Providing student services to online and distance learners is critical for numerous reasons. Students need a method of completing their transactions easily in order to be admitted and maintain consistent enrollment in their programs of study. Additionally, a key component of a successful distance learning program is ongoing and accessible advising for students. Accrediting bodies require that all students receive and have accessibility to student services. The method in which services are provided to distance learners are scrutinized even more closely. It is therefore crucial to ensure that your institution is meeting all required standards, as well as providing a quality and exceptional experience for all students.
If your institution has a significant online student population, as we do at Florida State College at Jacksonville, it can be a challenge to provide these services effectively. With the recent transformation of our college from a 2-year to a 4-year institution, it became even more important to ensure that the needs of our students were being met. Given this, the College created a virtual student success center called the Welcome Center.
Distance learners often have to figure out how to navigate through websites, catalogs, and different offices to reach the correct contacts to support their needs. The Welcome Center, created in 2009, is a new center where student services are delivered exclusively via phone and internet, thus meeting the needs of all students who choose not to come to a campus to receive services.
The mission of the Welcome Center is to provide exceptional student services to all new students and all online students to include initial contact, admissions, financial aid, advising, enrollment and registration, and other informational assistance by a single employee in a single interaction, with minimal transfer to other parties. Through the use of innovative technologies, the Welcome Center effectively supports the unique needs of its diverse learners as they transform their lives through the successful achievement of their educational goals.
The Welcome Center is open 7 days per week, until 7:00 p.m. most weeknights and weekends. The design of the Welcome Center includes 24 full-time and 10 part-time "Student Experience Associates" (similar to an advisor position); 3 Senior Student Experience Associates; 3 Shift Coordinators; and a Welcome Center Manager. Additionally, several new technologies were involved in the creation of this Center. In its first year, the Welcome Center received over 200,000 calls; received over 18,000 e-mails; and processed more than 29,000 documents.
This session will provide participants with an overview of how this center was created and offer suggestions for how to create this type of environment at their institutions, whether for a large, multi-campus institution such as our college, or for a smaller, single-campus institution. The tools and resources needed to develop a virtual student success center also will be discussed and exhibited. Specific topics include the following:
- Physical structure
- Staffing Plan
- Advisor Training Series
- Technology Software and Hardware (i.e., call center management software, extensive phone tree system)
- Electronic Workflow System (i.e., to ensure a paperless environment)
- 24/7 Knowledge Database (i.e., to assist students with navigation of website)
- Student Portal
- Data and Assessment Information
