I agree it is up to the instructor to set the expectations of the course with the syllabus and letting students know the instructor is there to help them be successful in the course. This can be done by letting students know instructor office hours and tutoring provided by the college.
By making the rules clear the very first day, there is no assuming!! We all know the how that saying goes. If students know exactly what to expect and how the class will be ran, they don't have to do any guessing.
On the first days of class, instructor and student inroductions are made, the syllabus is thoroughly covered, classroom expectaions and rules are covered in detail, the dress code policy is discussed through a PowerPoint presentation, exam format is discussed and students are encouraged to ask questions about anything that they did not understand.
This is very important so the students know exactly what is expected of them from the beginning.
If you set your expectations/rules the first day it is much easier to run the class the rest of the term you have them. students will understand thier part of what is expected of them and how they should act in class. if you dont do this on the frist day, the class may be harder to control
