Best Practices for Online Orientation White Paper

Comevo White Paper | Best Practices for Online Orientation | Copyright 2014 COMEVO | www.comevo.com

Best Practices for Online Orientation

A COMEVO WHITE PAPER

Comevo White Paper | Best Practices for Online Orientation | Copyright 2014 COMEVO | www.comevo.com 2

Background Comevo is a the market leader in online orientation software: our

@school Online Orientation program is in use by over 100 colleges

and universities throughout North America.

Comevo customers are regularly consulted by our staff for suggestions

on how we can improve our products and service; many were surveyed

and interviewed for this paper, and their contributions helped us

present the findings herein in an accurate, current, and relevant

manner.


Overview Orientation is the first stepping-stone in a students educational

experience. The depth and breadth of a schools orientation the

quality of the orientation experience directly impact each students

chances for success in college and beyond. The California Student

Success Task Force notes that, Extensive research has documented the

importance of assessment, orientation, and informed education

planning to set incoming students on a pathway to a successful

outcome.

Even more important than the orientation itself is ensuring that

intended goals are met. When asked, both two-year and four-year

institutions indicated that the goal of orientation was: to introduce

students to resources and procedures that will help them successfully

integrate into the university. Michael Medel from Santa Barbara

Community College says, Students come to us with varying goals, and

our job is to make sure each student has the tools and resources they

need to meet those goals.

Just as technology continues to play an increasingly integral role in

students lives, institutions must also learn to leverage the benefits

technology can bring to their academic and support programs. As

schools throughout the nation have drawn a direct correlation between

orientation attendance and retention and graduation rates, many have

made 100% attendance at orientation a top priority. However,

mandatory orientation can present a conflict with students diverse

schedules, locations, and needs. To resolve this conflict, more and more

schools have begun to look to online orientation to meet both student

and institutional needs.


Benefits of Online Orientation

Digital Natives Most schools agree that new-student orientation is ultimately about

meeting the needs of its students. The current generation, sometimes

referred to as post-millennials, is defined as having experienced a

lifelong exposure to communication and media technology, sparking the

nickname digital natives. In order to meet the specific needs of this

generation, technology must to be integrated into student-focused

programs, including orientation.


Benefits (continued) Convenience About 50% of colleges and universities surveyed

indicated they had both online and in-person

orientation programs. However, there is an

emerging trend of schools transitioning their

hybrid orientation programs to online only.

The number one reason? Simply put, its

convenience.

Online orientation is flexible for students, and

doesnt require them to drive to campus, which

is especially beneficial for commuter campuses.

Online orientation also requires significantly

less staff time, which is very convenient and

cost-effective for the institution. Medel of SBCC

first looked to online orientation when he

realized in-person orientation for all incoming

students was becoming impossible. Today, with

SBCCs growing enrollment rate, Medel says,

We don't have the capacity to do in-person for

everyone, and online is quickest and most

efficient.

Flexibility Another benefit of online orientation is the

ability to quickly adjust and easily update

content, as changes occur rapidly in a campus

environment. Curriculum, standards, and

procedures can be altered throughout the year,

whereas updating an in-person orientation

program is both time-consuming and costly.

With online orientation software, templates can

easily be modified to represent the most

current information.

Data-Driven Improvements Student data can be one of the most important

resources when developing programs for

students. Data gathering is a large benefit that

is often overlooked when considering

orientation programs. Orientation is the first

and sometimes only time you have all of your

incoming students in one place (virtually),

making it a crucial time to gather information.

With online orientation reports, you can easily

look at the exact questions students are missing

and analyze whether you need to adjust your

orientation content for better understanding.

Orientation data can also be used to improve

other student programs around campus. And,

because colleges and universities are facing

increased requirements for accountability and

reporting standards, online orientation allows

for simple and complete orientation records for

every student.


Best Practices

Weve discussed the benefits an online orientation program offers, but

those benefits are irrelevant without useful content that aims to meet a

schools specific goals. Our experience in the online orientation industry

coupled with feedback from current customers has enabled us to

develop this list of best practices colleges and universities should

consider when developing an online orientation program.

BEST PRACTICE #1

Add Variety The incoming generation of students is accustomed to using multiple

forms of technology and receiving digital information from a multitude


Best Practices (continued) of platforms each day. In order to keep them

engaged, a wide variety of multimedia is

required to hold their attention. Utilizing a

diversity of colors, texts, images, audio

recordings and videos will not only help engage

students with your content, but will also aide in

their comprehension and retention. A variety of

visual and audio presentations also ensures that

youre accommodating multiple learning styles.

BEST PRACTICE #2

Keep it Short & Sweet This is a good rule of thumb for any type of

survey, quiz or even video. Attention spans are

shrinking, and instant gratification has become

increasingly important. In todays age of

multitasking, your message must be clear and

concise to keep your audience engaged.

For online orientation, this means providing

only the information that is absolutely

necessary. Include important information up

front and utilize bullet points to get your point

across. If there is detailed content in a

particular section, it is best to split that content

into two or more pages, making for more

digestible servings of information.

BEST PRACTICE #3

Quiz Them The truth is, many students wont read through

and comprehend information unless they are

being tested. To be certain that students are

ingesting and understanding the information

provided, short quizzes throughout your

orientation program are extremely helpful.

Quizzes also serve to clear things up. When

students answer a question incorrectly, you

should provide them with the correct answer

and an explanation. This will help reinforce a

more thorough understanding of the content

you want them to possess. Most schools we

surveyed require a passing rate of 70%-85% to

verify that the information is understood.

BEST PRACTICE #4

Introduce Resources to Succeed Every student has a different goal when going

to college. Some aim to be extremely active in

clubs, others strive to land on the Deans List,

and others look forward to participating in

sports. A successful online orientation will

provide an introduction to campus resources

that every student will need to help meet

his/her goals.


Orientation content should include information

on clubs, sports teams, library resources,

tutoring and any other academic or support

services your campus offers. It is also useful to

include an attached PDF with these resource

links, so that students can save it to their

computers for future use.

BEST PRACTICE #5

Diversify Speakers In the images, videos and audio recordings you

use in your online orientation, it is important to

include a diverse group of students, staff and

faculty that represent the diversity of your

campus. It also helps students learn more: a

variety of presenters will hold students

attention more effectively than one singular

speaker.

Because peer-to-peer learning is so effective,

many schools have found it useful to feature

students in their online orientation videos. Also,

including a message from the leader of your

institution (the President or Dean of Students)

in your orientation sets a welcoming tone and

reinforces the importance of the orientation

program.

BEST PRACTICE #6

Collect Data Finally, a very beneficial feature of online

orientation software is the ability to gather real-

time metrics on your orientation program. Your

reporting programs should allow you to track

completion, pace, and questions right or wrong,

and also highlight the most commonly missed

questions. By linking your orientation reporting

directly to student portals, you can also

withhold class registration until the online

orientation program has been successfully

completed. Orientation data collection ensures

you have all student information in one place,

and allows you to continually improve your

content.


Summary When developed properly, an online orientation program can provide a

variety of benefits to both students and schools. To get the most out of

your orientation, it is important to thoughtfully create content that

directly supports your schools goals of introduction, retention and

graduation.


About Comevo Based in San Luis Obispo, CA, Comevo is a leading online orientation and

training service provider. Founded in 2007, our company has helped customers

in industries such as higher education, manufacturing, food service and tourism

take their orientation and training online. Our companys software and

customer support services include both standard and multimedia editions with

the flexibility to serve almost any industry.

Documents

Best Practices for Online Orientation White Paper