From The Ground Up: Building Student Services Through Needs Assessment Strategies and Partnerships

Distance learning opportunities at Western Kentucky University have increased significantly the past 5 years. We now have more than 90 programs available entirely online at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s levels, certificate options at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and offer more than 1,500 unique sections of semester-based and self-paced courses each year. This growth is also represented in the online student population, with more than 2,800 students studying exclusively online each semester and over 28,000 enrollments each year.

This session will focus on assessment, planning and development of a student support system designed for semester and non-semester based students. WKU recognizes that providing effective student support for this group of students is critical, as adequate student support is an integral part of success and retention. In order to do so, assessment of needs and opportunities, at a student, faculty and institutional level must take place. Building university partnerships is also key to success.

At the university level, it is necessary to assess services for face-to-face students, and consider how those may apply to distance learners.  This requires research, as well as meeting with leaders in each area to discuss needs and opportunities to partner.

Faculty who teach in distance learning can be a tremendous resource, and offer very valuable insight by considering areas in which they see additional challenges for students.

At the student level, it is critical to provide distance learners with opportunities for input – this allows us to learn from our students. This is best done through surveying the distance learner population.

The information gathered at these three levels can be used to develop a strategic plan to address needs through the development of new services, and enhancement of existing services.

In this session, we describe our assessment and development process, including:

• Evaluation of current support and identification of gaps
• Use of CRM to improve support (how this aids in student recruitment)
• Identification of services to be filled in-house
• Creating on-campus partnerships to fill additional needs, which  improves efficiency, quality and avoids duplication of services, while keeping costs low
• Implementation of your support plan, and the importance of one-click access to comprehensive support
• Reassessment, and application of new information

The assessment takes place annually with faculty; semi-annually with students. We are in the process of surveying our students currently, and expect to receive valuable feedback that we can then use to improve upon and expand services.

Following our 2015 reassessment, it was deemed necessary to reconfigure our orientation for online learners to meet needs of students enrolling in competency based courses. The orientation serves as a recruitment-point for our new student success coaching program, which launched in Fall 2016.

The process of reassessment and information application will also be discussed.

Our current support services are accessed with a single-click through the Student Resource Portal (SRP), which provides comprehensive access to student resources across campus. The SRP has been added as a default button in Blackboard course shells, providing access to comprehensive support in more than 7,000 Blackboard course sections. Support services are organized into six categories:

• Student Support, which connects students with the Academic Calendar, Graduation Requirements for graduate and undergraduate students, Online Tutoring, Online Writing Center, Online Math Lab, Online Orientation and the Student Complaint Process
• Technology Services, which connects students to contains information on University Account Setup, Blackboard, The WKU Software Center, Email Login, Technology Requirements for Web Courses, Technology Support, myWKU Portal, and TopNet
• Exams, which connects students to information on the ACCUPLACER Exam, How to Improve Test Scores and Manage Test Anxiety, General Testing Tips, and the DL Testing Center (provides proctored exams for online and on demand courses)
• Library Services, which connects students to WKU Libraries and features a Distance Learning Quick Start Guide to the Library, Tips for Getting Started, Finding Articles and Websites, Free Access to Movies & Music, Writing Resources, and Research Guides for each college within WKU
• Helpful Hints, which features various tips for succeeding online, an FAQ section, GPA Calculator, Calculating Cost for School, and a Scholarship Search
• Quick Links, which connects students to various offices on campus, including Admissions, Adult Learner Services, Career Services, Financial Aid, Health Services, Military Student Services, Regional Campuses, the WKU Bookstore, Tuition and Fees.  

Objectives:

Participants will be able to do the following:

• Adequately assess needs of students, based on student and faculty feedback.
• Assess opportunities for partnerships, and build relationships within the university.
• Identify services that will lend themselves well to the online environment.
• Apply assessment/reassessment results to create and enhance support services for distance learners.
• Develop a strategic plan for implementation of support services.

Resources:

Access to the following:

• Student Resource Portal, which connects students to more than 65 support services for online learners
• Blackboard organization, which houses supplemental materials that can be utilized once attendees return from the conference, including a sample strategic plan, survey questions for online learners, a needs assessment worksheet, stakeholder inventory worksheet and a “wish list” which encourages creative thinking about the expansion and/or improvement of student services
• Online Orientation for semester and non-semester based students with downloadable “Guide to Online Learning at WKU”
• Bonus Material for Attendees: Success Coaching Plan  and “Guide to Online Learning at WKU”

Hands-on Activities:

In addition to the resources listed, participants will be asked to brainstorm with colleagues at their table to discover how their university can expand their student services to better serve the distance population. We will provide an assessment worksheet and “wish list” for each person to complete, which will allow them to begin thinking creatively about expansion and/or improvement of student services and potential campus-partnerships.