1. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A
MANDATORY STUDENT SUCCESS
ORIENTATION COURSE AND
PERSISTENCE OF ONLINE STUDENTS
DR. JEFF HALL
PROFESSOR/LEAD FACULTY
MORGAN JOHNSON
DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTIONAL
SERVICES

2. ICEBREAKER
Three Minute Brainstorm:
How is orientation different for online vs. traditional students?

3. PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Jeff Hall:
About Ashford University
Rationale, purpose, structure, components, and future of orientation
Morgan Johnson:
Assessments in Orientation
Persistence Data
Prediction Models
Quality Assurance

4. ABOUT ASHFORD UNIVERSITY
•Mount St. Clare College (1918) - Sisters of St. Francis in Clinton, Iowa
•Acquired by Bridgepoint Education in 2005 and renamed Ashford University
•Large proprietary institution, enrollment > 80,000; HLC Accreditation
•Traditional campus in Iowa; 98% of students online
• Open Admissions
•FT faculty in Iowa, Denver, and San Diego

5. RATIONALE FOR ORIENTATION
•Open admissions = Greater risk of attrition
•Provide students a no-cost, risk-free opportunity to explore online learning and
experience the Ashford University classroom
•Allows students to self-reflect on their readiness for online learning
•Gives students time to decide whether Ashford is the right university for them
•Could affect persistence rates in two ways:
1. Students can opt-out and not enroll in first course: EXP 105.
2. Filter out students who are not ready/committed

6. PURPOSE OF
ORIENTATION
• Provide a warm welcome – First faculty contact
• Help students become comfortable with the concept of online
learning and navigation of the online classroom
• Foster a sense of community that facilitates academic success
• Provide instructive, individualized, and personal feedback
• Challenge students to think, reflect, learn, and grow
• Continually remind students that “Graduation Begins Today!”

7. STRUCTURE OF ORIENTATION
•11 day online experience
•Limited to students in one college with <24 transfer credits
•Closely mimics structure of typical Ashford course
•Faculty driven (part-time faculty cohort)
•Interaction with peers (40 student cap)
•Non-graded (Pass/Not Pass) – Requires subjectivity from faculty
•Emphasis: Readiness & Reflection

8. COMPONENTS OF ORIENTATION
Continually evolving course - Incremental Changes
October 2011
•Introduction Discussion Board
•SmarterMeasure Readiness Assessment & Reflection
•English Proficiency Assessment
•Time Management Activity & Discussion
•13 question quiz – 100% required
•Academic Dishonesty reflection & submission to Turnitin
January 2012 – Present
•Introduction Discussion Board
•SmarterMeasure Readiness Assessment & Reflection
•Ashford Library/Writing Center Discussion
•10 question quiz – 80% required
•Self-reflection describing challenges & knowledge gained in Orientation

9. FUTURE OF ORIENTATION
June 2012
•Introduction
•SmarterMeasure Readiness Assessment & Reflection
•Writing Readiness Assessment created by SmarterMeasure
•Time Management discussion moved to EXP 105
•Ashford Library/Writing Center Discussion
•10 question quiz – 80% required
•Self-reflection describing challenges & knowledge gained in Orientation
•Roll out to additional colleges (Liberal Arts: July, 2012; Ed. & Bus. after)
•Continual assessment and tweaking

10. Orientation
Assessment
&
Research

11. ENGLISH PROFICIENCY EXAM
• What did it predict? Orientation course metrics are indicative of
students’ current and future performance. English Proficiency score is
predictive of both Orientation completion and first course (EXP 105)
grade.
• Why did we get rid of it? Assessment vs. reflection tool, no
immediate intervention.
• What could we be doing with the results? Will be reintroducing
a SmarterMeasure writing readiness assessment that provides reflective
exercises and immediate feedback.

12. ENGLISH PROFICIENCY EXAM
Students who pass orientation Students who successfully complete first course
course have higher have higher average scores on English test.
average score in English English test score explains 2% of the total
Proficiency test. variation of EXP105 grade points.
*Provided by BPE Data Analytics

13. SMARTERMEASURE: STUDENT
READINESS Know which
students are at
risk of not doing
well at online
learning.
Provide
resources to
help online
Student Know which
students are a
students
succeed.
Readiness good fit for
online learning.
Have a dialogue
with students
about learning
online.

14. SMARTERMEASURE IN
ORIENTATION
• A 124 item online skills test and attributes inventory that
measures a student’s level of readiness for studying online
• Key indicators:
•Individual Attributes – Motivation, Procrastination, Ask For
Help
•Learning Styles
•Technical Skills & Competency
•On-Screen Reading Rate & Recall
•Typing Rate & Accuracy
•Life Factors – Time, Place, Resources

15. SMARTERMEASURE AND
ORIENTATION COURSE OUTCOME
Students who do not complete orientation (Final grade = unknown) have different
distribution in Personal Attributes and Life Factor scores.
*Provided by BPE Data Analytics

16. ORIENTATION RESULTS AND
IMPACT ON PERSISTENCE
• Orientation course metrics are indicative of students’ current and future
performance:
 English Proficiency score is predictive of both Orientation completion and
EXP105 grade.
 Life Factors and Personal Attributes are most indicative of a student’s ability to
progress through the Orientation course.
 Tech Competency, Reading, and Tech Knowledge are most correlated with
EXP105 success.
 Life Factors and Personal Attributes are the only two measurements that
correlate with EXP105 engagement.

17. FIRST COURSE COMPARISON
Orientation cohort has a higher success rate than other cohorts.
*Provided by BPE Data Analytics

18. FIRST COURSE COMPARISON
Orientation completers have higher grade point averages in EXP 105 and are more
engaged (time spent online) than other students.
*Provided by BPE Data Analytics

19. PREDICTIVE MODELING
“REAL” Intervention:
 Reading: Average number of times the student accesses
digital course materials per day.
 Engagement: Average amount of minutes the student is
accessing the online classroom per day.
 Assignments: Current course grade based on graded
assignments.
 Logins: Number of days since the student last posted
attendance by submitting a gradable assignment.

20. PREDICTIVE MODELING
High
Risk
Target Medium Academic intervention has had
students Risk most impact on students that
that need fall into medium-risk
additional
support for
academic Low
success Risk

21. QUALITY CONTROL
• A team of dedicated professionals support faculty in all courses, including Orientation
Support
Faculty
Instructional
Specialist
Monitor Facilitate
Faculty Academic
Performance Issues

22. CONCLUSION
• Does Orientation filter?
Yes, given the evidence.
• Does it better prepare students for success?
Inconclusive thus far, but we’d like to think so!

23. Q&A