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Uniting The Campus Through An Online
Community: One Example
Jaja Jackson
President and Cofoudner
Mascot Networks, Inc.
Posted February, 23,
2001 Student
Affairs Online, 2 (Winter)
At colleges and universities across the country, a range of
factors - such as increasing student populations, greater financial
pressures on students, increased work schedules, and the expansion of
off-campus housing alternatives - have all converged to profoundly
shape the strategy and execution of effective student affairs
programs. As a result of these shifting dynamics, the social fabric
of the campus - what gives a college or university its own
distinctive flavor and culture - is under tremendous strain.
Technology: Dividing or Uniting?
The technology aspect of campuses also factors heavily into
student affairs. America's colleges and universities have long been
in the vanguard of Internet adoption - long before corporate America
took note. In fact, many campuses today are wired -- from residence
hall rooms to offices to labs -- with high-bandwidth connections. But
the rapid embrace of technology has also had an impact on the highly
valued aspects of campus life and a sense of community throughout the
college or university. Colleges thrive on the free exchange of ideas,
passionate discourse, campus sports, activities, and involvement of
all members of the community.
Anxious to prevent their student populations from splintering into
small groups of MP3-ripping, laptop-toting, Web-surfing,
e-mail-reading isolationists, college administrators are looking for
new ways to continue to foster a sense of community and keep the
thriving campus hubs alive - especially so, since the traditional
campus-bound student is less prevalent.
For many institutions of higher learning, the solution is to use
these same computer technologies to unite - rather than divide --
people. The central principle is to create an online campus intranet
community that offers information, news, and an opportunity to
interact that engages the entire college community -- students,
faculty, and administration. These virtual communities - or campus
portals - offer the ability for all students to stay in touch with
fellow classmates, faculty and staff, from any location at any time.
They are also valuable tools for the administration, saving
administrators time and money, while keeping them fully engaged with
their constituents.
The following user case study demonstrates how one such school has
successfully deployed a secure, password-protected campus portal for
their students.
Providence College: Greater Sense of Community
Providence College, a four-year private college of the liberal
arts and sciences, believes that its commitment to student
satisfaction and a vibrant campus environment meant that
communication among faculty, students, and staff should be a top
priority for the institution.
Providence deployed a secure campus portal service in the fall of
1999 through an outsourced provider. "We were excited that we could
deploy something 'out-of-the-box' that would add value to our
students right away," said Providence's executive director of
computer services, Becky Ramos. Not only is the service available to
all of its 3,600 undergraduates, but to its faculty and staff as
well.
Since its initial launch, the Providence community has been quick
to embrace the portal - but without burdening the college's IT
department. Currently, more than 70 percent of Providence undergrads
use the service. However, the IT group reports little impact on
either its staff resources or network bandwidth consumption.
Previously, if a Providence professor needed to send a message to
junior biology majors, it required the IT group to send a message to
all juniors. In an average week, the college's servers would process
40,000-50,000 e-mails for "broadcast messages." Providence's campus
portal service now enables the school to send targeted messages that
are relevant to recipients. As a result, groups and clubs have easier
and better communication. This new service replaces the individual
e-mail lists that club or association presidents might have to build
or maintain - and eliminates the need for paper flyers and telephone
chains as well.
The momentum for Providence College's campus portal is so strong
that its undergraduate Student Congress passed a resolution
encouraging faculty to use it as the primary means for communicating
with students.
Summary
For college administrators and deans seeking to ramp up their
student affairs programs, an online campus portal offers a compelling
opportunity to reach out to all members of the campus community,
increasing student satisfaction and retention.
However, in turning to online communities, many administrators are
quickly learning that there's more to the decision than simply
cobbling together a Web server and a few links. A campus portal
serving the needs of student affairs must be interactive, fostering
communication among all constituents of the school, and it must be
secure. College administrators must also carefully consider other
challenges before building one's own portal:
- security
- privacy
- budget
- staffing
- and integration with other systems (such as distance learning,
course registration, and scheduling).
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