Exploring Student Perceptions of Faculty Messages: The Moderating Role of Internationalized Status and Gender

ABSTRACT Email is a tool used often for developing rapport between students and teachers. A professor's email mistakes may affect the attributions students make about the professor's competence and professionalism. This study used an experimental, between‐subjects design to analyze the impact of professors’ typographical mistakes during initial email interactions and the moderating role of instructor demographics in those perceptions. The final sample consisted of 426 participants (64.6% female, 75.8% Caucasian) across eight universities representing five regions of the United States. The results of this study showed an instructor's email mistakes do lead to negative perceptions. Furthermore, it showed a professor's internationalized status moderated student attributions while gender did not. Though email has a low barrier to entry, mistakes are common and easy to make. The findings of this study highlight the importance of careful communication as a practice, especially during the early stages of a course.