cadence, mid-course check-in, final feedback, and proactive outreach for students who go quiet.
- Pre-course: "Welcome to the course. Our first module opens Monday. Reply with one goal you have for this class."
- Week one: "I post announcements every Monday, respond to questions within 24 to 48 hours on weekdays, and join two discussion threads per module."
- Weekly cadence: "Before you begin Module 3, notice that the discussion prompt asks you to apply the reading to a real workplace scenario."
- Mid-course: "Two strengths in your work so far are X and Y. One specific revision step for the next assignment is Z."
- Final feedback: "Your final project shows growth in audience analysis. For your next professional step, build on the data interpretation section."
Repeating a simple structure, such as announcement, discussion prompt, and feedback with a clear next step, makes RSI visible to students and reviewers alike.
How reviewers evaluate RSI
Reviewers look for evidence of instructor-initiated interaction, not just course materials. Under the federal definition, substantive interaction means teaching, learning, and assessment plus at least two of five activity types3: direct instruction, feedback on coursework, responding to content questions, facilitating discussion, or other approved activities.1 Regular means the interaction is predictable and scheduled, and it should be commensurate with course length and content.4
Auto-posted content, static lectures with no follow-up, or replying only when students initiate are not enough. University guidance for online courses and distance education associations make the same point: design RSI in from the start rather than trying to prove it later. Strong course records include weekly announcements, discussion facilitation, graded feedback, office hours, and targeted one-on-one communication coaching for disengaged students. Some institutions suggest about one hour of active faculty-student interaction per credit hour per week2, but that figure varies.
For 2026 course design, the practical test is straightforward: if a reviewer opened the course shell today, would they see an instructor who initiated contact, responded substantively, and guided learning over time? Design that evidence in from the first week, and the final evaluation becomes a record of what already happened.
Related Articles
Scaling Communication for Large Classes, Equity, and Accessibility
In large-enrollment online courses, the most common recommended email response window is 24 to 48 hours, with instructors checking messages once a day.1 Weekly course announcements become the main broadcast tool2, and automated deadline reminders reduce individual "when is it due" emails.1 The goal is not less communication, but more consistent communication that does not depend on which student asks first.
Triage the Routine Questions
A structured plan starts with reusable spaces: a searchable FAQ bank or LMS discussion board where students can answer each other's procedural questions.1 Teaching-center guidance for large courses recommends dedicated social spaces and Q&A forums for routine "how do I" questions, plus weekly announcements that bundle deadlines and content previews.4 Group office hours and peer response protocols spread the interaction load without making any student feel ignored. Rubric-based feedback keeps grading comments consistent across hundreds of submissions, and instructors can monitor submission patterns to send proactive reminders before students fall behind. Large-enrollment research notes that automation is most equitable when expectations are public and consistent.4
Design for Access From the First Message
Equity requires multiple ways to receive the same message. Universal Design for Learning calls for multiple means of representation2, so messages work as text, audio, and video with clear, jargon-free language. Every instructor-created video needs WCAG-compatible synchronized captions3, and transcripts should accompany audio-heavy content.3 Culturally responsive remote teaching guidance goes further, asking educators to record and transcribe all communication and offer it in multiple languages and platforms where feasible.4 That may sound heavy, but captions and transcripts help everyone, not only students with documented accommodations. WCAG requires synchronized captions for prerecorded video with audio, not just auto-generated text without review.3
Keep Asynchronous Equity in View
Bandwidth constraints and time zones are real. If every live session is required, some students lose access. The practical fallback is asynchronous versions of key communication: recorded announcements with transcripts, Q&A threads that remain open, and flexible office hours across time zones. Address students by name and pronoun, respond to introductions, and avoid deficit framing. Private notes and one-on-one feedback are central to building trust in virtual communication, especially for minoritized students who may not ask questions publicly. When automation handles logistics, instructors can reserve personal attention for students who most need it.
Presence in an online course is not about sending more messages; it is about sending predictable, specific, useful ones.
How Online Students Can Apply These Communication Habits to Their Own Success
Some online students wait for instructions to arrive; others treat every course as a back-and-forth conversation. The second group tends to extract more from each week, and the habits behind that difference are learnable. Award-winning online teaching at Florida A&M University shows that students gain deeper thinking when they actively pursue feedback, one of the soft skills employers look for, instead of merely receiving it.
From Receiving Feedback to Seeking It
Instructors who excel online create feedback-rich environments, but students still need to ask for what they need. Instead of a vague "Can you look at this?", try a specific request: "Which section of my argument needs stronger evidence?" or "What is one revision cue for my next draft?" Specific questions help instructors respond faster and more usefully.
Build a Peer Response Network
Discussion boards are not just a submission box. Use them to test interpretations, share examples from your workplace, and ask classmates how they approached a difficult reading, building business communication skills that transfer to the job. In the FAMU sport management course, graduate students who engaged with the online environment described being pushed to think outside the box and apply ideas more fully. That push often came from peer exchange as much as from the professor.
Self-Check for Working Learners
Use this quick list each week:
- Contact your instructor early: Send one specific question within the first two weeks.
- Post before the flood: Add your discussion response before Thursday and reply to at least two peers.
- Ask for a cue: Request one concrete revision cue on each major assignment.
- Protect the time: Block two 25-minute windows weekly for reading forums and applying feedback, one of the simplest time management graduate school tips for online students.
- Close the loop: Tell the instructor which feedback you used in the next submission.
What This Means for Communication Degree Programs and Career Preparation
When online teaching earns an institutional award, it is no longer just a classroom convenience. It is a live demonstration of the communication competencies that working professionals now need: planning messages across digital channels, analyzing an audience, building feedback loops, and designing content that includes everyone.
What Online Course Communication Teaches
The practices behind Florida A&M University's 2026 Excellence in Online Teaching Award map directly to communication curriculum outcomes. Interactive assignments require digital communication planning. Collaborative group activities depend on audience analysis and turn-taking. Thorough feedback, like the kind graduate student Micah Butler praised, creates a feedback loop that helps students revise and improve. Accessible course materials model inclusive messaging. These are not teaching techniques alone; they are transferable skills for communications.
Why Communication Programs Should Treat This as Career Training
Public relations and marketing communications specialists manage brand voices across social platforms. Health communicators coordinate messages for diverse audiences. Business communicators facilitate team decisions across time zones. All of them rely on the same patterns a strong online course reinforces: clear announcements, structured discussion prompts, multimedia explanation, and consistent follow-up. When online communication programs teach these patterns explicitly, they give students a portfolio of observable, repeatable communication habits.
The Broader Institutional Context
FAMU's recognition matters beyond one instructor. Forbes Advisor ranked FAMU as the No. 1 HBCU for online programs as the Fall 2026 semester began. That ranking, paired with the online teaching award, signals that institutions are treating virtual communication quality as a core part of academic reputation and graduate preparation.
A Practical Next Step
Communication educators and program leaders should audit their communication strategy the same way they would audit a public campaign. Map each course interaction to a professional competency: - Instructor announcements to stakeholder updates. - Discussion boards to community management. - Assignment feedback to performance coaching. - Accessible materials to inclusive messaging.
Then close the gaps in courses and faculty development. The result is a degree program that prepares students to communicate effectively in the same online environments where they will build their careers.
