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www.postersession.com Much research has been done confirming that an online student’s relationship with his or her collegiate institution is complex (Ross, Gallegher, & Macleod, 2013, p. 63), so it is important to understand how these students experience the services provided by the institution in order to meet their needs, and address areas in which student expectations are not met. This study asks, “How do online students experience student support services?” at a mid-size, Midwestern university, which offers various degree programs in a fully online format. Method Conclusions Online Student Experiences with Student Support Services Kaley R. Klaus DEPARTMENT OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES, FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY (FHSU) The results of this study suggest that Fort Hays State University provides adequate student support services for its online student population. Although, the Division of Student Affairs and Virtual College should consider a thorough satisfaction review of each of those services in order to fully understand the experiences each of the services’ components provide online students. Currently, the Division of Student Affairs offers student support services for both on-campus and online students in various areas; however, results indicate that the most important services online students wish to use are the Library, to collect resources for study, and the Computing and Telecommunications Center, to receive technical assistance during their online experience. The author recommends the Division of Student Affairs and Virtual College place emphasis on ensuring these two services are adequate and serve online students exceptionally. For the Library, it is recommended that all articles located in the online databases be made available in an online format to the student user with their university-issued account. Based on the sample of participants, the Computing and Telecommunications Center appears to be providing adequate services. Another suggestion would be to conduct a thorough evaluation of the services the Financial Aid office and Bookstore provides to online students. Given there were very mixed reviews on each of these services, it is encouraged each department perform satisfaction assessments with this specific population. Finally, a more thorough assessment of faculty advisors should be conducted by the institution to ensure online students’ primary form of contact with the University is exceptional. Introduction 24 respondents = 5% response rate On average, most important services: • Library • Computing & Telecommunications Center (CTC) On average, least important services: • Student Health Center • Center for Student Involvement The most commonly reported positive experiences were with the Financial Aid Office; however, this same office also had equally negative experiences reported. The Bookstore also received conflicting reviews in which some participants had positive experiences while others had negative experiences. The Academic Advising and Career Exploration office received primarily positive reviews, but individual faculty advisors, not associated with the office, were reported just as often as providing negative experiences. Only two respondents mentioned services they desire that the institution does not currently provide —increased activity with the Student Government Association, and assistance with scheduling clinical and proctor components, which are requirements of the Nursing degree program. Results Literature Review • An online course is defined as “one in which at least 80 percent of the course content is delivered online” (Allen & Seaman, 2014, p. 6). According to the Babson Research Group, which surveyed over 2,800 collegiate institutions, the fall 2012 semester is estimated to have served slightly over 7.1 million online learners in the United States, which was 33.5 percent of the total student population of degree-granting postsecondary institutions (2014). • Student support is defined as “the assistance and guidance that students are offered above and beyond the learning materials” (LaPadula, 2003, p. 119). Student support services not only enhance a student’s experience in post-secondary education (2003), but also contribute to the retention of students in fully online programs (Heyman, 2010). • The increase in the number of online students has forced higher education accrediting agencies to impose standards requiring institutions to provide the same student support services to online students as they do for on-campus students (Pullan, 2009). • The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges released a policy in 2000, edited in 2012, and reformatted in 2014, stating that in terms of student services, students should “have adequate access to the range of services appropriate to support the programs offered through distance and correspondence education” (p. 3). • The most important services for online students have been considered to be “registration and records, faculty advising, and libraries” (Dare, Zapata, & Thomas, 2005, p. 48). • Gaytan (2013) concluded that the third most important factor in online student retention was institutional support services, which included services such as: admissions, registration, financial aid, and tutoring. • Gould, Mason, and Degenhardt (2014) identified a few collegiate institutions with quality online student support services including, Oregon State University, St. Joseph’s College of Maine, University of Alabama, and Long Beach City College • Enrollment services, which, according to Noel-Levitz (2013), include “financial aid, course registration, and payment procedures” (p. 14), was rated the second most important factor for online students (2013). • Academic services, which include “advising, online library resources, tutoring services, and technical assistance” (Noel-Levitz, 2013, p. 14), were rated the third most important (2013); student services, which include “online career services, the bookstore, and responses to student requests” (p. 14) were rated the least important factors by respondents of the study (2013). This is a qualitative case study, which “investigates a contemporary phenomenon (the “case”) in its read-world context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context may not be clearly evident” (Yin, 2003, p. 2). For this study, the author took the “holistic single case” approach in which the case study examined a group of students’ experiences from only one collegiate institution (Baxter & Jack, 2008). Population FHSU full- or part-time online students (n=5,773) Sample 483 systematically, randomly selected online students from a database provided by the Division of Student Affairs. Method Qualitative, open-ended survey administered electronically via university-issued email. Instrument • Included informed consent agreement • Took respondents approximately 30-45 minutes to complete • Included questions using the critical incident research approach, which “focuses on behaviors that have been directly observed —but not necessarily observed by the auditors themselves” (Downs & Adrian, 2004, p. 159); the observations are made by the people who actually experience the services (2004). Data Analysis Guided by the case-oriented understanding, which aims to understand the point of view of participants surrounding a particular phenomenon (Schutt, 2014), the responses of the participants were categorized into various themes related to their experiences. The categories assisted in identifying which student support services at FHSU needing to enhance the quality of provision to online students. In addition, the results of this qualitative study may guide the potential creation of a quantitative survey instrument for each service provided, which would address the overall satisfaction of student support services with a generalizable online student population. Most students reported positive experiences with the student support services with which they have interacted. The 24 students who participated in this study were like those in previous studies in regard to which services they deem most important. Students in this study agreed that the most important services include the Library and Computing and Telecommunications Center, which is consistent with the academic services in the Noel-Levtiz Online Learning Priorities Report (2013); however, FHSU students felt these services were more important than enrollment services. The Admissions and Registrar offices were also noted as important to this sample of students, which is consistent with the Noel-Levitz Online Learners Priorities Report (2013). The four offices in which experiences were most frequently reported either positively or negatively included the Financial Aid Office, Academic Advising and Career Exploration, the Bookstore, and the Computing and Telecommunications Center. It is apparent the Financial Aid Office provides both positive and negative experiences specific to the student, whether it is in regard to aid appeals or answering questions over the phone; this office was given the most scrutiny. The Bookstore was also given conflicting reviews as it has provided both exceptionally positive experiences and also very negative experiences to online students. Given only two participants thought of services to add to FHSU’s current model of student support services, it is assumed all other participants are pleased with the types of services currently provided to the online student population; however, it is clear not all students have received the same experiences from these services. Discussion References Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2014). Grade change: Tracking online education in the United States. Babson Research Group & Quahog Research Group, LLC. Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4). Retrieved October 4, 2014, from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR13-4/baxter.pdf Dare, L. A., Zapata, L. P, & Thomas, A. G. (2005). Assessing the needs of distance learners: A student affairs perspective. New Directions for Student Services, 112, 39-54. Downs, C.W., & Adrian, A.D. (2004). Critical communication experience survey. In Assessing Organizational Communication: Strategic Communication Audits. (p. 158-172). New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Gaytan, J. (2013). Factors affecting student retention in online courses: Overcoming this critical problem. Career and Technical Education Research, 38(2), 147-155. Gould, L. V., Mason, T. A., & Degenhardt, K. D. (2014). Adult Learners, the Internet, and the Support Service Challenge. In Culp, M. M. & Dungy, G. J. (Eds.), Increasing Adult Learner Persistence and Completion Rates (pp. 91-112), Washington D.C.: NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. Heyman, E. (2010). Overcoming student retention issues in higher education online programs. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 13(4). Retrieved October 3, 2014, from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter134/heyman134.html LaPadula, M. (2003). A comprehensive look at online student support services for distance learners. The American Journal of Distance Education, 17(2), 199-128. Noel-Levitz. (2013). 2013 national online learners priorities report. Coralville, Iowa: Author. Retrieved September 7, 2014, from www.noellevitz.com/Benchmark. Pullan, M.C. (2009). Student support services for millennial undergraduates. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 38(2), 235-251. Ross, J., Gallegher, M. S., & Macleod, H. (2013). Making distance visible: Assembling nearness in an online distance learning programme. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 14(4), 51-66. Schutt, R. K. (2014). Investigating the social world: The process and practice of research (8th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. (2014). Distance and correspondence education policy statement. Decatur, Georgia: Author. Taylor, B., & Holley, K. (2009). Providing academic and support services to students enrolled in online degree programs. College Student Affairs Journal, 28(1), 81-102. Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Division of Student Affairs, specifically the preceding Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Tisa Mason, as well as the Director of the Virtual College, Dennis King, for their assistance in this project. Also, my professor, Dr. Brent Geortzen for providing support throughout the development of this project from start to finish.
