Areas Of Student Services Impacted

By Technology

A presentation for McApple College

Team Leader: Jennifer Wascher

Team Members: Katie Kelsey, Jonathan Scrimenti, and Colin Stewart

Seattle University

Areas Of Student Services Impacted By Technology

WebsiteAdmissionsOrientationSocial NetworksCampus Safety

Website Considerations for Student Services

Be conscious of how technology can aid students with disabilities. Using text reader, voice recognition, smart boards, touch screens and accommodating technology to specific students

Be conscious of the effects and practices that outside parties and vendors may have on students

Be considerate of students’ backgrounds when considering technology

Never rely solely on technology for providing services

Technology

Integrating technology with mission and policies Implementing technology into strategic planning Engaging student affairs staff on all levels in regards

to technology is strongly recommended Having information technology and student affairs

committees Having online campus calendars integrated with

personal email or Outlook calendar Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel are standard

practice, but beware of all the different versions (Vista, 2003, 2007, etc.)

Website Recommendations

Template driven: Have consistent visual design, separate the content from design. Allow for the opportunity of multiple content use

Allow all web users to connect and use website Make sure you track changes on website Make sure website will work on different operation

systems Update website every week: This includes

calendars, updates, information, blogs, etc.

Orientation Trends Summer reading assignments Community service Intellectual and social connections

Each campus should design orientation and technology around their individual characteristics Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology: Rose Rules where

students must complete missions Earlham College: Photo scavenger hunt The University of Texas-Austin: Freshman Reading Round-

Up program to choose among 40 books to discuss with professors

University of Dayton: 100% of first-year students participated in Virtual Orientation spending 10 million minutes getting to know each other during the summer

The LectureProblem - Students’ access to technology is an

unprecedented barrier to learning.

Distractions include: Social networking Online games Instant Messaging Ebay, news, weather, etc.

The LectureSolution - Orientation class What, where, and for what purpose is

technology appropriate Interpersonal intelligence as part of

introductory courses Responsible Computing module required for

all first-year students including ethics and etiquette

Admissions

Electronic recruiting Contacting admission officers through Instant

Messaging Creating a virtual campus for prospective students

unable to attend a regular campus tour Creating profiles for colleges on social-networking

websites such as Facebook and MySpace Sending text messages to prospective students’ cell

phones about deadlines and acceptance

(Young, 2007, May 15)(Farrell, 2007, March 17)

Text Messsaging to Prospective Students

Baldwin-Wallace College’s email response rates were declining and admitted students only responded to 30% of admissions emails

Text messaging technology works no matter what type of phone or service the student has

Allows the campus to track who has opened and responded to a message

Cost is relatively low – Baldwin-Wallace pays $.15 a message As students may be charged for message, them college

notifies so that they can opt out – Only 5% opt out

(“Text Messaging”, 2006, June)

Social Networks Considerations for Student Services

Being aware that students today communicate, connect and express themselves via social networks like Facebook and MySpace

Students list classes, activities, outings and more to engage others in their lives

Students read what is in front of them not what they have to seek out

Can be used to post dates of events, office hours, office information, photos of activities and campus announcements

Receive feedback from students Keep your finger on the pulse of the student

body – Is a great way to be kept in the loop about campus life and trends

Create different types of relationships with students

Social Networks Considerations for Student Services

Campus Safety Services Enhanced By TechnologySafety Response More accurate, location-specific “Enhanced 911”

Directly routes to internal public safety

Security Gonzaga’s and North Texas’ “iMye” uses finger-

scanning to give students access to their meal account

Ohio State’s “Bug Your Bike” uses radio frequency identification devices to tag bikes which has decreased theft

(Semer, Ostrom, & Peabody, 2007, February)

(Kennedy, 2006, March)

Effective Emergency Notification Plan Communication is needed in almost every part of

campus – Technology is a great aid in spreading communication

Immediate communication through systems that email messages, text messages to cell phones and deploy phone calls Princeton’s system can message community (50,000

contacts) in about 40 minutes

Combine high-tech and low-tech methods (signs, flyers, appointing individuals)

(Hall, 2007, July)

Effective Emergency Notification Plan Most important to reach faculty and staff who are in

contact with students Then reach parents to avoid miscommunication and

rumors spreading Text messaging is advantageous as it’s instantaneous and

easily accessible

Be aware of obstacles If campus or outside vendor is hit by physical

destruction, a back-up is needed Phone line congestionTechnology’s success is a result of the training and

data put into it – Be careful that practices don’t “cry wolf”

(Hall, 2007, July)

ResourcesBarratt, W. (2001). Managing technology in student affairs: A report on policies,

practices, staffing, and technology. Paper presented at NASPA.Bugeja, M.J. (2006). Facing the facebook. Chronicle of Higher Education,

(52)21. Bugeja, M. (2007, January 26). Distractions in the wireless classroom.

Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(21), C1-C4. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from Education Research Complete database.

Farrell, E.F. (2007, March 16). Tangled up in tech. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(28), A36. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from http://chronicle.com.

Hall, J. (2007, July). Reaching out. American School & University, 79(12), 16-21. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database.

Honeyset, N. (2002). Content management for a content-rich website. Museums on the web.

Kennedy, M. (2006, March). Stepping up protection. American School & University, 78(7), 51-53. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database.

ResourcesNew Student Orientation Trends (2004, July). Recruitment & Retention in

Higher Education, Retrieved February 10, 2008, from Education Research Complete database.

O’Hanlon, C. (2007). If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. The Journal, (24)8. Semer, J. ,Ostrom, D., & Peabody, C. (2007, February). What’s your

emergency? American School & University, 79(6), SS44-SS48. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database.

Text messaging to prospective students (2006, June). Recruitment & Retention in Higher Education, 20(6), 1-2.

Wall, J.E. (2003). Harnessing the power of technology: Testing and assessment applications. Measuring up: Assessment issues for teachers, counselors, and administrators.

Young, J.R. (2007, May 18). Case Western U. builds virtual campus to woo prospective students. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(37), A36. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from http://chronicle.com.