“A Virtual Tour of Innovative Student Services” Presented at the annual conference of the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies, November 12, 2010, La Jolla, California

1. The Center for Transforming Student Services Providing educational institutions with the tools and training they need to develop and deliver high-quality student services online.

2. History Established as a partnership among the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET), the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) and Seward Inc., CENTSS expands upon WCET's research on best practices in student services online.

3. History CENTSS Launched November 2005 Searchable Resources Models of Best Practice Workshops Audit Tool AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, HI, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NC, ND, NE, NM, OH, OR, SD, TX, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY, Canada The CENTSS Online Student Services Audit has been used by over 200 post-secondary institutions in 30 states and Canada.

4. Audit Structure CENTSS Online Student Services Audit 31 Student Service Audits Respond from a Student’s Perspective Critical Components:8-14 “Questions” Per Service

5. Audit Structure Library Orientation Personal Counseling Placement Services Registration Retention Services Schedule of Classes Staff-to-Faculty Communications Student Accounts Student Activities Student Records Student Population Segments Student-to-Student Communications Technical Support Tutoring Wellness Services Academic Advising Academic Counseling Admissions Assessment & Testing Bookstore Career Services Course/Program Catalog Developmental Ed Services Disability Services Ethical & Legal Services Faculty-to-Student Communications Faculty-to-Staff Communications Financial Aid Financial Planning Institution-to-Student Communications

6. Audit Benefits Establish a baseline of how you deliver online student services now Quickly identify problem areas and develop strategies for improvement Create a common language for improvements Benchmark your progress against your peers locally, statewide, or nationally Track and compare your progress year over year Inform decisions about technology purchases using tested and individualized data

7. CENTSS Innovation Awards 2010-2011 Tools, creative strategies, and fresh thinking to design, develop, implement, and maintain online student services that have produced measureable results.

8. The 2010 Winners

9. Wyoming Wyoming Distance Education Consortium, Wyoming Community Colleges, and University of Wyoming Innovation WyCLASS First Place, Administrative Core CENTSS Generation 3

10. Problem Many Wyoming students do not live within driving distance of Wyoming’s schools Distance students need degree classes not available from their local college Students had to figure out how to contact each college, register for courses, and get their transcripts sent

11. Solution WyCLASS Website Online catalog of all online courses from each institution Class list is searchable Students can request more information on classes and/or register for classes

12. Success Measures Website continues to grow each semester Administrators track student searches to identify course needs not being met Feedback from advisors has been very positive

13. California CCC Technology Center, Butte College Innovation eTranscript California First Place, Administrative Core CENTSS Generation 4

14. Problem California needed a large scale transcript exchange network California institutions did not have agreements over data content and delivery amongst each other

15. Solution eTranscript California Contains a data dictionary to which all network members must adhere Standardizes transcript data so that each institution has a single upload and download interface

16. Success Measures Over 55 participating institutions Institutions have delivered more than 137,000 student transcripts Number of transcripts is expected to grow with the recent addition of institutions like University of Southern California, National University, University of Phoenix, and others

17. Ohio Marion Technical College Innovation Orientation Reference Guide First Place, Student Communities Suite CENTSS Generation 3

18. Problem Not all students could attend new student orientation programs in person Some students needed reinforcement and more details about student services, technical assistance, and academic services An interesting online experience to teach new student orientation topics did not exist

19. Solution Orientation Reference Guide Links real MTC employees to real services Gives students 24/7 access to orientation information Improves the campus tour and map experience with video and audio

20. Success Measures Measured the visits to the web site An instant feedback survey for students using the Orientation Reference Guide is planned

21. New York Excelsior College Innovation Success Strategies for Military and Veterans First Place, Personal Services Suite CENTSS Generation 3

22. Problem A more proactive and targeted approach to support and develop military and veteran students’ academic and career skill sets A vendor-produced course was tried but was not meeting the students’ needs; Students were dissatisfied with the content and overall lack of quality

23. Solution CCS 112: Success Strategies for Military and Veterans Subject matter experts collaborated to design an interactive online orientation course for military and veteran students

24. Success Measures 37 % increase in enrollments for the first three sessions of CCS 112 since January 2010 Administrators began to track the usage of all student support servicesExample: 1/3 (32%) of students using the Excelsior College virtual library are military and veteran students

25. Minnesota Metropolitan State University Innovation G.R.A.D.E.S. First Place, Academic Services Suite CENTSS Generation 3

26. Problem Students not familiar with grading policies and without access to advising tools come to an advisor only after reaching a crisis point Advisors’ limited time is taken to explain policy Further time is taken tracking student progress and calculating multiple courses of actions

27. Solution GPA Realtime Advising Estimating System (G.R.A.D.E.S.) This web-based toolset provides cross platform functionality in combination with videos and training so students understand both policy and documentation related to satisfactory academic progress and grades

28. Success Measures Administrators are currently measuring interest and adoption both internally and externally as well as feedback from stakeholders and interested parties

29. Minnesota Century College Innovation GPS LifePlan First Place, Academic Services Suite CENTSS Generation 4

30. Problem Many students enter college without the benefit of personal, educational, or career goals and plan

31. Solution GPS (Goals + Plans = Success) LifePlan Students connect with college resources, access information, and receive assistance from faculty and staff to achieve goals Students can track their career evaluation process and outcomes, program requirements and timelines, internships, service learning and mentoring experiences

32. Solution GPS (Goals + Plans = Success) LifePlan Students can budget financial aid and educational expenditures Students can monitor and track their progress through eFolio

33. Success Measures Graduation Survey: Graduating students rated GPS LifePlan and how much it helped with their education and career plans 71% reported excellent 18% reported good 11% reported average 0% reported bad

34. Minnesota Capella University Innovation Academic Planning System First Place, Academic Services Suite CENTSS Generation 5

35. Problem Essential information related to degree planning and transfer credit was stored in multiple locations.

36. Solution Academic Planning System The system serves as a central location for information related to degree planning and transfer credit. This enables staff to more accurately and efficiently work with students as they progress toward graduation.

37. Success Measures 100% of active students now have degree plans Positive learner feedback Pre-registrations are processed 3 times faster Improved efficiency in creating degree plans

38. Maryland Montgomery College Innovation Course Information Pages First Place, Communications Suite CENTSS Generation 3

39. Problem Many questions about online courses were coming from both current and new students Students needed a readily available resource

40. Solution Course Information Pages Allow students to: View information regarding specific online courses Purchase books Determine whether online section is the best option Contact and compare instructors

41. Success Measures The Course Information Pages site is now the third most-often-visited area of the Distance Education website

42. Washington Washington State University Innovation Virtual Mentor First Place, Communications Suite CENTSS Generation 4

43. Problem Attrition is a particular problem with distance students Research suggests strategies to improve this: Assist students in navigating the course space Form community to alleviate feelings of remoteness and isolation Provide technical and logistical support

44. Solution Virtual Mentor Program Allow students to: Current upper-division and former students interact with students in 9 courses to alleviate feelings of remoteness and isolation Student-to-student interaction is encouraged and facilitated

45. Success Measures Student Survey 61% of students aware of the VM agreed the VM’s work was consistent with the job description Almost all responding students rated VMs as helpful to extremely helpful in the areas of supplying tips and suggestions to help students be successful 7 out of 10 faculty reported that the VMs were regularly present and contributed to enhancing and building community in the online class

46. Complete List of Innovation Award Winners: http://www.centss.org/services/innovations.html

47. The 2011 Innovation Awards is currently underway! Visit www.CENTSS.org and submit an entry by August 31.