Many schools send one email over the summer covering everything students need to know ahead of move-in day. It’s full of useful information, but there’s too much to absorb at once, and by the time students have a question that needs answering, the email is buried, or even worse, deleted.
Welcome and onboarding emails consistently rank among the highest-performing automated email types across major benchmark reports. With high open rates and significant long-term engagement over standard sends, it’s a no-brainer that what you send should be impactful and well-timed, not a single overloaded email.
Late summer and into the first week of classes is the perfect window for a higher ed welcome email series, split by audience and timed to when each piece of information is needed.
Segment your welcome series by audience
New students aren’t the only ones you should communicate with ahead of move-in day. Their families will need guidance, and returning students will still require schedules and updates about process changes or new information since the prior year.
This means three different audiences need messages in the same window, each with its own needs and tone. If you’re sending the same version of the email to all three audiences, you risk abandonment before your audience sees their intended content. Different higher ed audiences need different email journeys. Here’s how those audiences and tones should shape what you send, from pre-arrival through the first week.
New students
What they need: social content about which clubs and organizations they can join, roommate coordination, orientation information, and what to expect in the first few days. Tone: warm, welcoming, exciting. This is their first taste of campus life and should help students feel prepared and connected to campus, so resources like a short video FAQ or guide would work well here.
Returning students
What they need: what’s changed since last year, their move-in schedule, and job opportunities. Tone: brief and practical, updates only. Sending information about the new parking process or sharing the new dining hall menu is better than a generic welcome back email.
Parents and families
What they need: logistics, safety, drop-off flow, when and how to check in, and reassurance that their students will be okay. Tone: calm, reassuring, more detail-heavy since they’ll have many questions. A one-pager centered around “who to contact for what” would likely resonate and be a comforting resource for parents, guardians, and students.
What to send before move-in day
In the weeks leading up to move-in day, your audience is more than likely excited, curious, and nervous. On your end, you have a lot of information to share, and you want things to go smoothly for everyone. Keep in mind that while you don’t want to send too many emails in a short time period, you also don’t want to overload one email with too much information.
Kick off your welcome series with a few emails in the weeks leading up to move-in day.
New students
Around four to five weeks out, welcome new students with the information they’ve been waiting for: dorm and room assignments, move-in dates and times, and a packing list tailored to what to bring. Include a few items first-time students often overlook, like shower shoes, a power strip, Command strips, and a clothing hamper, so it feels genuinely useful.
Two to three weeks out, send roommate contact information and encourage students to introduce themselves and start coordinating. A quick conversation ahead of time can save them from showing up with two TVs in one small space.
Returning students
Returning students are eager to get back, get settled, and see their friends. They know the drill, but still need to know when and where to go, and if anything has changed over the summer.
Move-in day for new students is chaotic and needs all hands on deck, and not everyone arrives with extra help. That’s where returning students can step in: a familiar, “been there before” face paired with an extra set of hands. Many universities incentivize this by offering their returning-student volunteers an early move-in date of their own.
Four to six weeks out, send these details and recruit the crew with a clear sign-up deadline. A separate confirmation email can go out to volunteers with their specific details and dates.
For returning students not moving in early, send a friendly “here’s what’s changed since last year” email two to three weeks out, along with a confirmation of move-in time and date. A line like “we renovated the student center” or “there’s now a Chick-fil-A on campus” is a fun way to build excitement as summer winds down and classes ramp back up.
Parents and families
Parents and families may have more anxiety and questions than their students do, especially if it’s their first child “flying the nest.” One week out, send a “what to expect on move-in day” email, answering any frequently asked questions and offering reassurance of a smooth transition.
All three audiences
Finally, one week out (spaced a few days from the parent and family email), send parking, transportation, and drop-off details to everyone. Parking can easily turn into a free-for-all without clear expectations set in advance. Close by letting everyone know a final email with day-of details will arrive the day before move-in, and that you’re looking forward to seeing them.
What to include in your move-in day email
Before crafting your move-in day email, anticipate the questions you’re likely to get. From there, consider what’s most important and relevant for the big day. Maybe you don’t need to answer “what’s for dinner in the dining hall tonight,” but you do need to share how to activate a dining card.
On move-in day itself, timed to each student’s specific arrival window rather than sent as one blast, share the essentials: check-in process and location, Wi-Fi setup, ID card pickup, and dining plan activation. Include key contacts for same-day needs, like RA or facilities, along with a quick list of dining options for their first meal on campus.
Keep this email short and scannable following the same principles you’d use to write an effective higher ed welcome email. If you want to include a campus map, lean on a CTA or external link rather than cramming it into the body.
Three emails to send during welcome week
It may feel like you’re sending a lot, but it’s important to break out the “everything you need to know” packet into a spaced sequence across the first week instead of one overloaded email. Both thorough and well-timed information will make for a successful first week for all.
Email 1: Help students get settled
Now that students are unpacked, share a campus map to help them navigate to class buildings, dining halls, the student center, store, or gym. Recommend nearby stores for basic needs and a few popular off-campus restaurants. Round it out with safety and emergency contacts, plus how to reach or schedule an appointment with health services.
Email 2: Help students get involved
This is the email students are most excited about. Share the orientation and social event schedule, with an optional CTA linking to ongoing campus clubs and activities so they have a head start on getting involved.
Email 3: Help students get ready for classes
Toward the end of welcome week, remind students to clear any outstanding holds before classes start, and share how to access their syllabus, course materials, and academic advisor contact.
With that, you’ve set your students up for success. Students don’t need everything on day one. They need the right thing on the right day, which is where automation comes in.
How to automate your higher ed welcome email series
Automating the welcome series doesn’t have to be complicated: it just requires knowing what data your SIS or CRM already holds (housing details, roommate assignments, move-in time slots, orientation details), how you want to use it (merge tags, for example, can pull in the specific roommate name and contact info rather than you building each email by hand), and how you want to time it.
Start by separating your audience: new student, returning student, or parent and family contact. This determines which set of emails each person should receive.
From there, trigger each series off the student’s move-in time-slot assignment. A student arriving Tuesday morning and one arriving Thursday afternoon shouldn’t get the same email on the same day.
Lastly, layer in status: a returning student who signed up for the move-in crew needs their confirmation email, while one who didn’t needs only the standard “what’s changed” update instead. None of this requires collecting new data. It’s just using what’s already sitting in your system to decide who gets which version.
Since each audience’s track has a fixed set of emails, there’s no need for exit criteria in the traditional sense. Parents and families naturally finish their two-email track around move-in day, while students continue through the end of welcome week. Once a contact receives their final email, your standard campus communications can begin.
Apply the same approach beyond move-in week
Move-in week is a full communications program, and without the right email automation in place, pulling it off means sending everything manually, risking poor timing, incorrect segmentation, and human error.
The same approach works just as well anywhere your communications depend on timing and audience: add/drop deadlines, financial aid and billing deadlines, graduation logistics, or alumni engagement.
Move-in week only happens once a year, but it shapes how new students, returning students, and their families feel about your institution from day one. Communication that answers their questions right when they need them will always land better than a single email trying to do it all.
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