eStudent Services: A Look at Lorain County Community College

Amy Calapa © 2015

Overview of eStudent Services What are eStudent Services?

Resources and/or support systems that are fully online.

Who do they serve? Any student, whether the student is taking online or in-

person courses.

How are they structured? Clear information on the website may utilize various technologies and software (chat,

email, videos, video chat, collaborative function, social media, LMSs, etc).

May be asynchronous or synchronous

Purpose of eStudent Services To provide easily accessible information,

support and engagement with the learning experience to promote student success

To remove potential barriers to the success of learners (i.e. difficulties with navigating the educational system, access to academic information/support)

Allows learners to access help when they need it; even if the traditional methods of receiving assistance are not available (i.e. at night or from a distance)

Types of eStudent Services Enrollment Management services (Admissions,

Registrar’s, Bursar’s, Financial Aid) Example: ability to chat with an Admissions Counselor live

Advising services (academic/career advising, counseling) Example: Skype appointments with an academic advisor

Academic services (tutoring, library resources, bookstore) Example: Online on-demand tutoring, or video based

instruction Student Affairs services (orientation, engagement)

Example: creating engagement experiences through social media

Technology support services Example: video tutorials for LMS

Lorain County Community College (LCCC)

A community college located in Lorain, Ohio that offers an array of associate degree and certificate programs, University partnerships, and MyUniversity for high school students.

To learn more watch this video introducing you to LCCC and its community impact.

LCCC eStudent Services (slide 1 of 3) Admissions & Transfer: Live chat and

online application, and information

Advising & Counseling: Live chat & email, academic withdrawal brochure, Academic requirements & My Planner interactive tools

Distance Learning Team/Resources: Live Chat function and other resources

LCCC eStudent Services (slide 2 of 3) Academic Support Center: Online tutoring,

math worksheets, links to outside resources (i.e. Noodle Tools, Khan Academy)

Career Services: My Plan (career assessments, etc.), Career Coach, career workshop materials

Financial Aid: FAFSA resources, instructions and tools

Financial literacy: planning resources

LCCC eStudent Services (slide 3 of 3)

LMS: Canvas 24 hour support, online student guides

My Campus: student portal overview and tutorials Orientation: New Student Online Orientation

Student Success presentation

Library Services: online access to books, journals etc., Ask a Librarian function, Distance Learning Library Services, books delivered to your home

Ease of Use More than one office has at least a small focus on

eStudent Services (i.e. Admission, Advising, Financial Aid, Bookstore, Library).

Website has a lot of good, useful information on the site with contact information for the various offices

Many offices of live chat, or even text services (Library)

The tutorials seem comprehensive for those having problems with Canvas or the My Campus portal

Orientation program includes various short videos which makes the orientation engaging and shares actual people to connect with and “see” during the online experience

ConcernsThe LCCC website is: Text-heavy. Each student services related website had

a lot of text, which is hard to read through and is not appropriate for the “fast paced, short attention span” generation

The design is archaic and outdated. There design is difficult to navigate and unpleasing to the eye. A more updated design with easily navigable links and content based menus would make the information for accessible.

The eStudent Services are scattered in various locations: Users must dig through the website. There is not one

place users can go to access all the available online student services.

Recommendations Update the technology of the website to a more modern

feel using less text on each page, easily navigable menus organized by content/subject.

Utilize more videos tutorials/explanations in place of website text or text heavy documents

Consider using virtual communication systems like Skype or other software for advising meetings & other forms of communication

Create a link easily accessible on the main page, or the distance learning website on all available 100% online students services

All workshops advertised were in person. Resources from workshops were published online. Consider webinar workshops for distance learners.

References Lorain County Community College. (2015). Homepage. Retrieved from http://www.lorainccc.edu/

Thackaberry, S. (n.d.). Virtual student support services. [curated content]. Retrieved from http://learni.st/users/sashatberr/boards/85611-virtual-student-support-services