The Center for Transforming Student Services

Providing educational institutions with the tools and training they need to develop and deliver high-quality student services online.

Established as a partnership among the Western

Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications

(WCET), the Minnesota State Colleges and

Universities (MnSCU) and Seward Inc., CENTSS

expands upon WCET's research on best practices

in student services online.

History

CENTSS Launched November 2005• Searchable Resources• Models of Best Practice• Workshops• Audit Tool

The CENTSS Online Student Services Audit has been used by over 200 post-secondary institutions in 30 states and Canada.

History

AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, HI, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NC, ND, NE, NM, OH, OR, SD, TX, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY, Canada

• 31 Student Service Audits• Respond from a Student’s Perspective• Critical Components:

8-14 “Questions” Per Service

Audit Structure

CENTSS Online Student Services Audit

Academic AdvisingAcademic CounselingAdmissionsAssessment & TestingBookstoreCareer ServicesCourse/Program CatalogDevelopmental Ed ServicesDisability ServicesEthical & Legal ServicesFaculty-to-Student CommunicationsFaculty-to-Staff CommunicationsFinancial AidFinancial PlanningInstitution-to-Student Communications

LibraryOrientationPersonal CounselingPlacement ServicesRegistrationRetention ServicesSchedule of ClassesStaff-to-Faculty CommunicationsStudent AccountsStudent ActivitiesStudent RecordsStudent Population SegmentsStudent-to-Student CommunicationsTechnical SupportTutoringWellness Services

Audit Structure

• Establish a baseline of how you deliver online student services now

• Quickly identify problem areas and develop strategies for improvement

• Create a common language for improvements• Benchmark your progress against your peers locally,

statewide, or nationally• Track and compare your progress year over year• Inform decisions about technology purchases using

tested and individualized data

Audit Benefits

CENTSS Innovation Awards 2010-2011

Tools, creative strategies, and fresh thinking to design, develop, implement, and maintain online student services that have produced measureable results. 

The 2010 Winners

Innovation WyCLASS

First Place, Administrative Core

CENTSS Generation 3

Wyoming Distance Education Consortium, Wyoming Community Colleges, and University of Wyoming

Wyoming

• Many Wyoming students do not live within driving distance of Wyoming’s schools

• Distance students need degree classes not available from their local college

• Students had to figure out how to contact each college, register for courses, and get their transcripts sent

Problem

WyCLASS Website• Online catalog of all online courses from each

institution• Class list is searchable• Students can request more information on classes

and/or register for classes

Solution

• Website continues to grow each semester • Administrators track student searches to identify

course needs not being met• Feedback from advisors has been very positive

Success Measures

CCC Technology Center, Butte College

Innovation eTranscript California

First Place, Administrative Core

CENTSS Generation 4

California

• California needed a large scale transcript exchange network

• California institutions did not have agreements over data content and delivery amongst each other

Problem

eTranscript California• Contains a data dictionary to which all network

members must adhere• Standardizes transcript data so that each institution

has a single upload and download interface

Solution

• Over 55 participating institutions• Institutions have delivered more than 137,000

student transcripts• Number of transcripts is expected to grow with the

recent addition of institutions like University of Southern California, National University, University of Phoenix, and others

Success Measures

Marion Technical College

Innovation Orientation Reference Guide

First Place, Student Communities Suite

CENTSS Generation 3

Ohio

• Not all students could attend new student orientation programs in person

• Some students needed reinforcement and more details about student services, technical assistance, and academic services

• An interesting online experience to teach new student orientation topics did not exist

Problem

Orientation Reference Guide• Links real MTC employees to real services• Gives students 24/7 access to orientation

information• Improves the campus tour and map experience with

video and audio

Solution

• Measured the visits to the web site • An instant feedback survey for students using the

Orientation Reference Guide is planned

Success Measures

Excelsior College

Innovation Success Strategies for Military and Veterans

First Place, Personal Services Suite

CENTSS Generation 3

New York

• A more proactive and targeted approach to support and develop military and veteran students’ academic and career skill sets

• A vendor-produced course was tried but was not meeting the students’ needs; Students were dissatisfied with the content and overall lack of quality

Problem

CCS 112: Success Strategies for Military and VeteransSubject matter experts collaborated to design an interactive online orientation course for military and veteran students

Solution

• 37 % increase in enrollments for the first three sessions of CCS 112 since January 2010

• Administrators began to track the usage of all student support servicesExample: 1/3 (32%) of students using the Excelsior College virtual library are military and veteran students

Success Measures

Metropolitan State University

Innovation G.R.A.D.E.S.

First Place, Academic Services Suite

CENTSS Generation 3

Minnesota

• Students not familiar with grading policies and without access to advising tools come to an advisor only after reaching a crisis point

• Advisors’ limited time is taken to explain policy• Further time is taken tracking student progress and

calculating multiple courses of actions

Problem

GPA Realtime Advising Estimating System (G.R.A.D.E.S.)This web-based toolset provides cross platform functionality in combination with videos and training so students understand both policy and documentation related to satisfactory academic progress and grades

Solution

Administrators are currently measuring interest and adoption both internally and externally as well as feedback from stakeholders and interested parties

Success Measures

Century College

Innovation GPS LifePlan

First Place, Academic Services Suite

CENTSS Generation 4

Minnesota

Many students enter college without the benefit of personal, educational, or career goals and plan

Problem

GPS (Goals + Plans = Success) LifePlan • Students connect with college resources, access

information, and receive assistance from faculty and staff to achieve goals

• Students can track their career evaluation process and outcomes, program requirements and timelines, internships, service learning and mentoring experiences

Solution

GPS (Goals + Plans = Success) LifePlan • Students can budget financial aid and educational

expenditures• Students can monitor and track their progress

through eFolio

Solution

Graduation Survey: Graduating students rated GPS LifePlan and how much it helped with their education and career plans • 71% reported excellent• 18% reported good• 11% reported average• 0% reported bad

Success Measures

Capella University

Innovation Academic Planning System

First Place, Academic Services Suite

CENTSS Generation 5

Minnesota

• Essential information related to degree planning and transfer credit was stored in multiple locations.

Problem

Academic Planning SystemThe system serves as a central location for information related to degree planning and transfer credit. This enables staff to more accurately and efficiently work with students as they progress toward graduation.

Solution

• 100% of active students now have degree plans• Positive learner feedback• Pre-registrations are processed 3 times faster• Improved efficiency in creating degree plans

Success Measures

Montgomery College

Innovation Course Information Pages

First Place, Communications Suite

CENTSS Generation 3

Maryland

• Many questions about online courses were coming from both current and new students

• Students needed a readily available resource

Problem

Course Information PagesAllow students to: • View information regarding specific online courses • Purchase books• Determine whether online section is the best option• Contact and compare instructors

Solution

The Course Information Pages site is now the third most-often-visited area of the Distance Education website

Success Measures

Washington State University

Innovation Virtual Mentor

First Place, Communications Suite

CENTSS Generation 4

Washington

• Attrition is a particular problem with distance students

• Research suggests strategies to improve this:– Assist students in navigating the course space – Form community to alleviate feelings of remoteness and

isolation – Provide technical and logistical support

Problem

Virtual Mentor ProgramAllow students to: • Current upper-division and former students interact

with students in 9 courses to alleviate feelings of remoteness and isolation

• Student-to-student interaction is encouraged and facilitated

Solution

Student Survey• 61% of students aware of the VM agreed the VM’s

work was consistent with the job description • Almost all responding students rated VMs as helpful

to extremely helpful in the areas of supplying tips and suggestions to help students be successful

• 7 out of 10 faculty reported that the VMs were regularly present and contributed to enhancing and building community in the online class

Success Measures

Complete List of Innovation Award Winners:

http://www.centss.org/services/innovations.html

The 2011 Innovation Awards

is currently underway!

Visit www.CENTSS.org and submit an entry by August

31.