Orientation Services

          Students often do not know what to expect in an online learning experience.  You can help them become comfortable in this new learning environment by providing a variety of online orientation tools. Your online orientation section is necessarily tied closely to information for prospective students; therefore, some useful information may overlap with that provided for students who are considering enrollment. 

          Once a student has committed to an online course or program, however, he or she may need more specific assistance, both personal help and technical support. (Be sure and provide clear links in the orientation section to technical support services.) Although the focus in this discussion is on developing online orientations for distance learners, online approaches can also be useful, of course, in orienting new on-campus students to the institution.  For an example, see (Community College of Southern Nevada).    

Good Practice Recommendations

·         Give a sense of what it is like to be a distance or online learner.  Describe the experience of learning online or at a distance.  Better yet, provide an online tour of a real or hypothetical course.  (National University)
 

·         Offer tips for success in an online environment.  Describe for new students some of the personal qualities and work habits they will need to succeed.  (University of Illinois)
 

·         Describe or link to all requirements, important policies, cost information, student services, and information on how to get help.  Put all relevant information in one place so that it will be easy for new students to find.  (Rio Salado College)
 

·         Define the technical knowledge needed and describe the steps to access online courses.  Participants are expected to have at least an elementary knowledge of their computer system and basic knowledge of software and tools such as a word processor, email, an Internet browser, and search engines. Provide all necessary information for new users on how to start “doing business” at the institution, including setting up an account and selecting software.  (University of Washington)
 

·         Link to all student services available to distance learners.  New students should know what services are available to them at a distance.  Keep this information highly visible.  (Washington State Community and Technical Colleges Online Consortium)