Registrar’s Communications ReportFall 2016

Research“In one workplace study, Jackson et al. (2002) found that 70% of emails

were reacted to within 6 seconds of their arrival, and 85% within 2

minutes.”

“Email negotiations often feel difficult, especially with people we don’t know

well. When Naquin et al. (2008) compared them with face-to-face

negotiations, they found that people were less co-operative over email and

even felt more justified in being less co-operative.”

There are three types of emailers:

“Relaxed responders treat email almost like snail mail. They refuse to let

it control them and get back to people when they feel like it.

Driven responders try to reply instantly to email and expect others to do

the same.

Stressed responders don’t find email useful, to them it is mostly an

irritation.”

Interviews (9 total)Sample of Questions:• Where do you send students for information?• Are you getting important dates in a timely fashion?• Do you send students to degree works?• How do you cater advising for your school/program?• What questions do students most commonly ask?

Dr. Norfolk (Chemical Engineering)• Clemson is going through growing pains• Talk to Professor Gibner?• Chemical Engineering, degree works, doesn’t usually count up Gen-Eds correctly for this program• Deal with co-op schedules • Yes uses degree works• Does a lot of council-ing students to help them stay on track and also • Student Success collaborative - advice (stats) on advising students moving forward, likelihood

of certain things happening

Colonel D (Pre-Business)• Business 1010 teaches students registrar webpage, add drop dates, degree works, etc• Determine advising dates based on registration dates and moving backwards• Doesn’t get clear students date soon enough (can advise students prior and log online to clear

them later but is not ideal)• Fall blitz usually is during academic advising - this pulls advisors and can be fairly

inconvenient• Makes students come in with degree works(intended major not pre-business), major specific

advising worksheet, and identify 15 hours plus 3 alternatives, otherwise they are not seen• Do not generally deal with graduation requirements• Need to know when students that are in the database but do not need to be advised are dropped

from the database because it effects the number of students that will need advising • Send students to course catalog for dates and information

Lisa Robinson (UPIC)• UPIC uses blackboard for the course• Follows dates from academic calendar found online• Communicates with students through many different facets social media, tabling, signs, online

postings, email• Feels that word of mouth is the most effective communication and networking of students

previously involved in the program

Jessica Martin (College of AAH)• Life coaching vs. curriculum help• Departmental advisors can help with what classes to take• Registration coordinators can help answer specific class Q’s• Clearing• See Keri Crist-Wagner (English)• Frequently asked Q’s on out of office message• Find pre-planning with degree works helps get an idea but does not work to plan the whole

schedule• Double major/double minor audits have to be done separately• Most Commonly asked - Restriction questions• Defining Terms used

• Flow chart?

Jennifer Goodenow & company (College of BSHS)• What if Q’s • Email vs. inside Clemson• Sample student window to show what buttons do/mean• GIF• Ambassadors train students differently• Students come in with different skill sets with registration • Restrictions - what do they mean & how do you get around them• Can we specify fall or spring only class on degree works• Advisor vs. Registration Coordinator• Emails look good, cohesive, “brand”• Students read email about registration• Could there be a second email closer to registration with different tips and tricks• Can’t find iRoar tutorial video easily• Could there be an iRoar link for all student forms?• Organization/alphabetizing of all registration coordinators is confusing• Use a twitter and find its helpful

Jonathan Lashley (Clemson Online)• canvas “ad” on blackboard• language is the same for every class on canvas• online presence • online textbooks• getting same language across all platforms for different types of online classes• helped CCIT cut down on emails• emails have to go through so much before they get sent out to students

Rebecca Atkinson• not enough communication between Admissions, Orientation, and Registrar• they do show registrars website and where to get information in the future• possible “re-orientation/orientation pt 2” would be helpful• holding spots in classes is hard when students can change their major during orientation• try to limit certain schools for orientation• orientation ambassadors go through tutorial videos online without sound, they talk instead(can

create differences in information being given)• policies are difficult to work around sometimes• could there be a fake student account to practice these ideas and manipulate at orientation

Cynthia (Psychology Professor & Registration Coordinator)• Coordinator Portal works well• dates need to be kept up• **there were 2 major deadlines that were moved up without enough warning**• **summer registration was opened early for a few individuals not everyone• campus needs more large lecture halls

• is it possible to offer 2 different times when a professor would be able to teach a class (classroom space could be open at a different time)

• incentive structure - award for online classes?• classes and classrooms are like “managing a limited resource”• when classes are in buildings with professors offices there is more interaction and better scores

Tim Brown (Architecture Advisor & Registration Coordinator)• new to Clemson (1 yr) worked at IAT Chicago• familiar with banner/iRoar• students aren’t getting the information, aren’t reading emails, get bombarded with info• need to connect with students through different channels• emails are well timed and well organized• 10 advisors within architecture school• learning curve, things aren’t explained well/simply enough for new staff• really hard to find answers to specific questions• our go to is to send students out walking to offices when a quick email or phone call could

answer that one question• good/quick with fixes (Carol)• label which graduation auditor’s cover what students in phone book• **include descriptions of what each office means in the phonebook• banner codes are effective but complicated for something people only use 2-3 times a year

Advisor SurveyThe advisor survey received 27 responses in about a week. There were responses from

a variety of fields. I found that overwhelmingly people thought that email was an effective way of communication between the Registrar’s Office, students, and advisors. Students read the emails from the Registrar’s office and respond accordingly. Advisors would prefer to be included on emails going to students though so that they know what information students are receiving. Making information on transfer credits more easily accessible and in more locations may help to lower the amount of questions that advisors are getting from students.

If you could change one thing about communication from the Registrar’s Office what would it be?

Student Registration Survey AnalysisOctober 2016

The student registration survey received 135 responses. Students were from a variety of class levels and colleges. In typical Clemson fashion I have included responses from students in orange bar graphs and responses from advisors in purple bar graphs. Pie charts are data from the student survey unless indicated otherwise.

Of the 18 students that answered “No, I did not know what the Registrar’s office does”. 72% (13/18) of them are freshmen. Freshmen have most recently gone through orientation so although they may not have had a reason to contact the office yet they should know what it entails.

Where do you go if you have a question about academics at Clemson?

Students are most often going to their advisor or iROAR for help when they have questions. They are also going to Google and Degree Works for their questions. This is there the frustration begins because students are going to their advisors and their advisors are sending them to Degree Works, Clemson Registrar’s website, iROAR, Undergraduate Announcements, or to visit the Registrar’s Office in person if they do not have the answers. Additionally, students are using Google a lot to find information because unlike advisors they have not been trained on where to go for specific information.

Do you feel you are getting enough information about upcoming dates and deadlines from the Registrar’s Office?

Only 19.3% of students felt like they were getting enough information about upcoming dates and deadlines from the Registrar’s Office. There is often a stigma that students aren’t reading emails which I found to be untrue because all the students that answered said they check their email “Every day or almost every day”, only one student said they check their email 5 days a week. Student’s don’t mind getting information as long as it is direct, simple, and helpful information.

Do you feel you are getting enough information about upcoming dates and deadlines from your advisor?

More students believe they are getting enough information about upcoming dates and deadlines from advisors than from the Registrar’s Office. Advisors should be communicating with students more but they should also feel like they are getting all the information from the Registrar’s Office.

Do you use Degree Works?The majority of students are using Degree Works which is good. Of the 19 who answered that they do not know what Degree Works is, 42% are Freshmen (8/19), 52.6% are Sophomores (10/19), and 5% are Juniors (1/19). More concerning is the two Seniors that are not using Degree Works. Of those that are not using Degree Works but did not indicate that they don’t know what it is, only 35% are Freshmen (7/20), 35% are Sophomores (7/20), 25% are Juniors (5/20), and 10% are Seniors (2/20). The majority of advisors that I spoke with in separate interviews said that they suggest that their students use Degree Works.

Would you attend a short workshop to learn tips about registration and meeting graduation requirements?

This was a question from an advisor. They, among others, felt that students would benefit from a sort of “re-registration”. Interestingly enough, quite a few students felt that would be helpful and the number of students willing to go increased by 22.2% if it meant that they then had priority when meeting with an advisor.

Is there anything you would change about communication of academic information from the Registrar's Office to students?

My personal favorites: “more information. I have no clue what's going on

and I don't want to be a fifth year senior. ““I think the advisers need better information. They basically just tell us

to figure it our ourselves.”

“I personally haven't had an issue with registration/meeting graduation requirements because my advisor and I have a really good relationship, however I know that's not the case for everyone and I think students need a better understanding of a chain of command. If a student goes to their advisor and their advisor doesn't know an answer to a specific question, a lot of the times the advisor seems to divert and not get the student the help they need because the advisor doesn't want to admit that they don't know the answer. I think students need to know what their next step needs to be, who to go to, and how to get the answers they need in order to avoid registration mistakes and graduation set backs! Thanks for sending this survey, I know this isn't just an issue at Clemson it's an issue all over college campuses and it's so crazy that students don't graduate on time because of misinformation or lack of resources!”

“It mainly has to do with the Economic advising policy that I feel like I am in the dark about certain things, not so much about the actual Registrar's Office.”

“Make it more clear where the registrar's office is, and why we would go there instead of to our advisor?”

“I wish the registrar's office was more accessible, I wanted to come meet with them at some point to make sure I was on track, but I was told that since I wasn't graduating this semester I could not until the week before graduation. ( I graduate next semester)”

“I have like 2,000+ unread emails so it’s hard to sift through them all and find the important ones we get so many a day”

“I never know how to reach the registrar’s office when I have a question. I just email the general email address and wait forever for a response.”

“Send me emails, I have only ever gotten one email from the registrar's office and it was regarding my preferred first name.”

“Easier communication with the department. More communication regarding deadlines between the department and students.”

“make degree works easier to use”“Try to make sure the information throughout Clemson is consistent ““Make information more available to students and nicer people

responding to emails.”“More emailed handy facts around registration time would be helpful”“It would be nice if the Registrar's Office would tell students when the

planning function will be fully ready for student use. In my experience, the planning function opens too early, and some of the classes change times unexpectedly or are classified as full when they shouldn't be.”

“Specific and regular email from the registrar would be helpful.”“I do not feel as if I receive enough information about registering or the

process.”“Sometimes I just feel like I don't really know who to ask about

academic information.”“Have an easy to understand website encompassing everything they

do and a flow chart on how to register for graduation”

Recommendations & Resolutions

1. Overall communication from the Registrar’s office is ok

2. Include advisors on student emails.

3. Clemson needs to recognize the growing pains that are going on on-campus and address

them before expanding the student body further. Many students are unable to get into

required classes during registration because there aren’t enough slots. This can lead to

students having to take unnecessary electives, expensive summer classes or even stay

extra semesters all of which can be costly. Ultimately more learning space is needed on

campus but that is not a quick fix, a temporary fix may be Clemson’s continuing

development of online classes. Online classes don’t require a physical space for all the

students to fit in. This is not an ideal environment for students paying room and board

to be on campus but it is a temporary solution that would stop students from falling

behind in their curriculum.

4. Explore the idea of a “re-orientation” for students, including more information. Teach

students things that they didn’t learn/didn’t need to know at orientation but need to

know now in preparation of spring registration.