Cycle One
Cycle One Actions
A. Gain approval from my Director and Assistant Dean to begin providing online advising
B. Set up scheduled times to conduct online advising C. Make Community College Counselors and students aware of the online advising D. Figure out if the students like or dislike online advising E. Record the number of student contacts made through online advising. |
Artifacts CollectedI obtained permission from my Director Jun Wang and my Assistant Dean Dr. Ravishankur to create and administer a survey regarding social media use and communication to prospective transfer students that provided there contact information to me or my staff directly through transfer presentations and/or Transfer recruitment events. I also obtained authorization to begin online academic advising.
Link to the survey: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dF90VU5yX2dBR2x2ZUtpbFViUWhfdnc6MQ#gid=0 Once I got authorization I contacted all of my community college contacts via e-mail (some 300 counselors, advisors, and coordinators letting them know that I would begin to provide advising online. My partner schools (3 grant funded community colleges) responded back immediately setting up regular scheduled times for students to come in to STEM centers to use computers to meet with me via Facebook. It took some of the other schools a little bit longer. The first request I had from an advisor came from East Los Angeles Community College or ELAC. The advisor there asked me if I would be willing to CCC confer with her students and so I have been meeting with her students using this platform more frequently. |
Actions Continued...
Beginning February 1st through April 19th, I made myself available for academic advising through social media, specifically Facebook and Google + as well as through other online resources including CCC confer which is hosted for free by California Community colleges through Illuminate. I began with 4-hour intervals of “open appointment times for community college students to meet with me Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I later included the ability to set up appointments during other times outside of these. The scheduled times allowed for the Community Colleges to open up there STEM centers computer labs and record there students meetings with me if desired. It seemed many students preferred to not have the Community College Staff there listening to the session (mostly at RCC) and others just didn’t want to have to drive to the campus when they could meet with me from home or where ever else they might be.
Once the numbers of student participants began to grow I approached my boss about getting better computers and laptops with web cams. My Assistant Dean or bosses boss decided to approve purchasing this equipment. He has also allowed me to work from home more since I am able to VPN from anywhere and students can Facebook or Google + from anywhere. Through these actions my Assistant Dean sees the benefit of meeting with students via social media and is interested implementing more ideas regarding using technology in student services at UCR. He had my office host several International and other targeted student events using College Connection.
He has said we may revamp our department practices depending on my research and findings regarding increasing Transfer SIR’s.
Once the numbers of student participants began to grow I approached my boss about getting better computers and laptops with web cams. My Assistant Dean or bosses boss decided to approve purchasing this equipment. He has also allowed me to work from home more since I am able to VPN from anywhere and students can Facebook or Google + from anywhere. Through these actions my Assistant Dean sees the benefit of meeting with students via social media and is interested implementing more ideas regarding using technology in student services at UCR. He had my office host several International and other targeted student events using College Connection.
He has said we may revamp our department practices depending on my research and findings regarding increasing Transfer SIR’s.
Evidence to Be Evaluated
The first piece of evidence to be evaluated is the number of students met with before online advising compared to the number met with after online advising. The second piece will be the results of the “Social Media Use Questionnaire”.
Evaluation
I have been conducting advising through CCC confer, Facebook and Google + and e-mail for the past 2 months, February 1st- April 19th regularly. I will continue to do this until May 1st. When I will create my Cycle 2 report. I first started by setting a schedule for community college advisors to set up appointments with students but we found this to be problematic for some students and in order to be more flexible allowed students to set up individual appointments so they wouldn’t have to be on there campus to meet with us. My college was so happy with the increase in student contact they have already approved the purchase of new computers for other advisors to begin meeting with students online.
If you look at the table below (T1) you will see the number of students I met with over 3 months in the fall quarter compared to the inclusion of online advising over 2 months in winter/spring quarter. Previously fall was my busiest quarter due to the number of students applying or getting ready to apply. Through the use of social media and other online academic advising tools I increased the number of students contacted from 954 to 2315. This is growth of 1361 students or 40%. This data comparing the number of students met with before and after advising was done through social media and other online resources shows that students will participate in advising online.
If you look at the table below (T1) you will see the number of students I met with over 3 months in the fall quarter compared to the inclusion of online advising over 2 months in winter/spring quarter. Previously fall was my busiest quarter due to the number of students applying or getting ready to apply. Through the use of social media and other online academic advising tools I increased the number of students contacted from 954 to 2315. This is growth of 1361 students or 40%. This data comparing the number of students met with before and after advising was done through social media and other online resources shows that students will participate in advising online.
The second piece of evidence I collected was my survey. I sent out the link for the BCOE STEM Social Media Use Questionnaire through e-mail to 140 students (that had provided their e-mails to my office directly and not through a third party such as admissions or a Community College counselor) asking them to complete my survey. In the e-mail to the students I asked them to take a brief 10-minute survey to help STEM advising services at BCOE UCR.
At first I only received 24 responses out of 140 students. I approached my Assistant Dean for authorization to offer students the ability to be entered into a drawing to win a $20 UCR book- store gift card upon completion of the survey and he agreed. That e-mail was sent out, March 17th. Between March 17th and April 1st, I received another 67 responses for a total of 91 responses out of 140 students or 65% survey response rate.
Please click the link to the survey: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dF90VU5yX2dBR2x2ZUtpbFViUWhfdnc6MQ#gid=0
The tables T2 and T3 below show the evaluation of the data provided from the Social Media Use Questionnaire. This data suggests that students have a favorable view of receiving advising through social media and e-mail. Of the 91 students that participated in the survey 84 students or 92% said they would be willing to participate in advising through one of the tools listed in the table.
At first I only received 24 responses out of 140 students. I approached my Assistant Dean for authorization to offer students the ability to be entered into a drawing to win a $20 UCR book- store gift card upon completion of the survey and he agreed. That e-mail was sent out, March 17th. Between March 17th and April 1st, I received another 67 responses for a total of 91 responses out of 140 students or 65% survey response rate.
Please click the link to the survey: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dF90VU5yX2dBR2x2ZUtpbFViUWhfdnc6MQ#gid=0
The tables T2 and T3 below show the evaluation of the data provided from the Social Media Use Questionnaire. This data suggests that students have a favorable view of receiving advising through social media and e-mail. Of the 91 students that participated in the survey 84 students or 92% said they would be willing to participate in advising through one of the tools listed in the table.