Making Mandatory Manageable: Using Technology to Create a Successful New Student Orientation Karen Stills Elizabeth Flash Felicitas Fela Alfaro DREAM 2013 ATD Annual Meeting on Student Success
About El Centro College (ECC)
ECC Facts Flagship campus for the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD)- Opened in 1966 Downtown Dallas, TX Offers Associate level degrees, transferrable core courses and career training in over 40 fields. Enrollment: 11,300 credit students
ECC Diversity 88.9% are first generation students 60% of incoming students have to take at least one developmental course. 33.9% African-American 32.3% Hispanic 30% 25 yrs. of age or older and did not graduate from HS 24.6% speak another language other than English as their primary language.
Tell Us About You!
Tell Us About You!
Tell Us About You
Learning Objectives Today we will discuss: The transition process towards establishing mandatory new student orientation (NSO) Three ways that technology can assist in making the transition to mandatory NSO Tips & Lessons Learned Your concerns and questions
Mandatory New Student Orientation (NSO) Piloted in Fall 2011 and fully implemented in Spring 2012
History of NSO at El Centro Orientation began in Fall 2005 conducted through the Advisement office 2 hour informational orientation Served about 40 students per orientation Did not engage students
History of NSO at El Centro (cont d) After attending NODA committee members revamped orientation November 2007 NSO included several student development areas 8 committee members and approximately 30 staff /faculty/student volunteers generally participated
History of NSO at El Centro An officially recognized NSO college committee was established in Fall 2010. The committee s charge is to: Plan New Student Orientation activities for Fall and Spring semesters to increase new student awareness about programs and services offered at El Centro.
What Changed about NSO? Original NSO Served 800-1000 students 3 large (uncapped) sessions per semester 30-40 volunteers (staff and students) 6-hour agenda Revised Mandatory NSO Serve 2100-2500 students 21-25 sessions per semester (capped at 100 ea.) Full time Retention Coordinator & Organized volunteer registry 5.5-hour agenda
What Changed About NSO? (cont d) Original NSO Number of man hours: 3 sessions *6 hours each session = 18 hours per volunteer (not including planning, meetings, etc.) Includes ice breakers, student services info, food, and student testimonials. Online version unavailable Revised Mandatory NSO Number of man hours: 25 sessions * 5 hours each session = 125 hours per volunteer (not including planning, meetings, etc.) Focus on registration, financial aid and general college info. Online version must be developed
The Council on the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) Inform students about the history, traditions, and campus cultures to help integrate them with the institution. Inform new students as well as their families about the availability of services and programs ; as well as personal health, safety and security assurances. Assist new students as well as their families in becoming familiar with the campus and local environment (tours). Provide intentional opportunities for new students to interact with fellow new students as well as continuing students, faculty and staff members. (Interest Groups). Plan must have technical and support staff members adequate to accomplish its mission.
CAS Standards and Guidelines for Orientation Programs (cont d) Faculty involvement within development AND delivery of Orientation is essential to its success. Specifically faculty involvement with student advising. Institutions must provide appropriate services in ways that are accessible to distance learners and assist them in identifying and gaining access to other appropriate services in their geographic region. Provide dedicated staff and space. Regularly assessed orientation evaluations must be disseminated campus wide and used to revise and improve programs and services and in recognizing staff performance.
Research Best Practices Communicate with other colleges Manage Expectations Prepare for Possible Challenges
NSO Sample Agenda (Fall 2013) 8:30-9:00 Check-in 9:00-10:30 General Session -Welcome - Ice Breaker - Student Services Video - College 101 10:45-11:45 Financial Aid 11:45-12:15 Lunch 12:30-2:30/3:30 Advising & Registration *Extended Orientation Available
Challenges Along the Way There were a number of issues that required time, research and piloting to effectively provide NSO to all new students. Some of the issues included: - Technology (lack of use) - The ability to uniformly block students (in order to ensure mandatory participation) - Content Debate - Inadequate volunteer base - Promotion - Lack of dedicated NSO funds and staff - Time allocation for online orientation development
Things to Consider Advising office will need additional staff or office closures to facilitate advising for large groups Financial Aid Staffing Payment due dates & Payment Extensions Influx of students during the last few weeks of registration Online orientation option should be launched at the same time as mandatory orientation
Things to Consider (cont d) Student services areas are traditionally overly extended during the summer Multiple routes to apply serves as a challenge Students who apply to El Centro do not always choose to take classes here (issues w/ blocks) Training Marketing Food
Using Technology to Work Smarter Use technology to help you work smarter, not harder Title V Funding Began to utilize technology to assist with work that was both time consuming and repetitive
Using Technology: Communications Call Em All- A phone tree service used to assist with reminder messaging. Constant Contact- An email marketing and tracking system.
Using Technology: Placement Assessment Accuplacer Test Prep Video Technology Used: Webcam Camtasia- Screen recording and video editing software
Using Technology: Online NSO El Centro College Online NSO Technology Used: Video & Editing Software Partnered with Dallas Colleges Online Parameters for Online NSO
Use of Evidence New Student Orientation Student Learning Outcomes Outcomes must be established before you build or improve your program Assessment must be intentionally builtin, rather than an after-thought Begin with the end result in mind and build processes accordingly Focus on the WHAT and then work collaboratively to figure out the HOW
The Data
The Data
The Data
Use of Evidence Assessed NSO learning outcomes using online surveys Satisfaction (Indirect) Knowledge gained Improvements to be made Student Involvement Faculty/Staff Involvement
Lessons Learned Senior leaders demonstrate willingness to support changes in practices, procedures, and resource allocation to improve student success.
Lessons Learned Limited human resources calls for innovative use of technology. Incorporating innovative technology requires time, research and resources. There are a number of ways that technology can be incorporated into NSO at very low costs. May require re-evaluation of your entire enrollment process from start to finish.
Lessons Learned Culture changes and communication were huge transition challenges, not only for new students, but for the college staff and faculty as well. Obtaining support and adequate resources from executive level administration was a critical element. There has to be a consequence for not participating in anything coined as mandatory, otherwise both staff and faculty will not support the initiative. In designing a mandatory orientation, consider how other campus initiatives can be linked. This can strengthen support collegially and financially.
Lessons Learned What are your lessons learned? Think back to the primary issue and or concern that you had at the beginning of today s session. Partner with a neighbor and share what strategies or tools you can use to impact your institution s orientation program.
What will you share with your campus?
Questions? Karen Stills Student Services Coordinator kstills@dcccd.edu (214) 860-2033 Elizabeth Flash Retention Coordinator eflash@dcccd.edu (214) 860-2094 Felicitas Fela Alfaro Executive Dean of Student & Enrollment Services falfaro@dcccd.edu 214-860-2119