July 13, 2016
3:30pm – 4:20pm
Bellini 2003

Tahnja Wilson, Strategic Design Initiatives
Arizona State University

ASU’s online campus created a 1 week online student orientation course.

Objectives of Orientation Course

  • Explore academic and career resources
  • Recognize value of degree
  • discuss academic integrity
  • demonstrate ability to navigate and interact
  • Use results of various assessments to becomee successful student
  • Create a personal work/school/life balance plan

Started as only for Starbucks students.  But went to all online students.  (good for at risk students, adult learners, degree-completers, online)

Student feedback – After completing orientation I’m prepared to take college courses online (96%) before orientation number was 46% , 94% would recommend to other students.

Retention – Those that do not pass orientation or did not take it retention from term to term is lower than those who did by as much as 12%.

Grades are better for those who do the orientation.

Setting Expectations

  • encourage taking prior to courses start
  • stress time commitment of 10-13 hours
  • Dailey assignments, meant to get students into habit of being a student in compressed online environment
  • Review objectives of course with students
  • Ensure that university e-mail is working properly.  Test sending/receiving email
  • Monday through Sunday Course; course loads on Friday.  First assignment due Monday
  • First assignment due on Monday is the syllabus quiz – requires lockdown browser.
  • online ed is not self-paced
  • does require interaction with peers/instructions.
  • office hours will not be at their convenience
  • iPads, Chromebooks and smartphones are not compatible for everything that students need to do in class

Managing Commitments

  • expectations
  • classes with limited flexibility
  • Technical difficulties

Professor Communication, Course Structure

  • Grades not being posted
  • faculty not getting back to students
  • Books, due dates not updated or changed

Orientation is part of larger student success initiative.  ASU wants to improve freshman persistence to 90%, identification of systemic, cultural, social and political obstacles that interfere with successful course completion are key to exploring new ways to remove barriers and help students understand, apply and make course content relevant to them.

First Year Student Success Initiative

Identify freshman level ASU courses with high DEW rates, faculty rotation, freshman presence

Phase 1 – focus on popular degree programs
Phase 2 – include 100 level SQ (science quantitative) courses

11 credit limit on first-time-freshmen

Enrollment to Success Coach handoff – earlier to work on:
– Orientation
– Financial Aid
– Advising
– Mindset

Fall Focus: Course/Faculty/Dept 

  • Course focus/360 evaluation
  • master class – faculty bootcamp
  • master faculty
  • ID Meeting July/August
  • Lead/QM Webinar September
  • Faculty Lead/Faculty: July/August/September+
  • First Year Student Success Initiative/Success Center Official kickoff: August

Student/Coach

  • Success Center
  • Success Coach
  • Success Tips
  • Success Site/ASU Online

Student Facing

  • Success Coaches
  • Success Site
  • Success Tips
  • Succeed Online
  • Online Tutoring
  • ASU Orientations
  • Assessments
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