Kansas State is developing a way in which distance education students can get basic degree audits quickly online that provide essential information (not necessarily a complete degree audit) to assist them with possibly making decisions about their academic future. "The idea is to create something that can run quickly in a split-screen environment, where a live online chat can be going on between an academic advisor and student while both [simultaneously] view the student’s data," says Shea.

Regis University has discovered that prospective or new online learners needing academic advice frequently utilize the first ten minutes of an academic advisement session asking questions about the institution and online learning itself. In the on-campus environment, however, academic advisors don’t have to deal with providing orientation-related information because it is customarily handled through special orientation programs that are typically presented by upper-class students.

Regis is working at moving such orientation responsibilities away from the academic advisor. Through the development of a series of orientation modules that work inside a student information system, technology will recognize when a prospective or new student has reached a certain level of inquiry and/or admissions and registration processing. An electronic flag will conclude when a student is ready for an appointment with an academic advisor. The technology will then send an automated electronic message to both the student and appropriate academic advisor. "It’s like smart technology that makes things happen without human interaction," says Shea. In the big picture, Regis is looking at this kind of electronic service to "go across the spectrum of a student’s relationship with an institution. [In line with this notion], Regis is designing orientation modules that are just-in-time, sort of like slow-release medication that a student can get when he or she needs it across a time frame rather than in one data dump, which is more typical of orientations."

The Kapi’olani-managed segment of the Beyond the Administrative Core project is also aligned with the concept of providing a wider, long-lasting spectrum of web-based services to online learners. By working on the development of the online tutoring component, the project has taken on new dimensions. "Kapi’olani started out by focusing on tutoring but figured out that they needed to more widely define tutoring," says Shea. "So they are calling it learning support services."

Working primarily in its health sciences, nursing and emergency medical services programs, Kapi’olani has discovered that the definition of tutoring can be broadly defined to include an array of student services geared toward helping a student succeed at the degree program level instead of just at the course level, says Mike Tagawa, dean of health/legal education, library, and technology.

Tagawa is currently testing the implementation of these broader online services to be used inside a campus portal that will eventually be driven by Campus Pipeline on Kapi’olani’s new, as-yet-to-be fully installed SCT student information system. For the time being, Tagawa is using a freeware product called metadot, which is an open-source community portal server platform, as his test bed.

"A portal enables us to create a program-based framework for managing learning support," he adds. So, in addition to providing the typical course-related, formal tutoring services, Kapi’olani is creating a portal where students can get online academic and orientation services as well as occupational profile testing and assessment services.

Through administering a computer-based workforce assessment product called Work Keys (by ACT) to its students, Kapi’olani discovered that many were lacking in certain areas, such as listening and observation skills and applied math skills. "So part of the process has become for us to figure out how to address these skills that are implicitly required by the program but not explicitly addressed by the program," Tagawa says.

Additionally, Kapi’olani is trying to leverage the technology to assist and empower the students to play a greater roll in providing self and peer assistance through the creation of informal online learning communication communities composed of students with similar academic and career interests.

Kapi’olani is basically weaving all these services together on a web portal in a way that makes sense for students, adds Shea.

The idea of weaving all kinds of technologically unique, personalized and customizable online student services modules working seamlessly beneath one student information system is what SCT has been working on since taking part in this project.

According to Peggi Munkittrick , SCT’s senior director, teaching and learning strategy, the evolution of SCT’s participation in the project has "made a huge impact on our (SCT’s) strategic direction."

Munkittrick claims that from communicating with the project’s partners, SCT came to the realization that what institutions were asking for was not another software application service added to the mix of many services already available to them, but instead they "needed to know how to choose a service and bring it onto their campus in a seamless way that could give their students reliable access."

That information helped lead to SCT’s development of a product called the "Connected Learning Solution," which Munkittrick says is an IMS-standards-based middleware product that enables integration of varied campus technologies.

According to information on the SCT website, the Connected learning Solution is a product being presented to the academic community by its Product Integration Alliance, which is comprised of SCT, WebCT, and Campus Pipeline, Inc. Munkittrick adds that since releasing this product in March 2001, close to 350 institutions have signed licensing agreements for SCT’s Connected Learning Solution.

Another area SCT is working on related to the WCET project is "enhancing the capabilities of academic advising that’s available to students through a web interface," says Munkittrick. Additionally, "we are looking at how we can provide an entire solution for e-education across the academic services, the administrative services, personal services and social services and move SCT from being a software company known for ERP systems to being a solutions company that offers a complete e-education infrastructure."