ONLINE ACADEMIC ADVISING: A Pilot Project 20012002

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ONLINE ACADEMIC ADVISINGA Pilot Project
2001-2002

• This project was developed by Rod Agassiz, Human
  Development Counselor/Instructor and Ron Taplin,
  Associate Dean for Student Development Services

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Why Online Advising

• Attrition Themes
• Academic Under preparedness
• Lack of Certainty inmajor/career choice
• Transition/adjustment Difficulty
• Dissonance/Incompatibility

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Advising Definition

• "Educational planning is a continuous process
  with an accumulation of personal contacts between
  advisor and student in which each student is
  involved in self-assessment, exploring and
  integrating academic and career alternatives, and
  making decisions that are personally relevant for
  the present and the future."

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Successful Retention Strategy

• Institutions that are most successful in
  retaining their students are those most likely to
  have used improvements or redevelopment of the
  academic advising program as a retention
  strategy.
• AASCU

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Active outreach to students

• Advisors should be available
• at times when,
• and in places where,
• students make educational
  decisions

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Why an Online Advising Pilot

• BCC is not serving a sizable portion of its
  diverse campus community. Only students who are
  able to be on campus during regular hours ( 9
  5 ) or limited evening service are able to meet
  with a counselor or advisor. During peak times
  even some of these students get left out when all
  counselors and advisors schedules are full and
  the drop-in wait time is over an hour. Many
  students who take night classes, tele-courses,
  online classes, or for various life
  circumstances have difficulty getting to the
  campus, do not have the same access to student
  services as those who attend during the day. Over
  the past couple of years our demand for Online
  services has increased appreciably.

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Project Design

• Deliver academic advising in an online format via
  the Internet
• Establish 24/7 student access to an online
  advisor guarantee 24hr or less response time
• Recruit majority of student participants in
  advance
• Student evaluations performed once each quarter.
• Partner with Technology Services on Hardware and
  Software requirements for off-site delivery of
  services
• Develop and maintain a system to manage
  individual student files.

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Classroom Presentation Points

• Have your individual educational program closely
  monitored all next academic year. Utilize a
  Degree Audit program which will be updated each
  quarter. Know in advance what classes to take.
• 24 hour access for counseling/advising/ and
  Career questions. Receive a response within 24
  hours usually much faster. No waiting to see
  someone Ask a question anytime.
• You will be contacted several times each quarter
  with updates/tings to do/dates to remember/campus
  visitations from 4 year colleges/individual
  recommendations/study tips/encouraging words or
  quotes/who to contact on campus to get things
  done
• Contact made primarily through e-mail (written
  and video), fax and phone if needed. You will be
  sent numbers and my e-mail address. Im also
  hoping to have a web-page with links to various
  educational and career sites.

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Online Sign-up Sheet

• Name (print)_____________________
• E-mail__________________________
• Phone__________________________
• Soc. Sec.________________________
• Major___________________________
• Time in Coll.__ Qtrs. Credits__ GPA___
• I plan to attend BCC for the next academic year
  (01-02) Yes__ No__ Unsure__

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Keys to Effective Online Advising

• Fast Response Times
• Accurate Understanding of Student Requests and
  Needs
• Detailed and Thorough Responses
• Assign Students to Specific Advisor
• Weekly Updates to All Students (motivational
  quotes and comments)
• Maintain Student Records/Follow Degree-Student
  Progress
• Encourage and Teach
• Maintain Respect, Caring and Honesty

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Sample Student Evaluations

• Rod has been a tremendous help to me. It is very
  hard for me to get to campus, and when I have,
  its been a long wait for minimal help. Rod has
  gone above to call to look into and provide me
  with helpful information, plus periodically
  checking my progress. His responses are
  incredibly fast, often within just a few minutes,
  never more than a few hours. Without his notices
  on upcoming events and deadlines, my experience
  at BCC would surely have been more limited than
  it has been. By that I mean I would have missed
  out on a lot. I have referred everyone in my
  classes to him. I surely hope this program
  continues, for my benefit, and others as well.

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Sample Student Evaluations

• Having Online Advising has been a tremendous help
  to me. I have been able to transform my
  transcripts and become a better student because
  of it. With the help of Mr. Agassiz, my grades
  for the year have been As and Bs which is a far
  cry from what I was doing the years before. This
  year I am graduating and I owe a great deal of
  that to Mr. Agassiz and the Online Advising
  program. Not only is it more convenient for me to
  communicate with him when the need arises, but
  the information I get is very thorough and always
  useful. I am a single mother who works full time
  and juggles classes between the two. This program
  has proven to be a valuable tool for me and now
  because of it I am on the road to success.
• Thank you!

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Sample Student Evaluations

• The online advising program helped keep me up to
  date
• on BCC events and deadlines, so in that sense it
  has
• been very helpful. I never have been inclined to
  go
• in for advising, so having my advisor available
• through email was helpful, and I got more advice
  than
• I otherwise would have. Rod was always very
  available
• and quick to respond to any concerns I had. I
  would
• support the program being extended in to next
  school
• year. The internet is the primary communication
• method now for many students, and I think the
  program
• will gain popularity if it continues.

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Student Evaluation Data

• Quarterly Online Counseling/Advising Evaluations
• Students answered Strongly Agree 90 of the time
  when answering the following evaluation
  questions.
• Knowledge of Academic Requirements
• Accurately answered all of my questions.
• Helped me understand AAS degree requirements/
  program of study.
• Review my academic status/ performed degree audit
• Provided 4 year college transfer information
• Goal Setting and Planning
• Helped me explore career/majors and provided
  resources.
• Discussed personal/financial concerns pertaining
  to academic goals.
• Discussed strategies to assist me in meeting my
  academic goals.
• Referred to appropriate campus/web-based
  resources.
• Interpersonal Skills
• Made me feel comfortable working online.
• Understood my concerns and responded
  appropriately.
• Was friendly and easy to work with.
• Was realistic and honest with me.

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Recommendations

• Establish Online Advising Options for all
  Students
• Incorporate Keys to Effective Online Advising
  into the BCC Advising Model
• Allocate Necessary Resources (staff faculty) to
  Support a Campus-Wide Effort
• Design Marketing Plan to Promote Campus-Wide
  Online Advising Services