The Impact of Administrative Decisions on Online Education: A Three-Part Series
Welcome to our series exploring the crucial role administrative decisions play in shaping the online learning environment. This collection of articles delves into the experiences of students, faculty, and administrators to provide actionable strategies for improving online education. Let’s begin by focusing on the student experience.
How Academic Administrators Can Elevate the Student Experience
A meaningful online learning experience is the foundation of student success. While faculty-student interactions are critical, administrative support shapes the infrastructure that enables these interactions to thrive. Decisions made at the administrative level impact the experiences of students, faculty members, and the administrators themselves, whether for better or worse.
To a certain extent, the student experience in higher education is subjective because it’s heavily impacted by student–faculty interaction. However, building the appropriate infrastructure around these interactions can maximize the effect of positive interactions and mitigate the effect of negative experiences. Below, we’ve outlined four core areas of the online student experience and some steps administrators can take to enhance it.
Effective Orientation
Orientation refers to transitioning students into an online learning environment and preparing them for success in this modality. Although institutions can use a variety of methods to help onboard students, here are some steps for how to build an ideal infrastructure:
- Outline a common progression plan within all online degrees for students
- Identify all policies and procedures that students will be required to comply with
- Clearly and consistently communicate the online procedures throughout all courses
- Create a student orientation that contains tips and best practices for student success
Whether you follow the steps above or create a different path for orientation, what’s important is that students are set up for success from the moment they enter the online learning environment. By laying a solid foundation for students to build upon, administrators can help ensure that students ultimately achieve their goals.
Ongoing Support Systems
Support refers to how well an institution monitors and adapts to students’ academic needs as they progress through their degrees. Examples of support infrastructure at the course, program, and institutional levels can include:
- Revise policies where necessary to better support online students in their programs.
- Create tools and resources to effectively communicate policies
- Create and implement a detailed process for identifying, monitoring, and supporting at-risk online students through targeted interventions.
- Provide access to advising, tutoring, and career services for online students.
- Develop interventions for at-risk students through data-driven strategies.
- Ensure policies address the unique needs of online learners, such as flexible deadlines
Whereas orientation refers to setting up students for success at the beginning of their online program, support infrastructure ensures that students will be able to continue to succeed throughout their course or program. By implementing tools and resources that meet students’ changing needs, you help them maintain momentum as they make their way through their program.
Authenticity and Value
Students want to know the education they are paying for is worth the investment. Administrators should take steps to ensure that the online experience is equivalent to that of on-ground programs and unique in its own right. Examples include:
- Ensure all online offerings are properly accredited and eligible for appropriate financial aid benefits for students.
- Write or develop original content (not from a drafter) for each online offering.
- Maintain high-quality standards equivalent to on-campus programs.
- Facilitate meaningful student-faculty interactions that extend beyond course shells.
- Regularly evaluate and improve online offerings to reflect academic rigor.
By taking steps such as these, institutions can ensure that their online offerings meet quality standards and receive the same attention as their face-to-face alternatives.
Curriculum Maintenance and Relevance
Faculty members make iterative changes to their lesson plans each time they teach to adjust strategies that aren’t working or address new developments in their field. During online curriculum development, institutions should consistently monitor and update courses to ensure alignment with the changes occurring in the field and the needs of their students. Some steps administrators can take to meet this goal include:
- Incentivize faculty to keep courses updated with the latest industry practices.
- Use student feedback and performance data to guide curriculum improvements.
- Foster collaboration between faculty and administrators to maintain alignment with institutional goals.
By addressing these areas, institutions can create an engaging, supportive environment that enhances the online student experience.
Conclusion
The student experience in an online program is of critical importance. By providing students with what they need at the beginning of their program, meeting their ongoing needs throughout the program, investing in the authenticity and value of their experience, and maintaining an online program, administrators can guarantee an outstanding student experience.
For more information on how academic administrators can positively impact the online classroom experience, explore the other articles available in this series:
