Streamlining Online Orientation: How To Prepare Students & Facilitate Continued Success

Audience Level: 
All
Session Time Slot(s): 
Institutional Level: 
Higher Ed
Streamed: 
Onsite
Special Session: 
Community College/TAACCCT
Abstract: 

How can you prepare your students for online learning and continue that learning as long as they are enrolled? Learn how one institution is using a single online orientation platform to serve multiple purposes for new students, continuing students, and respond to just-in-time support.

Extended Abstract: 

Recommendations for online programs such as the OLC Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Programs and the 21st-century Distance Education Guidelines include criteria to prepare students for the online learning environments. Like many rubrics, the criteria are broad to allow institutions to apply them how they see fit and are able to meet their needs. Finding a tool that accomplishes this and allows customizations for a branded, unique experience provides institutions the opportunity to easily meet standards of quality both internally and externally. 

Even prior to the huge influx of students moving to online learning caused by the pandemic, higher education institutions have needed to provide students with a thorough and engaging orientation. There are often multiple orientations for students - orienting students to online learning and new student orientation. Streamlining this process for students at a time when they are receiving mountains of information may seem undoable. Especially, when new student orientation is historically an hours-long event. How can this be accomplished to encourage and facilitate continued student success?

The presentation will describe how the institution successfully manages three orientation experiences and student success workshops using one platform. 

The presenter will use multiple engagement tools to guide the attendees through planning, implementing, and supporting students in online orientations. Participants will be polled at the beginning of the presentation to share their orientation needs. The presenter will continue to engage the participants throughout the presentation at key points throughout the discussion regarding how students access the orientations, experience design, user completion, and user data. Participants will leave with a plan to implement and modify the orientation process at their own institutions. Additionally, participants will receive access to a free and open learning management system orientation for students.

 
Conference Session: 
Concurrent Session 8
Conference Track: 
Student Support and Success
Session Type: 
Education Session
Intended Audience: 
All Attendees