Quality Enhancing Practices in Distance Education:
Student Services
Quality enhancing practices in distance education,
vol. 2: Student services
(2001). Christine Dalziel & Michael Payne (Eds.).
Washington, DC: Instructional Telecommunications
Council.
Introduction
Even Yahoo’s “Most Wired” colleges fall short in
delivering student services online. While most have
online career and financial aid services, few offered
Judicial Affairs, Counseling, Student Activity
Information, or Health Services. This book discusses
challenges and presents best practices.
Chapter 1: A Comprehensive Orientation to Address
Diverse Student Needs
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Students should know what they’re in for before they
take an online class, but they often don’t. Many
students are rife with misconceptions about online
classes. They don’t realize the amount of work
involved, the necessity for regular communication, or
the effect that the physical presence of others has on
their attitudes and behaviors. They cannot accurately
assess their own motivation and self-discipline. They
manage their time poorly. |
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They may not understand hardware and software
requirements. They may not have reliable Internet
access or even computer access, and may overestimate
their ability to share a computer or drive to campus
to access a computer lab. |
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Students should receive an orientation to the online
learning environment. This should include how to use
email, discussion boards, browsers, access and use of
web course sites, and the relevant course management
system. If possible, orientation should be “hands on”
and allow trial runs of the tools used in the real
courses. |
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Students should have a clear idea of how they will be
assessed and how they will submit and receive
assignments and grades. |
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The system or instructor should have a way of letting
students know that assignments have been received. |
Chapter 2: Creating an Online Orientation and Student
Support Services
Pitt
Community College
is a rural 2-year institution located in
North Carolina.
They have over 200 online courses. As courses grew
beyond students in computer-savvy fields like computer
science, problems arose---e.g., student overestimated
their computer skills and besieged instructors with
rudimentary technical questions. Clearly, there was a
growing need for skill assessment and orientation.
PCC
developed a profile of a successful online student:
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Self-discipline |
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Self-confidence |
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Ability to overcome frustration and confusion |
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Completed course prerequisites |
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Ability to work independently |
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ISP, email, and necessary software |
PCC’s Student Orientation takes place online (see
http://styx.pitt.cc.nc.us/is/orientation/). It
consists of tutorials and a short quiz.
PCC
reviews student/faculty/counselors feedback and help
desk logs to identify problem areas.
Chapter 3: New Student Assessment for Students in Rural
Colorado
Community colleges’ “open door” policies are democratic
but result in students with widely varying study habits,
language skills, math skills, etc. This situation
increases the importance of assessment and orientation.
Every student in
Colorado
who enters a degree or certificate program must be
assessed via standardized exams. This is done via
computerized “Accuplacer” exams. Test scores are paired
with suggested community college offerings.
They have recently begun to use the College Board’s
“Academic Profile” end-of-program assessment.
Chapter 4: Helping Students Develop Successful Career
Planning Skills
Portland Community College (PCC) enrolls over 12,000
distance learners per year.
PCC’s instructional standards for distance learning
courses focus on four areas:
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Learning outcomes and content presentation |
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Learner activities |
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Evaluation |
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Instructional design |
PCC
is partnering with other CCs to develop online writing
labs (OWLs).
The
college’s “Survival and Success” course is available
online. Activities include quizzes, discussions, and a
peer-reviewed project paper. Also available online is
“Career Development”
And
“Job Finding Skills”. They plan to develop an online
Study Skills course, and are considering others such as
stress management, decision making, stopping test
anxiety, and values clarification.
Chapter 5: How to Create a Model Online Student
Service
Center
Coastline
Community College
in Fountain Valley, CA was awarded a grant to design,
develop, implement and evaluate online registration,
counseling, and advisement---and also to develop a model
that other colleges could replicate.
Counseling;
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Email for personal counseling |
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Listservs for group counseling |
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2-way videoconferencing systems: cameras are on
counselor’s desks and videophones are available at the
student center and community centers like fire
stations. |
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2-way Internet audio/video synchronous communication |
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Internet delivery of asynchronous counseling videos
via the College’s cable channel and the Internet. |
Steps
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Form project advisory committee |
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Storyboarding |
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Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQs) |
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Information for specific programs (e.g., EOPS,
CalWorks) |
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DSPS created their own content and served as advisors
for making materials compliant |
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Online registration prototyped |
Well, hopefully that’s enough to give you the flavor of
the book. Here’s a listing of the other chapters:
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Chapter 6: Colorado’s Consortial Approach to Providing
Disability Services |
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Chapter 7: Flexible Starts to Serve Time-Constrained
Students |
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Chapter 8: Online Library Services: Elements of Style |
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Chapter 9: Tutoring Online to Retain Students and
Promote Success |
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Chapter 10: Providing Student Life, Bookstore, and
Health and Wellness Services Online |
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