BREAK THE SPELL: VOODOO SECRETS FOR SERVING “INVISIBLE STUDENTS” Texas Woman’s University...
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Transcript of BREAK THE SPELL: VOODOO SECRETS FOR SERVING “INVISIBLE STUDENTS” Texas Woman’s University...
BREAK THE SPELL: VOODOO SECRETS FOR
SERVING “INVISIBLE STUDENTS”
Texas Woman’s University
Annie Phillips Newton & Amy O’Keefe
JONATHON SWIFT ( IR ISH AUTHOR AND SATIRIST 1667 -1745)
“VISION IS THE ART
OF SEEING WHAT IS INVISIBLE TO OTHERS.”
SPELL INGREDIENTS
Unique needs of non-traditionals and
commuters
National best practice standards
Role of orientation to meet these
needs
Social media, tools, applications
WHOOOOOO
Commuter
Non-traditional
students
Student parents
Adult learners
Veterans
Onliners
Transfer
OLD SCHOOL: COLLEGE’S MOST IMPORTANT TREND IS
THE RISE OF THE ADULT STUDENT
Who’s a typical college students?
Of the 17.6 million undergrads now enrolled in higher
education:
43% attend two-year institutions
37% are enrolled part-time
32% are working full-time
25% are over the age of 30
Only 15% attend four year colleges and live on campus(The Atlantic, 2011)
UNIQUE NEEDS
Juggle school, family and work & integration of all
of these roles
• Transportation, childcare, finances
Little time or patience for policies that make no
sense for them
Very focused on timely completion of their degree
May need more assistance navigating the
university
May feel disconnected/lack of support due to
physical distance
• May struggle to develop a sense of belonging
ASTIN’S THEORY OF INVOLVEMENT
“the more students are passionate and
wholehearted about their educational
experience, both psychologically and
physically, the more likely they are to
succeed and be satisfied with their
collegiate experience” (Astin, 1984).
GET STUDENTS INVOLVED
Connect them to your institution
through:• Student organizations, honor
societies, traditions, more interaction with other students and faculty
Involvement yields:• Learner success• Retention
TINTO’S THEORY OF DEPARTURE
• Academic and social integration are fundamental to student retention (Tinto, 1993)
• “the more central one’s membership to the mainstream of institutional life the more likely, other things being equal, is one to persist” (Tinto, 1987).
• “a person will tend to withdraw from college when he [or she] perceives that an alternative form of investment of time, energies, and resources will yield greater benefits” (Tinto, 1975).
TEACHING NAKED
“All of your students are already in this
virtual community [facebook] and asking
them to join a class group creates a virtual
community where they already live; posting
an announcement on Blackboard is the
equivalent of asking them to come to office
hours in your building. Posting on Facebook
is more like showing up in the dorms for
dinner.”
Bowen, 2006
3 FACTORS INFLUENCING ONLINE STUDENT RETENTION:
1. Student support & student connection with the institution
2. Quality of interaction between faculty & students = “eSolated” (Appana, 2008)
3. Student self-discipline(Heyman, 2010)
C O U N C I L F O R T H E A DVA N C E M E N T O F S TA N D A R D S I N H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N
( C A S )
CAS – Orientation Programs• “Programs have evolved from simply providing individualized faculty
attention to focusing on a multitude of important issues while responding to the needs of an increasingly diverse student and family population”
CAS- Adult Learner Programs• “must provide programs and services that assist in increasing the
retention of adult learners…including orientation”
CAS – Commuter Programs• Provide programs that meet specific needs of commuter students and • “ensure that all students must have equitable access to all institutional
services, engagement opportunities and the total educational process regardless of place of residence”
C O U N C I L F O R T H E A D VA N C E M E N T O F S TA N D A R D S I N H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N ( C A S )
CAS –Distance Education Programs• “Formal higher education in which the student and
faculty member are separated by time and/or space”• “Institutions must provide appropriate student
services for all students enrolled in distance education programs. These services must be sufficiently comprehensive to be responsive to the special needs of all distance students”
• “-must be of comparable quality to services provided to on-campus students”
• “Orientation must be offered”
ROLE OF ORIENTATION
Provide mechanism to address transition issues• Meet and greet avoid defeat
Utilize orientation as the beginning of the retention
plan• Large numbers of commuter students may be
under prepared for college (Jacoby,1993)• Opportunity to collect valuable data about the
minority/majority• Opportunity to address unique needs and
concerns immediately
BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES
5 steps for effective commuter student orientation (Wilmes &
Quade, 1986)• Accurate & timely info• Promote institutional identification• Encourage involvement with others• Interact ion with campus personnel• Integrating outside support systems & significant others
University of Houston Veteran Orientation• Financial aid, tuition fees, money management (VA benefits)• Career, Counseling & Health Services• Academics: tutoring, library, computer• Getting involved: SVA, ROTC, Vet Museum, VFW, American Legion
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY COMMUTER PREVIEW DAY
Commuter Preview Day is a one day, orientation-like program just for new commuter
students. Commuter Student Affairs sponsors the day and it will provide new commuters the
opportunity to:
Practice parking in the West Campus or Central Campus parking lots
Practice using the CABS Bus system (which shuttles student from and to the parking lots)
Find all of your classroom buildings (even the exact rooms)
Visit the bookstore to purchase books
Take care of campus business
Meet other new commuting students
Get helpful information to help you get started at Ohio State
Any commuter student, freshman, transfer, or regional campus change student, may attend
Commuter Preview day!
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA GREENSBORO
Welcome Session
Student Health Services Station (8 - 10am)
Taking Care of Business (Information from Parking Operations & Campus Access Management,
SpartanCard, Dining, Bookstore, Printing & Postal Services)
TASL Groups (Meet your Transfer & Adult SOAR Leader - TASL)
Student Computing (Learn about UNCG's laptop requirement, checking grades and more)
Get Involved
Accelerate you Academics (Learn more about UNCG advising and registration preparation).
Cashier's & Student Accounts; Financial Aid
TASL Q&A Panel (Join our Transfer & Adult SOAR Leaders as they share their experiences at
UNCG).
Taking Care of Business (Get information about Parking, SpartanCard, Printing and Postal Service).
Transition from a Community College to UNCG
UNC GREENSBORO ADULT/TRANSFER SOAR
Especially for Adult Students
Student Health Services & Counseling Center
Career Services
UNCG Traditions (Learn the history & traditions of UNCG).
TASL Groups (Meet your Transfer & Adult SOAR Leader - TASL)
Self-Guided Time
Spartan Expo (Visit a wide array of UNCG services and offices).
Transfer Articulation Station
Campus Tours
College & Schools Welcomes, Advising & Registration
TOOLS & APPLICATIONS
Social Media
Facebook News announcements Videos promoting events/services Provide links to information Staff to student communication Student to student communication Photos of events
Twitter News announcements Provide links to videos promoting events/services Provide links to information Provide links to photos of events Some two-way communication
Blackboard News announcements Discussion boards Email Resources & Links to information Build community
Second Life Alumni Relations Open House Alumni Relations Art Night Art Gallery Lectures
Ustream Student Government Forum/Hearings EOE Honor Society Induction Relevant Speakers & Events
You Tube Promotional videos for events/programs Informational videos about services Videos from actual events/programs
PROS & CONS
PRO CON PRO CON PRO CON
Fans could create a “viral” effect which can potentially spread content worldwide
Cannot change look of profile (some see this as a pro due to consistency of pages)
Mobile – can send and receive updates on your cell phone – instant communication
Limited to 140 character updates
Can provide online students with virtual ‘experiences’
Steep learning curve
Fan pages can target a specific network or age group
Harder to use than Twitter for recruitment searches
Could be very useful in an emergency situation, in addition to existing tools
Limited profile info: allows picture, name, location, website, & bio
Gives a sense of community and presence
Requires a broadband connection and graphics that all students might not have
Ability to view “insights” – statistics on the usage of our page
Relatively frequent updates. Have to learn new ways of navigating site
Use Twitterfeed & Tweetdeck to search for mentions of institution or other terms; allows us to engage students in a conversation
If we don’t tweet regularly, we will lose our existing audience
Allows online students a way to connect with the university by experiencing events and visiting landmarks
Important to use Second Life for the right reasons – using it just to use it can affect student satisfaction and overall experience
85% of students at 4-year universities have Facebook profiles
Cannot track “fans” to see if they are current students
Can link RSS feeds into Twitter with Twitterfeed, EasyTweets or HootSuite – every new feed automatically tweets the headline with a link to the full story = automation
Twitter followers tend to lurk, rather than engage
Provides a meeting space for online study groups and courses
Requires updates at times that may cause problems if being used on campus in computer labs
Combines profile, photos, blog, instant messaging
Twitter & Facebook can be linked in order to share content on both tools
Must link to photos, websites, videos
Provides a way for online students to meet and interact with students and faculty from other campuses
Very new to most students to they can feel overwhelmed and confused
More than 350 million users accessing Facebook through their mobile devices
More than 100 million active monthly users
No cost for students to create account and interact in this space
Facebook Twitter Second Life
APPLAUSE PLEASE…
Questions?
twucommuter.com
•Student satisfaction
•Student’s perspective
•Added value
•Choice
•One-stop centers
•Staffing by self-service (70%),
generalist (20%), specialists
(10%)
BEST PRACTICES
•Empowered frontline staff
•Cross-functional teams
•Strategic to institution
•Executive support &
participation
•Shift from transactions to
relationships
•Web portals
GAPS IN SERVICE
Transfer student quotes• “It’s a good school that has a safe feeling to it, along
with the willingness to help its’ students succeed in life as well as academia”
• “Easy transition, nice campus”• “Helpful; TWU made my transferring stage very
smooth”
Collaboration
Diversity of this population is a challenge