An Onboarding Strategy for
New Online Learners
Michael Ciocco William McCool Rowan University Division of Global Learning & Partnerships March 24th 2016 Drexel E-­‐Learning Conference 2016, Philadelphia, PA
Introduction
§  Problem Statement §  History of Online Student Training Courses @ Rowan §  The New Onboarding Strategy §  Administrative Structure §  Course Design §  BeneRits §  Future Plans Problem Statement
§  Students NEED training prior to their Rirst online learning experience at Rowan §
Do they need to understand the expectations and policies for online classes at Rowan? Yes §
Do they need comprehensive LMS training? Maybe §
Should the training be mandatory? Yes §  Goals §
Immerse students in an online environment §
Inform student as to what to expect for their Rirst online course §
Allow students to test their personal technology prior to their Rirst online course §
Give faculty & advisors the ability to follow up with their students §
Enforce mandatory completion of training History
2007 2012 2015 (Spring) Length* 6 hrs 3 hrs 1 hr Access With 1st class 90 days prior to 1st class With registra6on of 1st class Focus LMS Training Expecta6ons, Policies, and LMS Training Expecta6ons & Policies (LMS training op6onal) Registra<on Manual Automated by external process Automated & enforced by SIS Comple<on Not enforced Not enforced Enforced by SIS & policies * Average time to complete the course as reported by students
Issues
§  Promotion/Advertising §  Enforcing mandatory registration §  Compelling to students to complete the training §  Poor methods of regular communication §  Faculty complaints §  No reliable method of checking student progress §  Overall lack of automated management of the onboarding course system New Onboarding Strategy
§  Make New Online Student Training a “real” class §  Use standard class registration mechanisms and policies §  Require registration §  Require completion for a grade §  Develop automated processes to provision and manage training classes §  Provide tools so that faculty/advisors can help manage student onboarding Registration Mechanisms
§  Built as an ofRicial course section in Rowan’s SIS (Banner) §  Course: ONL00100 – Rowan Online Immersion §  Credits: 0, Cost: $0, Prerequisites: None §  Grade: Pass or No Grade (NG) §  OfRicial length – 1 semester §  Available in LMS up to 6 months prior to its associated term §  Advantages §  ONL00100 appears on ofRicial student schedule §  Final grade appears on ofRicial student transcripts §  Registration is automated (just like every other class section) How this Works
§  NEW Students §  Must register for ONL00100 at the same time as Rirst online course §  Start taking ONL00100 within 24hrs of registration §  Recommended to complete ONL00100 prior to Rirst online course §  Receive notiRications about completion §  Must complete prior to end of the term, or receive a grade of NG §  Once you’re DONE, you’re DONE! §  Receiving a PASS (P) satisRies the ONL00100 co-­‐requisite for all future online courses Under the Hood: Building Sections
§  Concerns about using the SIS §  Course section generation and pre-­‐req inclusion is a manual job! §  Custom SIS Automation §  ONL00100 is automatically added as co-­‐requisite for any course with SESSION TYPE = “online” OR “hybrid” §  This is applied as the class section is built §  A check for any missing co-­‐requisites is run nightly Under the Hood: Grade Check
§  Custom Grade Check/Post Automation §  A job runs nightly to check for ONL00100 completion §  System looks for completion of Final Quiz in LMS §  Active students who have not passed are checked §  Passing grades are posted back to SIS/Final Transcript §  If the section of ONL00100 ends, incomplete grades are posted as NG to student Transcripts §  Registration for future online courses requires re-­‐registration for ONL00100 §  Faculty/Advisors may have access to student ROI records via student transcripts Faculty Completion Check Tool
No Harsh Penalties
§  NO grade holds §  NO registration holds §  No other penalties to impede academic progress §  NG on your transcript -­‐ Is this a penalty? §  Technically no – does not affect GPA or classes §  BUT – how to explain several NG grades to potential employers or grad schools? Opt Out
§  For students who completed the old training course (v2) §  OR §  For students who took an online course @ Rowan between Fall 2014 and Fall 2015 §  Opt Out Process §  Register for a section of ONL00100 §  Submit ticket to Opt Out §  Rowan Online updates records with Opt Out Tool §  Receive a P on transcript within 24 hrs Why Immersion?
§  Put students directly in the online learning environment §  Provide access to the systems and tools as they are used in online courses §  Allow students to acclimate to course structure §  Introduce students to support services Design: Logistics
§  Condensed setup §  focused on expectations and policies §  1 hour to complete §  Modules: 5 Required, 2 Optional §  Content: §  Video, voice-­‐over PowerPoint, instructional pages, web links, sample submissions §  Examples of every type of tool in the LMS §  Assessment: §  Complete 5 question quiz at end of each required module §  Quizzes required for progress Home Page Snap Shot
Module Page Snap Shot
Design: Required Modules
1.  Technology and Support –  Tips for navigating LMS, How to get support, Tech requirements, Student Services & Tools 2.  LMS Overview (brief) 3.  Expectations for Online Learners –
With a focus on student success 4.  Policies –  With a focus for online learners, including accommodations with persons with special needs 5.  Final Acknowledgment/Exit Survey Design: Optional Modules
§  LMS Tools (Optional) §  Media Gallery (Lectures) §  Assignment Example §  Discussion Example §  Conferences §  Collaborations §  Chat §  Evaluations Program Launch
§  Spring 2016 – initial onboarding stage §  10 Sections of ONL00100 §  Cap per section: 350 (+/-­‐) §  Total enrollees: ~3,860 §  Passing Rate: ~ 70% (as of this presentation) §  Opt Out Rate: ~ 18% §  Summer 2016 §  5 sections of ONL00100 §  Cap per section: 250 §  Total enrollees: ~ 940 Benefits
§  Recruiting §  Students can try ONL00100 with no risk or costs §  Retention §  Failure to complete ONL00100 can be an early warning sign that a student’s success in online classes is in jeopardy §  Reduced Support Requests §  Overall, better informed students has lead to a reduction in support requests §  Accreditation §  Reliable support structures are in place with reporting Known Issues
•  The Magellan-­‐Type Problem –  Students seek to circumvent the process –  Can re-­‐register term over term w/o completing a section of ONL00100 •  Possible Fix –  Pre-­‐requisite violation reports and follow up communication plan Future Plans
§  System Improvements §  Pre-­‐requisite violation reports §  Content Improvements §  Implement in-­‐video quizzes §  Introduce content comprehension components §  Reinforce that students understand important concepts and expectations §  Focus Group (after 1 year) §  Annual review of ONL00100 §  Faculty can voice concerns & provide suggestions §  Review student Exit Survey feedback About the Presenters
§  Michael Ciocco Director of Rowan Online ciocco@rowan.edu §  William McCool Instructional Designer Rowan Online Department mccool@rowan.edu §  Learn more about Rowan Online Visit rowanonline.com Special thanks to Michael Sunderhauf, Instructional Designer Division of Global Learning & Partnerships Rowan University