The face of the typical online student is ever changing. A distance student may be fresh out of high school, the baby-boomer seeking new skills, the professional seeking a promotion or the student juggling work, home and social demands. Academic success for these students is due to various factors. They are motivated and focused but could be left out of the social climate that greatly contributes to academic success.

The National Center for Education Statistics conducted a study of Distance Education courses and offerings for the 2000-2001 academic years. The study found “an estimated 2,876,000 enrollments in college-level, credit-granting distance education courses, with 82 percent of these at the undergraduate level.” With enrollment rates continuously rising, online learner needs are growing as well. It is hard for online students to feel connected to the institution.

Currently, retention in online courses is dramatically lower than in the typical face-to-face class. “One explanation for high dropout rates and dissatisfaction with distance delivered courses may relate to a missing sense of community in non face-to-face courses. In discussing the importance of interactivity, DeVries & Wheeler (1996) discuss the lack of face-to-face contact as a major barrier for distance education” (qtd. in Hill).

Development

A virtual student center can be defined simply as a center for student activities that take place in an online environment. The importance of such a site is to minimize the gap between online learners and the lack of student activities offered to them. Most colleges and universities have become involved in offering online student services such as admissions and financial aid but limited institutions offer student activities.

There must be formation of a team and a vision for the center since several people will be involved in creating a virtual student center. This involvement is dependent on the size of the institution, the number of students enrolled, and the cooperation of faculty and staff. People involved include, but are not limited to, the club advisors, IT staff, Administrators, and the Distance Education staff. This project can be a benefit to all students, but the focus will be on the distance education student.

Creating a timeline and defining the scope of the project is the next step. Some institutions may want to begin with placing some type of information out right away while some may want to launch the center once completed. A timeline comes in handy so that all persons involved will know deadlines and important dates. The center can be a lengthy process depending on how intricate the institution would like it to be.

General Outreach Information

Creating a communication bridge is vital to the success of a virtual student center. The initial outreach to students does not need to be excessive, but available and reliable. Once the student center is fully functional, promoting the site will be the next step needed. How can promotion happen?

• Create a student newspaper in an online format. (www.onlinestudentsupport.org/monograph/news.htm)
• Use the institution’s website for special announcements and to create potential interest in off-campus learners.
• Provide contact information for various departments to give the online learner support. Appointing a contact person for every department or club creates a sense of connection for the student. A centralized area where students can access contacts and numbers would be ideal.
  

Delivery Options

How to execute the delivery of the virtual student center is an institutional decision. The type of delivery chosen depends on the needs and the guidelines set forth by the institution.

Questions to keep in mind include: Will the institution house and take responsibility for the content of the site? Is there enough server space to house it on the institution’s website? Is the student center something that needs to be outsourced? Should it be created on an existing site? What costs will come with hosting internally or externally?

Some examples of delivery methods that can be used to set up community space for students to share similar interests:

• Facebook: www.facebook.com (An external site with limited institutional control of content.)
• MySpace: www.myspace.com (An external site with no institutional control over content. Many students are already using this.)
• Wiki: www.wikispaces.com (Little institutional control over content or information presented, unless housed on institutional server.)
• Blogs: www.blogger.com (High level of control over content. Most users are familiar with blogs.)
• Google, Yahoo! and MSN groups for specific career tracks. These could continue after the students have graduated since the membership in these groups is not limited to students.
• Commercial student support management systems.
• Institution web site (Absolute control over content. A good deal of marketing required to draw users.)
• Course management software (Blackboard/WebCT)

Determining the Needs of the Student

As the delivery method is determined, the needs of the students should be assessed. Identify areas of interest by creating a survey tool, initiating mass e-mail, or generating a form to supplement the registration process for suggestions for the virtual student center. There are many activities that institutions can implement to provide a sense of community to this growing population. Selecting the “right” fit for each student population is the key to success. As a starting point the institution may want to review activities that are offered face-to-face and determine if any of these are appropriate for online activities.

The following examples are just some of the types of activities that could be offered online:

• Student Government
• Fantasy Sports
• Specific Interest Venues:
  • Chat
  • Forums
  • Blogs
  • Marketplace
  • Faith-based Organizations
• Advice
  • How to prepare for an interview
  • How to complete resume
  • Dating
  • Fashion
  • Parenting
  • Study Skills

Foothill College of Los Altos Hills, California has created a Virtual Campus Center for their students. The Virtual Campus Center is a campus wide tool for both on campus and off campus students. The center offers important information on its main page such as events and student services hours. The site contains quick links to other departments ranging from Admissions to Employment Services. Foothill College offers a Book Exchange where students can go online and list any books they no longer need, to be exchanged with other students that may have a book they now need. Another option they offer is the Alumni List where students can enroll to stay in contact with fellow classmates once graduated. This helps to keep the sense of connection with their college even if they were off campus students.

Washington State University has created ASWSUDDP, Associated Student of Washington State University Distance Degree Programs to provide a variety of services to distance students. The organization has a senate committee that meets online every first and third Wednesday of the month at a specific time in their online meeting center area. This allows distance students to join the meeting and voice any concern they may have and keep up to date with any new initiatives. The senate holds “office hours” in their online meeting center as well. In an effort to provide communication they offer message boards for student to student conversation. There are several committees that distance students can join as well. These include the election committee and the events planning committee. ASWSUDDP has implemented an Alumni Mentoring Program for distance graduates to assist entering or returning distance students.

From the development phase, appropriate individuals can be selected to monitor or sponsor the online activities of the various clubs and organizations. This selection process is critical. The person should possess a passion for the club and be able to convey that feeling in an online environment. They should be able to inject humor and practical ideas to keep the interest of the students, thereby keeping the site active.

Planning

A virtual student center is only as effective as the users and the creators help it become. Creating scenarios and brainstorming any requirements or issues that may occur will help prevent future obstacles. Any bumps in the road that can be avoided before full implementation will provide a smoother launch of the center.

Marketing

Once the student center is created, marketing programs need to be put in place. If the correct marketing of the center does not occur then the center will not be used. Ways to accomplish this include:

• Announcements on the institution’s main website
• Including information with registration forms
• Mass e-mail
• WebCT/Blackboard Announcements

Building a Safe Virtual Environment

One example would be an online marketplace where students could buy, sell, trade, or inform. With hundreds of participants selling anything from couches to textbooks, it could quickly become a part of the site where students go. As in business, those offering services will go to where the potential customers are to convey information or advertise. It could also be misused if not monitored.

An online advice blog could be even riskier. Bad advice, given either through malice or ignorance might be followed to the detriment of a student’s health and safety. Forums of this type must be closely monitored by trained and qualified staff members. It is up to the ingenuity of each institution’s staff to engineer the right type of student center for their school.
The main objective of having a virtual student center is to engage the student. When and how to market the service is key to it’s success. Students will enjoy a safe environment that provides meaningful and entertaining experiences. With so much information and features that can be added to the virtual student center a clear framework is needed. The information needs to be updated often; having a virtual student center with outdated content is not effective, will frustrate students looking for information, and lose participation quickly. President of Global Learning Online for Business and Education, Richard Skinner states:
Students today do everything from research to shopping online-all with a high degree of customer service-and their experiences are translating into a new set of demands and expectations for universities. They want information accessible online that is up to date, timely, personal, and rich (qtd. in Everheart).

Technology

Technology must also be taken into consideration when choosing the student activities. If an institution does not have the means or the funds to obtain the technology necessary then an alternate route must be established or the activity must be put aside until it can be provided properly.

Technology is advancing every day, but this can be frustrating for the student. Generating a site that can be accessible and easily navigated by all students is ideal, but sometimes technology can work against a student. To overcome this obstacle, create a site that does not need many plug-ins or third-party software applications to run correctly. If a site does need software such as Java or Flash, create tutorials to run students through installing these applications. An easily navigable home page will allow the student to fully benefit from the virtual student center and minimize stress for the learner.

Implementation

Once the virtual student center is ready there are several steps the institution can do to create a successful implementation.

Training

Implementing the virtual student center requires training of users and staff that will be monitoring this area to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for students. Having an area within the center with clearly stated rules and regulations for the usage of the center will provide all users the necessary information to participate responsibly.

Testing

A pilot with a small amount of students may be necessary. By piloting the center, students can provide feedback on what needs to be changed and on what works. Then, launch the virtual student center!

Assessment

Once the exciting step of launching is complete, the project is still not done and if successful never will be. A continuance of updating and adding must exist to keep the center up to date and fresh. Trainings must be continued for new and existing staff. An area for feedback to improve the center will become very useful. It is through this that the institution will be aware of problems, new requests, and of course successes.

Conclusion

Traditional students often benefit from exchanging ideas and interacting with others that have similar interests. They join clubs and participate in various activities, and institutions are beginning to recognize that we are not providing the “social environment” for online learners. Classes offered via electronic delivery are becoming more and more a way of life for students. Online classes have proven they are not a trend and are here to stay. Currently many institutions are providing online student services and are slowly providing student activities to the ever growing community of online learners. Fostering a sense of community for distance students provides both an intellectual and emotional investment in the learning process and will therefore provide more services to an ever growing genre of students.

Resources

Hill, Janette R. and Arjan Raven. "Online Learning Communities: If You Build Them, Will They Stay?." 10 Oct. 2000. ITFORUM. <http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/paper46/paper46.htm>.

National Center for Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/peqis/publications/2003017/index.asp

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
http://www.wiche.edu/Telecom/resources/publications/

Everheart, Rodney L. "Satisfying Student Expectations: Connected Learning Envirnoments." The Technology Source March/April 2001. UNC School of Public Health. 3 July 2007. <http://technologysource.org/article/satisfying_student_expectations/>.