1. 2nd Annual Student Health and Welfare Conference
July 2013
Helping Online Students Succeed
Dr Cathy Stone, Director, Student Success
Open Universities Australia

2. About Open Universities Australia
• Offers open entry, online higher and tertiary education
• Over 250,000 students across Australia since 1993
• Owned by 7 Australian universities (Curtin, Griffith, Macquarie, Monash,
RMIT, Swinburne, UniSA)
• Offers over 1700 units and 180 qualifications from more than 20 higher
education and VET providers
• Qualifications awarded by the university or tertiary institution
• Qualification is identical to that awarded to an on-campus student

3. The OUA Community

4. Our students
are a very diverse
bunch!

5. Students by state
NSW
QLD
VIC SA
WA
ACT
TAS
NT
VIC, NSW, QLD
dominate, but all
states and territories
represented

6. How and what do our students study?
• FEE-Help
– Commonwealth scheme which allows deferred payment of fees.
– Over 70% of OUA students use FEE-HELP
• Wide range of units and courses:
• Arts & humanities
• Business
• Education
• Health
• Information Technology (IT)
• Law & justice
• Science & engineering
• Most common study pattern
– Students enrol in individual undergraduate units and can track towards
a full qualification.

7. • Relatively few come straight from school to study with OUA
• Mostly mature-age (>21), in paid employment and/or with
parenting responsibilities
• Around half of OUA students are first in family to come to
university
OUA students have multiple responsibilities, often with little
prior educational experience, combined with lack of time,
money or both….
OUA students “non-traditional”

8. Importance of student engagement
Student Engagement is closely linked
with student satisfaction & success
(Australasian Survey of Student Engagement; ACER, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Student engagement in educationally
purposeful activities is positively related
to academic outcomes.
(Kuh et al., 2008)

9. Online Student Engagement Challenges
• How do we engage with students in a meaningful way
when we never see them face-to-face?
• How do we help students engage with each other when
they never come together as a group?
• How do we engage them with a learning community
when they may be studying across two or more
institutions?

10. Engagement is the key!
Compensatory effect of student engagement for students
who are academically unprepared or first in their families to
go to college. (Kuh et al., 2008)

11. OUA students’ lifecycleOUA Student Engagement Cycle
Thinking about
study – is this
right for me?
Enrolling in the unit –
making a
commitment
Waiting to start –
reviewing
decision
Beginning
the unit -
transition
First 3 weeks (getting
to census date - Will I
keep going?
Completing the
unit – what
next?

12. Readiness for online study

13. Academic support services
PREP01 – Preparing for University Learning [10 weeks]
PREP02 – Preparing for e-Learning [self-paced, 26 weeks]
PREP03 – Preparing for University Learning [Intensive, 3
weeks]
PREP04 – Preparing for Academic Writing [6 weeks]
School leavers
Mature-age
students or
returning
students
First-generation
tertiary students
Students who
need to refresh
their academic
skills.
Who
are they
for
Preparing for Study - PREP units
Four units focussed on academic skills to help students
in their transition to tertiary studies

14. Academic support services
Online tutorial support through Smarthinking
• 24/7 online tutoring – 4 hours free support per unit studied
• Essay assistance - students submit a draft of their writing
(assignment) for feedback on structure
• Submit a question: Students post a question for e-structors to
respond to within 24 hours
• Live tutoring in a wide range of subject areas, both in live chat or
through a pre-scheduled session

15. Single sign-on to user-friendly site
1. Tabs for easy
access to
account
management
2. Breadcrumbs for
easy navigation
through the
available
services from
any individual
webpage
3. Section buttons
to easily
recognise the
services on offer

16. My Study Centre

17. Engaging via Social Media
• Use of electronic direct mail and social media to
keep students informed and engaged
OUA
Facebook page
OUA
Twitter feeds
OUA
YouTube videos

18. eDMs to welcome and inform

19. OUA Facebook
Updates on the
latest news from
OUA through daily
posts; participate
in regular trivia
games and
contribute to the
discussion
Chat with other
OUA students
and share
experiences
Access OUA
apps and benefit
from study tips
and additional
resources

20. Twitter feeds
Learn about …
new initiatives
student services
and much more…

21. YouTube videos
• informative
• instructional
• engaging
< Back

22. Personal Counselling & Career Guidance
• Appointment of full-time in-house Senior Wellbeing
Counsellor in 2012; providing telephone and Skype
counselling – developing e-counselling in 2013
• Online Career & Employment web site – resume writing,
interview skills, job seeking, self assessment tools

24. OUA Library Connect
• Developing partnerships with local libraries
• Piloted in NSW, now being extended into Victoria
Promoting to students resources/services that each
library is offering. e.g. one-off information sessions;
weekly drop-in sessions; computer classes etc.
Website: www.open.edu.au/libraryconnect
Targeted communication to students within the postcode
regions of participating libraries
OUA provides information/resources, training and ongoing
contact for each library involved

25. Outreach to new students – 3 levels of support
• Student Success Hub providing out-reach phone and email
contact
• Pilot through late 2012 and early 2013 – now expanded to ALL first
time students
• Level 1 – initial call within first 3 weeks of study period, to see
how student is settling in, identify any problem areas or
potential barriers and provide information to assist
• Level 2 – referral to ‘student coaches’ for mentoring, more
detailed information and advice
• Level 3 – referral to student counselling for more complex
personal issues

26. What difference do
these strategies
make to our
students?

27. Impact of PREP units
Start with a preparatory unit
Start with an undergraduate unit
F i n d i n g s :
Analysis of 2011 data demonstrates that studying a PREP unit prior to or
concurrently with an undergrad unit had a positive impact on students’
success, engagement and grades.
Student success:
Students starting with a
PEP unit 1.43 times
more likely to pass their
first undergrad unit
Student engagement:
High level of engagement
with LMS in PREP
correlates with higher
academic performance in
subsequent undergrad
unit

28. Impact of PREP units
C. Student grades:
students starting with a
PREP unit achieved
significantly higher
proportion of Ds and
HDs in both their first
and second unit after
PREP
GPA
Equivalent Grade
0
N (Fail)
1
P/CP (Pass, Conceded pass)
2
C (Credit)
3
D (Distinction)
4
HD (High distinction)

29. Impact of online tutorial support (SMT)
2011 data shows significantly positive effect on student academic
outcomes, particularly for new students.
 Pass rates are strikingly higher for
SMT users in ALL study periods, with
almost double the incidence of Ds
and HDs.
 In particular, new students who use
SMT are far more likely to pass their
first units.

30. Impact of Student Success Hub Pilot SP3 2012
Comparing 500 students who were ‘coached’ with 500
students in the control group, the following results were
demonstrated:
• Unit withdrawal rate (before census date)
halved
• Proportion of students passing their first
unit increased by 18%
• Student retention increased by 11%
(returning within two study periods)

31. Student Success Hub - Feedback
“Thank you for your call. It has made it easier to continue
knowing there is so much help about.”
“I have just looked at the research link you sent and there are
some things I have taken note of and will start using - thank
you so much. I was at first a bit worried about being "alone"
at home doing my degree, but there is so much help and
support it's just fantastic to allow a single mum like myself to
be able to do such a degree - thank you!”

32. Library Connect Feedback
• Was great to get feedback from other students on helpful tips to assist
with databases etc.
• Great having face-to-face contact and talking with other students about
their experiences.
• As a new online student I had found the research aspect of learning very
overwhelming. My session today helped me understand how to look up
and navigate around for my required articles and journals.
• I have found this helpful and encouraging especially the advisors and other
students helps to keep you focus and aware there are other online
students experiencing the same issues or have found ways to overcome
these issues. Love the communication.
• A great way to meet other students and discuss matters of study.

33. OUA Student Engagement Cycle
students’ lifecycle
Thinking
about study
Enrolling in
the unit
Waiting to
start
Beginning
the unit
First 3
weeks
Completing
the unit
R e s e a r c h i n g
Online Readiness & Career Advisor
(online, self-assessed tools)
My Study Centre
(OUA community & admin centre)
Preparatory unit
(understanding academic learning)
C o m m i t t i n g
Welcome
Advice and Information
R e v i e w i n g
Preparatory unit
(preparing for university)
My Study Centre & Social Media
(connecting with peers)
P e r f o r m i n g
Preparatory unit
(researching & writing skills)
Smarthinking
(inline tutorial support)
Student counselling
(online & phone support)
My Study Centre & Social
Media
(connecting with peers)
Student Success Hub
(help via student coaches)

34. Student success does not arise by chance.
It is the result of an intentional, structured,
and proactive set of strategies that are
coherent and systematic in nature and
carefully aligned to the same goal.
(Tinto, 2009)

35. Questions?