Beyond the Administrative Core: Creating Webbased Student Services for Online Learners

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Beyond the Administrative Core Creating
Web-based Student Services for Online Learners
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A Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships project

• Funded by the U.S. Department of Education Fund
  for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education
• Three year project
• WCET is the project coordinator

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Project partners

• Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
• Mel Chastain
• Kapiolani Community College, Honolulu, Hawaii
• Mike Tagawa
• Regis University, Denver, Colorado
• Ellen Waterman
• SCT, Malvern, Pennsylvania
• Peggi Munkittrick

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Project deliverables

• A commercially developed software package that
  incorporates services beyond the more usual core
  administrative services.
• Student service modules designed internally by
  the three partner colleges.
• A set of guidelines for institutions interested
  in building their own Web-based services.
• Detailed case studies of the institutional change
  processes required to implement Web-based student
  services.

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Vision

• That every learner with whom it becomes engaged
  in an educational experience be afforded the same
  access to and assistance with counseling and
  advising services, regardless of circumstances
  created by place or condition.

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Path for efforts

• Concentration on Academic Advising
• Selection of Campus team
• Developing a decision-making vehicle
• Verifying process and technical validity
• Building and implementing the solution
• Sharing with colleagues

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Lessons learned

• All academic advising is NOT the same
• Differences based on
• Discipline
• Departmental/College Culture
• Advisor Type (full-time advisor or part-time)

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Lessons learned

• In the final analysis, however, there is (at
  least) one universal truth
• There is no real difference between academic
  advising for the resident student or the distant
  learner
• Thats because, increasingly, there is no real
  difference between the resident student and the
  distant learner

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Lessons learned

• Respect the differences, but concentrate on the
  similarities
• Attack the data base fiefdoms
• Use pictures to describe processes
• Select a small group of diverse but respected
  advisors
• Do the work, then let them correct it

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Challenges ahead

• Operationalizing the flow diagram scenarios
• (Build/Buy/Partner Matrix)
• Achieving Administrative buy-in, financial
  support
• Executing the plan
• Sharing with others

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Vision

• Benefit entire student population
• Focus on expansion of services in the admissions
  to start time-frame
• Remove the need for upfront briefing in initial
  advising session

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Path for efforts

• Wrong student survey
• Wrong portal
• Right narrow scope
• Right focus on what is possible for
  implementation

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Lessons learned

• Go slow at start so you can go fast later
• Have right people on the core team
• Long-term projects have time lags need to
  encourage, rally, re-energize
• Important to involve implementation side early
• PS- you will never please everyone ?

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Challenges ahead

• Working with ITS group
• divergent communication styles
• - underlying agendas
• Involving testers at Regis and outside

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Vision

• Learning Framework - supplemental instruction
  insures learning at program level (quality
  control)
• Technology Framework - integrate multiple systems
  and broadens access (time and players)

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Path for efforts

• Organizational buy-in
• Program based approach given the uncertain
  environment
• Pilot, test, refine, and shape organizational
  culture
• Deploy

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Lessons learned

• Design a scalable learning framework rather than
  a technology framework
• Apply technology to learning framework

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Challenges ahead

• Student Information System
• Technology Integration
• Diffusion of Innovation

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Vision

• That every higher education institution has
  access to a scalable, extensible technical
  architecture that preserves their ability to
  choose the solutions that best meet their
  institutional goals and supports their need to
  make connected learning and the provision of
  online student services manageable on an
  enterprise-wide scale.

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Path for efforts

• Assign a Project Champion
• Obtain corporate buy-in and support
• Identify and empower a program team
• Develop and execute to the program plan
• Communicate, communicate, communicate

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Lessons learned

• A project champion does not a program make
• Clearly define objective product vs. feature vs.
  function
• Must be tightly aligned with companys strategic
  initiatives and business goals
• Must have contingency plans for unknowns.

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Challenges ahead

• Selection, Development, Deployment of additional
  connections to online student service providers
• Organizational and process restructuring to
  support new business model

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Collaboration

• Start with defining student services from the
  students point of view.

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Collaboration
Vision Team(policymakers practitioners) Desig
n Team(SMEs IT) Development Team(IT
SMEs) Implementation Team(SMEs IT trainers)

• Appoint a series of teams to work through project
  phases.

WHAT
HOW
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Collaboration

• Recognize the role of the SIS in designing
  personalized services.

Hello John, your advising appointment is today at
noon.
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Collaboration

• Use the same language to speak across and among
  campuses.

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Collaboration

• Communicate with your IT staff using the Buy/
  Build/Partner Matrix.

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Collaboration

• Realize that these new services will change
  existing institutional structures and policies.

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Collaboration

• Secure adequate staff time and money.

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Beyond the Administrative Core Creating
Web-based Student Services for Online Learners
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Programmers Report

• Most of the scenarios require existing data bases
  (SIS, DARS)
• What is required is a single user interface,
  bringing the disparate pieces together
• Will be both time-consuming and expensive
• Would prefer to wait on new SIS system
• That will be 2-3 years