WCET LAAP Project: Lessons Learned

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned
WCETmembership organization of higher education
providers of distance learning LAAPU.S. Dept.
of Educations Learning Anytime Anywhere
Partnership program ProjectBeyond the
Administrative Core Creating Web-Based Student
Services for Online Learners
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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Four Partners
• Kansas State University
• Kapiolani Community College (Hawaii)
• Regis University (Colorado)
• SCT

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Four Project Goals for Web-Based Services
• Commercial package of student service modules
• Institutions homegrown solutions
• Guidelines for institutions developing
  Web-based student services
• Case studies of the institutional change
  process required to implement Web services

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Why collaborate to develop student services?
• Increasing numbers of institutions are
  collaborating to deliver academic programs via
  technology to
• Share expertise.
• Respond more quickly to market needs.
• Serve a broader student population.
• Share expensive technology costs.
• Remain competitive.

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Why collaborate to develop student services?
• Student services are needed to support these
  collaborative academic efforts.
• Collaborations highlight the commonalities and
  differences in the delivery of services among
  institutions. Determining the requirements for
  broader technology solutions may result.
• It may be more economical.

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• What student services do online learners need?
• Administrative Core
• Academic Services Suite
• Communications Suite
• Personal Services Suite
• Student Communities Suite

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned
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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Focus of ProjectThree Service Areas
• Academic AdvisingKSU
• Orientation to Academic AdvisingRegis
• TutoringKapiolani

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Principal Drivers in Redesign
• Student-centered
• Self-service where possible
• Personalized and interactive
• Just-in-time
• Push pull
• Lifelong

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Early Findings
• Distance students come in many flavors. An
  increasing number of online learners are
  on-campus students.

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Early Findings
• All students EXPECT to access student services
  online.

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Early Findings
• By designing Web-based solutions to serve
  remote distance students, institutions may be
  better prepared to serve all students in the
  future.
• Open-ended terms
• Varying tuitions
• Different time zones languages
• Multiple weights of measure

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Early Findings
• Institutional infrastructures for student
  services are fragmented, making unified Web
  solutions difficult to design.
• Distance vs. traditional students.
• Ad hoc silo development of existing services.
• Decentralized deployment of services.
• Specialized needs of departments within
  services.

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Early Findings
• Creating personalized and interactive services
  beyond the administrative core may be largely
  affected by the capability of and compatibility
  with
• Student Information Systems (SIS)
• Portal solution

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Early Findings
• It is easier to Webenize current student
  services than to envision what services SHOULD be
  like.
• Listen to students.
• Assemble cross-functional teams.
• Use scenarios with focus groups.

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Early Findings
• Setting realistic expectations is critical.
• Not all services will be available 24X7.
• Designing student-centered and hybrid services
  may mean changing the structure of the
  institution.
• Scale and scope are important factors.
• Redesign is an iterative process.

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Early Findings
• Collaborative efforts among institutions point
  out the commonalities in student service
  processes. Different technology solutions may be
  necessary to support them within each
  institution, however.

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Early Findings
• Collaborative efforts among institutions to
  design student services may slow down the
  planning process, but speed up the institutions
  progress overall.

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned

• Early Findings
• Vendor solutions for all services are expanding.
• Increased functionality of Student Information
  Systems.
• Expanding functionality of course management
  systems.
• More niche solutions developing.
• Outsourcing solutions may become more popular.

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WCET LAAP Project Lessons Learned
For more information about WCET and this LAAP
Project, see www.wiche.edu/telecom
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ResourcesOverview
WCET Guide to Developing Online Student Services
www.wiche.edu/telecom/resources/publications/guid
e/guide.htm
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ResourcesGeneral

• Planning for Student Services Best Practices
  for the 21st Century Society for College and
  University Planning, 1999.
• Innovation in Student Services Planning for
  Models Blending High Touch/High Tech Society for
  College and University Planning, Winter 2001.

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ResourcesCourse Management .
Online Educational Delivery Applications A Web
Tool for Comparative Analysis http//www.c2t2.ca/
landonline/compare2.html
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ResourcesDisabilities
Web Accessibility for Students with
Disabilities http//www.w3.org/WAI The Web
Accessibility How To Project http//www.webaim.org
/
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ResourcesAcademic Advising

• NACADA Standards for Advising Distance Learners
• http//www.nacada.ksu.edu/Profres/distance.htm
• Academic Advising A Comprehensive Handbook
  Jossey-Bass, 2000.
• NACADA Technology in Advising Com.
• http//www.psu.edu/dus/ncta/linkacad.htm

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ResourcesCounseling

• Cybercounseling and Cyberlearning Strategies
  and Resources for the Millennium ERIC/CASS and
  the ACA Foundation, 2000.
• http//cybercounsel.uncg.edu/
• Ethical Standards for Internet On-line
  Counseling
• http//www.counseling.org/gc/cybertx.htm
• The Counseling Center Village
• http//ub-counseling.buffalo.edu/ccv.htm

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ResourcesLibrary Services

• ACRL Guidelines for Distance Learning Library
  Services
• http//www.ala.org/acrl/guides/distlrng.html

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ResourcesOther?