BEST PRACTICES IN ONLINE ADULT STUDENT ORIENTATION

Jennifer Schubert, MS Student Services CoordinatorUniversity of Wisconsin Oshkosh

What is Orientation?

14 week semesters with two seven week sessions = accelerated Asynchronous, but instructor lead Online courses are convenient, not easy Proper writing skills are a must Many online resources exist Must use university email Must be an engaged student Good time management skills are crucial; some days it will be

challenging to juggle work, class, family and other responsibilities

Good communication skills are also crucial

Understanding the needs of adult, bachelor’s degree-seeking students in online program is the most important aspect of online degree planning (Ignash, 2012).

After issuing a 13 question survey, the needs of the 152 students in the beta group were more clearly defined.

While researching the best practices for online student orientation was conducted, the theory of self-efficacy emerged as a key element in the design of effective adult online student orientation.

Using the results of the survey, the research findings of the best practice and the theory of self-efficacy as a guide, recommendations for effective online student orientation are outlined in this presentation.

Executive Summary

Why it Matters

So that we can find the most effective ways to enhance orientation for online students at UWO

So that we know the most effective ways to measure the success of online orientation

So that we understand the cost to us if we decide not to enhance orientation If just one student drops out because she feels

uncomfortable in our online learning environment, it can cost us $4,300 - $8,600 annually.

What Does More Effective Mean? 

One could pursue many possibilities, but the following questions can most effectively guide your investigation:

1. What specific improvements need to be made?

2. How will the success of the improvements be measured?

3. What are the costs associated with these improvements?

It’s All About the Base

For the least amount of treble, one needs to figure out where things are right now. Establish a baseline:

Do we have an orientation? What kind? Is it effective? (what does that mean?) How do we know?

Qualtrics survey with combination of:

Single Select questions and answers

Open-ended comment questions Likert Scale questions

Survey Questions and Results

Theory of Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy explores the notion that the higher a person’s sense of capability to perform certain tasks, the more confidence he or she has and the more effort he or she will put forth (Robbins & Judge, 2011).

By building an orientation that appeals to different learning styles, students will feel empowered to successfully navigate the course management system and have the confidence to reach out to the proper student services when assistance is needed.

Through enhanced orientation, a culture where the learning concepts promote empowerment and self-efficacy can be created and thus students will be motivated to and will succeed in their courses

While researching the Theory of Self-Efficacy, another concept that appeared quite often is transformational learning.

Adults need to incorporate their emotions regarding what they are learning in order to fully attach meaning to it and to apply it. Many scholars believe that emotion is irrelevant, however transformational learning theorists believe it plays a significant part. They believe it helps to enhance emotional intelligence. (Cho, 2012).

On a side note…

A Deeper Look into the Adult Student

Research shows that adult learners tend not to "chunk or organize information efficiently for recall" (Ke, 2009).

Adult students need the option of working 1:1 with a student services professional

Adult students need a sense of community

Online Student Portal

One place in which to connect with all components of the online student environment: University email Library Resources Personal Financial Aid / Student Account information Tutoring Services / Labs APA Templates, Unofficial Transcripts, Advisor Contact Information Course Add/Drop Dates

Online learning, while more convenient in many aspects, is NOT easier for the following reasons:

Online learning changes the dynamic between student and professor/instructor

Students evolve from passive receivers to active participants

Professors switch from dispensers of expertise to facilitators/guides

Online is Convenient, Not Easy

What Does it all Mean?

Clearly define your online learning environment Find out exactly where your student population struggles

and what is needed to be successful in your online learning environment

When considering the cost to create or enhance orientation, don’t forget to factor the cost of doing nothing

Be sure your orientation is specific to your online learning environment

Be sure that orientation provides guidance as well as sense of control (self-efficacy) for the student

Consider different learning styles Be sure a sense of community exists Design how you will measure effectiveness and how often

Have a question? Want to share what is working well for you?

Thank you for attending my breakout presentation

Discussion Time!

References

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (2012). Making the grade: online education in the united states: midwestern edition (4th Annual Report). Retrieved from https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/ehost/

Arbaugh, J.B. (2004). Learning to learn online: a study of perceptual changes between multiple online course experiences. The Internet and Higher Education, (5), 169-182. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2004.06.00 

Cho, M. (2012). Online student orientation in higher education: a developmental study. Educational Technology Research & Development, 60(6), 1051-1069. doi:10.1007/s11423-012-9271-4

Gibson, J.L., Ivancevich, J.M., Donnelly, J.H., & Konopaske, R., (2006). Organizations: behavior, structure, process. (12th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Harell, I. (2008). Increasing the success of online students. Inquiry, 13(1), 36-44. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ833911.pdf

Ignash, J.M. (2012). Articulation to and from the applied associate degree: challenges and opportunities. New Directors for Community Colleges. No. 158. doi:10.1002/cc.2013

Ke, F. (2009). Toward deep learning for adult students in online courses. Internet and Higher Education, (12), 136-145. doi:10.1016/j.heduc.2009.08.001

Robbins, S.P., Judge, T.A. (2011). Organizational behavior. (15th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall

Suaro, J. (2014). Measuring usability: quantitative usability, statistics and six sigma. Retrieved from http://www.measurability.com/blog/summerize-survey.php

Watkins, B.J. & Tisdell, E.J. (2007). Negotiating the labyrinth from margin to center: adult degree program administrators as program planners within higher education institutions. Adult Education Quarterly: A Journal of Research and Theory. v56 n2 p134-159 2006. doi.org/10.1177/0741713605283433

Thank you!

Jennifer SchubertUniversity of Wisconsin Oshkosh

schuberj@uwosh.edu