Enhance Student Matriculation and Academic Success.
Objective 3.1
Provide more online learning opportunities.
Strategy 3.1.1: Establish an Online Education Council (OEC) of representatives from the colleges, library and other appropriate campus units led by an OEC coordinator appointed by the Office of the VPAA.
- Establish campus-wide Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for online education by end of Fall Semester 2011 (ongoing thereafter). The purpose of the SOP is to:
- Ensure adequate faculty development opportunities, including training in and encouragement of the development of hybrid/blended course development to ease facility scheduling.
- Ensure adequate student orientation and training, including an assessment of the student’s suitability for online courses.
- Investigate tutoring options for online students and make recommendations as appropriate.
- Consider relevant issues of technology, infrastructure and security.
- Evaluate and assess existing ASU courses and programs against current best practices, develop an evaluation instrument for the unique aspects related to online courses and develop an online catalog of online courses.
- Evaluate data on student retention and success with regard to online, hybrid and traditional classes.
- Establish benchmarks of ASU’s online course offerings by examining successful similar institutions or other academic organizations.
- Seek SACS approval for online courses.
Strategy 3.1.2: Conduct targeted marketing to relevant constituencies.
Objective 3.2
Increase the retention rate of students who enroll in the University.
Strategy 3.2.1: Enhance student connection and attachment and improve academic performance through academic, extra- and co-curricular and administrative initiatives.
- Expand and diversify student learning communities. Create a committee to develop and monitor current and future learning communities. Committee membership should include representatives from student services and academic affairs.
- Enrich the current First Year Experience for University Village residents to include increased academic support and extra- and co-curricular activities.
- Expand the current First Year Experience to include a variety of “blocks” of core courses and freshman seminars, supplemental instruction for courses with low success rates (such as ENGL 1101/1102, MATH 1111, BIOL 1107/1108, CHEM 1211/1212), student mentors, training for faculty and student mentors, proactive and engaged advisement and participation for the entire freshman year. Enhance connections and community with extra- and co-curricular activities suitable for the backgrounds, interests and goals of the students involved.
- Expand student work opportunities on campus.
- Establish effective communication campaigns to promote the knowledge of resources among specific target audiences. (Where possible, include use of existing social networking platforms like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter to enhance interaction with target audiences.)
- Reorganize management of web resources so that the information is and remains accurate and current.
- Expand web training programs for faculty and staff to ensure development of skills and technical knowledge.
- Develop departmental student handbooks with information about major(s) and tracks; advising processes and procedures, registration process and schedule, graduation requirements, departmental and faculty contact information and any other information necessary or helpful in understanding and navigating the department, getting access to resources and support, staying on pace and satisfying graduation requirements, or any other topic deemed relevant. These handbooks should be available in electronic form for easy access.
Strategy 3.2.2: Identify the needs of our at-risk student population and implement programs to enhance their retention and success.
Strategy 3.2.3: Enhance student success through exposure to diverse cultures and lifestyles through increased offerings in study abroad and study away.
- Fund fellowship opportunities for faculty members who are new to study abroad in order that they can travel and work with an experienced program director and develop skills needed to lead future programs.
- Provide additional support for site visits in order to allow ASU to grow study abroad into new and underserved areas, both geographically and academically.
- Provide increased scholarships and “sweat equity” matching funds to support study abroad opportunities.
- Seek increased funding for study abroad through external donors and grants, particularly in the area of strategic languages.
- Conduct a detailed study of the effects of study abroad experiences on student retention and graduation.
- Provide learning communities to students through multi-disciplinary study abroad experiences where colleges and departments cooperate to provide instruction in different areas while in the same study abroad or study away location.
