virtual student services
TRANSCRIPT
Virtual Student ServicesA Review
By Josh Perkins
University Introduction
Kent State University is a midsized comprehensive state university that served approximately 39,076 students in its eight campus system during the 2015 spring semester. In the 2015 spring semester student enrollment in online classes reached 17,762, a 4.37 percent increase from the prior year. Overall 45 percent of Kent State students are taking one or more online classes.
Presentation Overview
Virtual Student Services in today’s higher education landscape need to be accessible to both residential and online students. All students deserve the same resources and opportunities for success and it is the faculty and administrators job to insure resources are within the grasp of all.
Presentation Overview
Armitage & Shea (2002) in their article entitled Guidelines for Creating Student Services Online, provide a comprehensive overview of the type of services and the importance of web-based Student Services for both residential and online students. Essentially, both populations need the same information, but with some understanding of the contextual differences. In the end, all students need technology services, community development, academic advising, tutoring, library resources and the like.
Presentation OverviewThis Virtual Student Services presentation will take an in-depth view of the online student services offered at Kent State University. In addition, a review of services that should be considered will be addressed as well.
Presentation topics
1.Kent State Online, a specific website for online learners.
2.Independent virtual services, support services offered from different departments across campus that are not centralized.
3.Virtual Services to be considered.4.Accessibility and comprehensiveness of services.
Kent State Online
• There are three categories that are offered as support services on the Kent State online webpage:– Student Services– Faculty Services– Technology Services
Student Services
• Under the Student Services tab there is a number of “Useful Links” highlighted, however they are marketed to online students only. The following are the links made available to online students:– Blackboard Learn – This is the learning management system
Kent uses.– Career Services – this link directs students to the general
career services information available for all students.– Distance Education Complaint Resolution – link specific for
online students in the event a complaint needs filed.– FLASHcard – directs students to the Kent State Stark
flashcard informational webpage. This page informs students how their FLASHcard can be used.
Student Services– FLASHcard Application Form – takes students to a form to
fill out and send in to get a student I.D. remotely.– Flashline Account – all students are given a Flashline
account and email account. This is the University’s platform for information dissemination.
– Library Instruction – link takes students to a webpage that teaches all students how to efficiently and ethically gather information for classes.
– Online Course Search – walks students through the process of looking for and registering for online classes.
– Online Phone Directory – webpage that provides a search for all department and individual staff and faculty.
Student Services– Proctored Testing – gives information for online students on how to get a test proctored in person with an instructor, with ProctorU or at a physical testing facility on or off campus.
– State Authorization – shows students which states Kent State’s online programs are accepted.
– Student Accessibility Services (SAS) – directs students to the universal SAS webpage and gives an overview of accessibility services.
– Student Grievance Contact Information for the Individual States – individual state contacts for out of state students in the event they have a grievance with Kent State.
Student Services– Student Rights and Responsibilities – overview of academic integrity policies and protection of student work.
– Textbooks – provides links to each campus’s bookstore.
– Tuition Information – online course cost for each degree offered as well as an explanation of additional fees at regional campuses.
– Veteran Services – takes students to the Center for Adult and Veteran Services general page made available to all students.
Faculty Services
• The Faculty Services tab provides an overview of Kent State’s online teaching philosophy and it provides in-depth information on the “how-tos” of providing quality online education. This is not for students specifically, but helps the student understand that the online teaching philosophy is based on 3 core components:– Design – addresses pedagogical goals.– Build – provides information on how to navigate
Blackboard, Kent State’s learning management system.– Teach – link provides information on teaching methods
strategies that work well in the online environment.
Technology Services
• The Technology Services tab gives information on all of the university resources that are believed to be necessary to pursue a degree or certificate. Through technology services students are able to:– Apply to the university– directs to the main
admissions page for all students.– Enroll in online courses – takes students to the
universal Flashline log in page. Once in Flashline students still have to figure out how to enroll in classes.
– Pay your tuition – directs students to the Bursar’s Online Payment System.
Technology Services – View student records– takes students to the universal
Flashline log in page. However, once logged in, students must navigate Flashline to find the student record information.
– Enroll in online courses – takes students to the universal Flashline log in page.
– Textbooks– provides links to each of the eight campus bookstores.
– Blackboard Learn – this webpage provides comprehensive information about Blackboard and how to effectively navigate it.
– Academic library – provides specific library services information for off-campus and distance learning students.
– Helpdesk – this link takes students to Information Services general all campus help page which includes 24/7 help options.
Independent Virtual Services
• This is a list of two virtual services that are offered across campus but are not housed on one comprehensive webpage or on the online learning page.– Tutoring – Academic Success Center; this service is made
available to all students “who prefer to receive assistance online from the comfort of their home or residence hall” . This is a free service to all students.
– Advising and Registration absentia process – Student Success Programs; this is “online” protocol for student that cannot attend advising and registration in person. (In order to get this link to pull up this hidden page cut and past this address in a browser https://app-dev.us.kent.edu/absentia/confirm.aspx)
Virtual Service Considerations
• While Kent State does have a large list of student resources for distance learning students, there are a few services that I believe are missing from the compiled list and they include: – Online New Student Orientation – currently, Kent State does
not provide a completely online orientation for traditional face to face students that register in absentia. This type of offering would be very beneficial for nontraditional and transfer student populations as well.
– Online Counseling Services – stresses of coursework, time management and relational issues are not only on campus issues and so, I believe that counseling services or psychological services should be highlighted and made available to students in an online format or at a minimum the contact information should be on a resource page.
Virtual Service Considerations
– Campus Connection – Dr. Kretovics in his article entitled The Role of Student Affairs in Distance Education: Cyber-Services or Virtual Communities articulates the importance of creating a virtual “campus community”. Like Dr. Kretovics’s assertion, I too believe that Kent State should consider and provide a mode for both residential and virtual students to connect as one campus. Perhaps a student group could be developed for this purpose.
Accessibility of Resources
• The virtual student services resources that are provided on the Kent State Online webpage were useful, pertinent and accessible, however the focus of this page is strictly for online learners rather than being a universal resource designed for all students.
• If residential students are looking for virtual support services, the offerings are very limited, especially if students only access the information marketed to them and do not utilize the Kent State Online pages.
• There are other resources, such as tutoring that are accessible if the right page is visited, but all resources are not centralized.
Comprehensiveness of Resources
• Kent State University does an excellent job of providing a comprehensive list of its resources for online learners, however virtual students services does need to be considered for all students.
• Currently, the resources are not comprehensive or made available for all students. Likewise there is not a centralized location that students can got to that represents all virtual services offered. A landing page with this information would be an added benefit.
• Some additional virtual services that should be considered should be online orientation, counseling services and opportunities for virtual community .
Virtual Student Services Summary
After completing this project I finished it with a greater understanding of the importance of virtual student services as well as the need to offer them to more than just the online students. Also, upon reviewing Kent State’s offerings I gained a better understanding of the type of virtual services that are offered to online and residential students.
Given that my job is to facilitate Kent State’s orientation program, I realize that our orientation program has a hole that needs filled with offering an online orientation for students not able to participate in our face to face orientation option. On a whole, this has been a very eye opening and meaningful assignment.
References
Kretovics, M. (2003). The role of student affairs in distance education: Cyber-services or virtual communities. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 6(3). Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall63/kretovics63.html
Armitage, S. & Shea, P. (2002). Guidelines for creating student services online.WCET LAAP Project Beyond the Administrative Core:Creating Web-based Student Services for Online Learners. Retrieved from http://wcet.wiche.edu/wcet/docs/beyond/overview.pdf