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Online Academic Advising: The Capella Model
Dr. Ted
Maday
School of Education and Professional Development
Capella University
Posted: May, 11, 2001 Student
Affairs Online, 2 (Spring)
There's no standing still when it comes to learning. Professionals
in every field are continually challenged to build on their knowledge
and skill levels. Capella
University, a fully accredited online institution, recognizes
that adult learners are active partners in the design and
implementation of their academic experience. Capella University is
dedicated to helping working adults integrate relevant, advanced
studies in their lives. Central to the learning experience are
collaborative relationships in which the learner receives a level of
personal attention and individualized support not found in many
traditional programs. Recognizing this unique commitment to its
learners, Capella University employed online Masters Degree Academic
Advisors to individualize further its commitment to provide learners
with "a profound learning experience." This paper documents the
unique collaborative effort between Learner Services and Enrollment
Services to admit, enroll, advise, and retain new online Masters
Degree learners to Capella University.
Can effective advising take place for distance learners? Most
definitely! Academic advising should be available to distance
learners at the same level it is for a traditional campus setting.
Ohio University has been advising students at a distance for nearly a
quarter of a century first through letters and telephone calls; later
came e-mails and the web. Capella University has been providing
advising services to it learners since the beginning of the
institution in 1993. In 2000, Capella took a different approach to
its previous advising model by hiring its first fulltime online
academic advisors for each of the five schools.
Advisors were hired that were familiar with the academic
requirements and career opportunities for the field in each of their
respective schools. Training was provided to the advisors on the
university's policies and procedures. Practical information was
shared on adult learners and communications with them. All new online
Masters Degree learners were assigned to the new advisors. The
advisors share responsibility for advising with the learner, an
essential part of building a relationship for learner and adviser.
Most learners expect responses to questions about schedules, courses,
and policies and procedures. But, a good advising model encourages
learners to look to the future and formulate answers to their
educational and career goals.
Shared responsibility and collaborative effort are important at
the institutional level. Making and building connections at all
levels of the university encourage learners to be responsible for
their educational program thereby remaining in their program of
study. Not only are the individuals responsible for this
collaborative effort but the institution must also lend its
support.
Capella University recognized the need to connect the learners to
the institution from the time that learners enrolled until they began
work in their first course. A number of learners were dropping from
the program of study prior to the beginning of their initial course.
A university-wide discussion was begun to determine a possible
solution to this concern. Learners seemed to be entering a "black
hole" from the time they were admitted to Capella until their first
online course experience. Because of the lack of personal contact,
some learners changed their mind and dropped out of the program. A
collaborative effort to support these learners was attempted in the
School of Education and Professional Development when Enrollment
Services and Learner Services combined their efforts to meet the
needs of new learners. The preliminary results indicate success for
the learners as well as success for the institution.
Assistant Enrollment Directors Melissa Hinton and Stacey Barenbaum
for the School of Education and Professional Development and Ted
Maday, Faculty Associate/Academic Advisor from Learner Services
worked cooperatively and collaboratively to meet the needs of new
online Masters Degree learners by maintaining contact through a New
Learner Webboard. Stacey and Melissa make the initial enrollment
contacts with prospective learners. They take the learners through
the enrollment and admission steps. Once the new learners files are
complete, the information is sent to the Dean of the School of
Education and Professional Development for formal approval for
admission to Capella University. After being admitted, the learner's
information is entered in the university's database. Ted is informed
of the admission decision. He makes contact with the new learners
introducing himself as their academic advisor, welcoming the learner
to Capella University, and encouraging each to enroll for online
courses. Melissa or Stacey also contact the new learner encouraging
them to enroll so that the learner may join in the discussions and
"community building" that are happening on the New Learner Webboard.
Initial indications suggest that learners are enrolling within one
day of this contact.
After being enrolled in online courses, new learners receive a
User Name and Password from Capella University, which are necessary
for access to the New Learner Webboard. New learners are entered on
the webboard where they are able to participate fully in threaded
discussions, post questions, master the Practice Course, search the
library, order texts and materials from the bookstore, or just build
community by getting to know the other new learners. In distance
education, developing a sense of community within the group of
participants is important to make the learning process successful.
Melissa, Stacey, and Ted post information to the webboard, at least
two or three times a week, and monitor the discussions in order to
respond to learners' questions. It takes a minimal amount of time
each week to manage the webboard since it is a shared responsibility.
New learners become familiar with how their online courses will
function as they use their Password and User Name to access the
webboard as well as the online courses. The threaded discussion on
the webboard is similar to the threaded discussion in the CourseRoom.
The fear of technology challenges and the unfamiliarity of online
learning are reduced through the activities of the webboard.
Barbara Smith, an online learner in the School of Education and
Professional Development sent the following message
I love the fact that you three are collaborating your
talents to benefit the learners. Everyone is very helpful and
friendly at Capella. I mentioned to one of the three of you on the
phone, that I felt as though we know each other, like a friend.
I've never had that experience with someone I haven't met with
face to face. Maybe you should consider yourselves the "Three
Collaborators from Capella". You really have worked together and
communicated well, encouraged and supported my new endeavor of
taking on-line classes, and led me through the registration
process. Nowhere has this support been offered to me when signing
up for classes that I've attended in the traditional manner.
Another learner that asked not to be identified stated
I have been tremendously impressed with the
personalized attention and constant feedback from Capella.
Melissa, Stacey and yourself have been so helpful, even in the
difficult situations as over Christmas break. I always feel I have
support and can get answers in a timely manner. And, as a fellow
college administrator knowing what it takes to provide such
service, I commend your organization for the excellent student
services and the wonderful faculty I have learned from-faculty who
respect that I am an adult learner and a member of the educational
field.
With the feedback from our learners and the continued support of
the administration at Capella University, our proactive retention
effort should provide positive results for the learners and the
university.
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