Online Mentor Performance Reports: Supporting Student Satisfaction and Success

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Online Mentor Performance Reports Supporting
Student Satisfaction and Success

• Ronald C. Thomas, Jr.
• Assistant in Distance Learning
• Florida State University

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Online Learning at Florida State University

• 22 Distance Learning Initiative (1999)
• Materials-based
• Mentor-supported
• Degree completion programs
• Blackboard (Bb) course management system (CMS)
• Includes communication tools for one-to-one
  (email), one-to-many (discussion board),
  many-to-many (chat)

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FSUs Student Support Model
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Why Mentors?

• Office for Distributed and Distance Learning
  (ODDL) tasked with design and implementation of
  student support systems
• High withdrawal rate in distance learning due to
  students feelings of isolation
• Faculty fear of too many students for
  preparation, instruction, monitoring,
  communication, and evaluation.

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Why Mentors?

• Distance and detachment from the institution, the
  instructor, and coursemates
• Different demographic with which to relate
• Adult learners careers, families
• Delivery online communication challenges
• Start-up issues familiarity with Bb CMS

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What Are the Mentor KSAs?

• Masters degree (or higher) in relevant
  discipline or Bachelors and experience in field
• Enthusiasm! Must care about and enjoy relating to
  students
• Active listener, have empathy with students
• Take initiative in communications with students
  and maintain engagement
• Accept monitoring and guidance of lead instructor
• Must be highly organized and keep detailed records

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Where Are Mentors Found?

• Florida Community College System
• Referrals
• Faculty
• Adjuncts
• FSU Graduate Students
• Current
• Recent graduates
• Actively-employed Mentors referrals
• Advertisement by brochure and web site

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How Are Mentors Selected?

• Applications are screened for minimum
  requirements by ODDL staff
• Appropriate applications are forwarded to faculty
  for endorsement

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What Comprises the Training?

• Time with ODDL staff to learn online support,
  issues with adult students, referral resources at
  FSU
• Time with discipline area faculty for collegial
  and instructional contact
• Technical training with Blackboard CMS
  (face-to-face and online)

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What Are the Duties of Mentors?

• Completing Course Materials
• Initiating and Maintaining Contact with Students
• Responding in a Timely Manner
• Facilitating Electronic Learning and Discussion
  Groups
• Attending to Student Progress, Grading
  Assignments, and Reporting Grades
• Communicating with Faculty

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How Does ODDL Support Mentors?

• Implementation Coordinator
• Models engagement with mentors that mentors must
  develop with students, regular communication
• Provides referral resources, liaison to student
  services
• Ongoing training and development
• Mentor Team Website
• Audio-conferences
• Face-to-face meetings and focus groups

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How Is the Model Evaluated?

• Faculty evaluations formal and informal
• Student evaluations formal surveys, voluntary
  telephone interviews
• Student performance indicators
• Dissemination of plan, processes and results for
  feedback from partners (Florida community
  colleges) and external audiences
• Mentor performance reports

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Mentor Performance Reports(Summer, 2001 -
Summer, 2003)
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Student Comments

• Anyone who gets (her) as a mentor is lucky. She
  makes the semester go more smoothly.
• There has been excellent and timely
  communication this semester --- It has been
  great!
• She is great at explaining assignments to me
  that I don't understand and reminds me of goals
  for the week that I should complete.
• (He) is very involved both in our work and the
  discussion area. He is trying to challenge us
  and pushes for interaction. This is key to
  distance learning.
• (She) is great in motivating the class in
  discussions on the virtual classroom board.

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Is Mentor Support Working?

• Mentor-supported courses
• By the end of Summer, 2003, 118 courses with
  mentor support had been delivered
• 156 current mentors formally trained, supporting
  four degree completion programs
• Computer and Information Sciences
• Information Studies
• Interdisciplinary Social Science
• Nursing (RN-BSN)

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Student Performance Indicators

• Completion Rate (through Summer, 2003) 92
• Success Rate (completers earning a grade of C- or
  better) 89

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What We Learned

• Communication function is the most important and
  effective
• 72 of responses in this area were positive
• 21 of responses were neutral
• 7 of responses were negative
• Students report that clarification of materials
  processes and encouragement are the two main
  contributions of mentor support

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Implications for Teaching

• Mentor support allows scalability. To increase
  class size, add another mentor (at 20-251).
• These are often non-traditional students with
  varying levels of computer skills, balancing
  their education against their jobs and family
  obligations. They need High Touch to go with
  High Tech.
• Supporting faculty IS supporting students.
  Mentors are conduits for two-way communications.

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