From Theory to Practice: How Columbia Southern University is
Putting Theory to Work to Help Students Achieve Academic Success
in an Online Environment
Bethany Marshall, Director of Academic Advising
John Hargadon, Faculty, College of Business
From Theory to Practice – CSU
Overview
•
Columbia Southern University
– Located in Orange Beach, AL
– Online Institution
– Centralized Advising Model
• 40 Professional Advisors
– Approximately 36,000 students
- High percentage of students are working adults
- Rolling admission and enrollment process
• Term (Structured)
• Life Pace/Per Course (Flexible)
From Theory to Practice - Theory
• Theories
– Intervention Theory (Argyris, 1970)
– Self-Efficacy (Bandura, 1997)
– Learner Autonomy (Ponton & Carr, 2000)
From Theory to Practice - Theory
• Argyris’ Intervention Theory (1970)
– Three primary tasks
• Generate valid and useful information
• Produce free choices
• Client (student) have strong internal commitment
toward the chosen course of action
From Theory to Practice - Theory
• Self-Efficacy (Bandura, 1997)
– Mastery Experiences
• Personal
• Vicarious
– Social Persuasion/Verbal Encouragement
– Physiological and Psychological Health
From Theory to Practice - Theory
• Learner Autonomy (Ponton & Carr, 2000)
– Desire
– Initiative
– Resourcefulness
– Persistence
From Theory to Practice - Practice
• Intervention Theory – Gather Useful Data
– Initial Advising Session
• Educational Experience
• Comfort with course content, such as math, writing
• Online experience
• Plan for enrollment – full-time, part-time
• Motivation for educational pursuit
From Theory to Practice - Practice
• Intervention Theory – Produce Free Choice
– Initial Advising Session
• Once information is gathered, create viable options
• Course selection
• Remediation
• Tutoring
• Explain implications of all choices, such as timeframes,
unsuccessfully completing courses, etc.
• Student then makes informed choice
From Theory to Practice - Practice
• Intervention Theory – Create Strong Internal Commitment to
Option Chosen
– Initial Advising Session
• Set up follow-up sessions
– During Follow-up Sessions
• Refer to motivation for pursuing education (Desire)
• Accountability for student in that deviations from plan
will result in difficulty of achieving stated goals
From Theory to Practice - Practice
•
Learner Autonomy
– Desire
• Motivation
– Initiative
• Contacted us and enrolled
– Resourcefulness
• Selected formal education as learning strategy
• We have an obligation to do what we can to make the student successful
– Persistence
• Ponton & Carr (2000) explain that individuals with high levels of self-efficacy tend
to persist longer on difficult tasks
From Theory to Practice - Practice
• Self-Efficacy
– Personal mastery experience
• Based on information gathered during IAS
• Practice course
– Peer mastery experience
• I did it, and if I can do it anyone can
• Others who have similar backgrounds have been successful
– Verbal persuasion/social encouragement
• System to refer to Success Center/Writing or Math Center
From Theory to Practice - Practice
•
Self-Efficacy
– Blackboard Practice Course (personal mastery)
• Provide opportunities to see the platform
• Interactive, allow students to turn in different types of assessments and
assignments
• Tutorials will work in concert, guide student through steps
– myCSU tutorial
» http://columbiasouthern.adobeconnect.com/p5sh8bxq4sb/
– Blackboard tutorial
» http://youtu.be/4bQ1r-G-ivA
• Academic Advisor is ready to assist during IAS and beyond
From Theory to Practice - Practice
• Self-Efficacy
– Relationship building (peer mastery/verbal persuasion)
• Initial Advising Session establishes relationship
• Commonalities between students are recognized (time
since last math class, same profession, etc.)
• When commonalities are identified, point out that
others in similar situations have been successful
• Stress that we are here to help and together we can get
them through it
From Theory to Practice - Practice
• Operations Focused Reports – Purpose
– Identify intervention points
– Establish standard processes for referring students to
resources
– Establish follow-up processes
From Theory to Practice - Practice
• Operations Focused Reports - Examples
– Students Struggling
– Unsuccessful Course Completion
– Not Enrolled
From Theory to Practice - Practice
•
•
•
Students Struggling
– Grades
– Participation
Unsuccessful Course Completion
– Withdraw
– Drop
– Failing grade
Not Enrolled
– Time parameters
– Successful or unsuccessful
From Theory to Practice - Practice
From Theory to Practice - Practice
From Theory to Practice - Practice
Call List Reasons
From Theory to Practice - Practice
Reached
From Theory to Practice - Practice
Not Reached
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Contact Summary
From Theory to Practice - Practice
• Theories of Operational Reports
– Intervention: Identified need for contact
– Self-Efficacy:
• Verbal Encouragement
• Identification and delivery of needed resources
– Autonomy
• Refer back to motivation for pursuing education (desire
leading to persistence)
From Theory to Practice - Practice
“Angela, thank you very much for the call
and support you have offered. To be
honest, I was a little apprehensive about
pursuing an online degree at 48 years of
age, however everyone I have
encountered, yourself included, has been
extremely helpful. So thank you so much.”
- Steven
“Just wanted to say thank you for all of the help
today!! I will be sure to contact you with any
questions that I may have through this process.”
- Chris
“It was nice speaking with you as well today.
Thank you so much for helping me. I really
appreciate it. And thank you for the degree
advisement. It really helps me out a lot.” Amber
“Thanks for the information, Brittney. I
think we’re off to a great start.” - Tiffany
From Theory to Practice - Practice
References
Argyris, C. (1970). Intervention theory and method: A behavioral science view. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman and
Company.
Ponton, M., & Carr, P. (2000). Understanding and promoting autonomy in self-directed learning. Current Research in
Social Psychology, 5(19), 271-284.
From Theory to Practice- Questions?
Bethany Marshall
Bethany.Marshall@columbiasouthern.edu
John Hargadon
John.Hargadon@columbiasouthern.edu