Implementation & Assessment Strategies For Online Student Services

There is little doubt the future of student services is being transformed and transitioned to a new model of providing traditional student support services in a variety of combinations of online formats. Most every college has been actively pursuing offering not only online courses but also virtual online student support services. This is creating a significant challenge due to the daily changes in commercial offerings of technology-based services, diminished funding resources, lack of administrative expertise in technology-based services, and new accreditation standards. Traversing the technology landscape, determining internal IT expertise and willingness to assist, and deciding on the best solutions is time consuming and complicated.
Enter an organized and strategic approach, starting with a needs assessment, organized plan for development, well-timed and systematized implementation and of course, assessment. This webinar will appraise the stages of final implementation of new services and strategies for effective assessment. We will review and discuss the individual factors of positive implementation including agile vs. traditional approaches, strategies to communicate your intentions, what the successful project will look like, and how to measure program effects. Participants will also evaluate longer-term outcomes and conduct “post-mortems.”

We all acknowledge the need to increase and influence technology uses to support online learners and offer alternative methods to access student services. Thoughtfully producing an effective array of online services that will meet the desires not only of the students, but also the accreditation teams and our colleagues, is a reality we cannot dismiss. With many other critical influences such as lack of funding, shortage of technology expertise, low prioritization by IT staff, and numerous other responsibilities, providing necessary and effective online services remains a considerable challenge.

This is the third and final webinar of a 3-part series focused on utilizing and expanding online student services that will guide participants through the process of implementation and assessment of these projects. Participants will be able to apply strategies to implement new online services and continually assess outcomes to determine their effectiveness in supporting student success.