1. Virtual Orientation: Personalized Communities with Market Appeal Marcus P. Robinson Brian A. Young Educause 2001 Indianapolis, Indiana

2. VO: a Beginning Utilize technology to support and enhance community building and connected learning within the learning-living environment Facilitate and enrich student transition to college life Highly personalized, dynamic, interactive on-line educational and social orientation

3. VO: Three Years Young 1999: on-line course selection for incoming students created 2000: Math Placement Exam added, Virtual Room created 2001: current Virtual Orientation realized Announcements, FAQs, parent’s section Expanded academic resource information Language Placement Exams Personal profiles w/ messaging/chat capabilities Student services w/ interactive chats hosted by UD officials “Targeted” bookstore interface Customizable personal space Academic orientation to Humanities Base curriculum

4. Virtual Orientation robinsmp ******* With one quick log-in, the student receives personalized, targeted content

5. Virtual Orientation Points of Pride >

6. Virtual Orientation < UD Headlines

7. Virtual Orientation University-wide, division, major, and interest specific announcements

8. Click to save content for future reference > Virtual Orientation

9. Questions, answers, and more questions; with sorting based on student usage and interest

10. Virtual Orientation Submit a new question here

11. Descriptions, 1 st semester options, all available courses, faculty, and more

12. Virtual Orientation In-depth descriptions of major course of study >

13. Virtual Orientation Detailed summary of 1 st semester options >

14. Virtual Orientation All courses by major course of study >

15. Virtual Orientation A resource designed to address the concerns and questions of parents of incoming students

16. Virtual Orientation An on-line academic portfolio including student schedules, computer specs., and advisor info.

17. Virtual Orientation

18. Campus resources includes information on all student service offices indexed by building

19. Virtual Orientation No more long lines at the bookstore with on-line book purchase; based on student schedule

20. Virtual Orientation A customizable section with surveys, calendars, and more; the @UD Personal Space

21. Virtual Orientation Important dates and events >

22. Saved content > Virtual Orientation

23. Add a personal profile >

24. Virtual Orientation Virtual Room: live chats, move-in checklists, search capabilities, area business info., and much more

25. Virtual Orientation See actual room, and meet roommate(s) >

26. Virtual Orientation

27. VO: by the Numbers Site life-span: 20 weeks User population: ~1,750 99% of all incoming students logged-in ~4,000 log-ins/week; top 10 users: ~17 log- ins/week ~22 minutes/log-in 1,344 profiles posted; ~76.8% ~17,000 messages exchanged between students; ~9,600 chat sessions launched* 96.2% Windows; 2.7% Mac 92% IE; 7.2% Netscape *reported over 8-week period

28. VO: the Big Picture

29. Initial mailing sent: 897 deposited students Weeks 1 & 2

30. VO: the Big Picture Course Selection and Placement Exams available Weeks 3 - 5

31. VO: the Big Picture Targeted E-mails begin with site hooks Weeks 3 - 5

32. VO: the Big Picture Deposit deadline Week 6

33. VO: the Big Picture Campus Resources section available Weeks 7 - 9

34. VO: the Big Picture Continued Targeted E-mails with site hooks Weeks 7 - 9

35. VO: the Big Picture Course Schedules available Week 10

36. VO: the Big Picture Anticipation builds for Virtual Room; graduation Weeks 11 & 12

37. VO: the Big Picture Virtual Room, Bookstore Express available Week 13

38. VO: the Big Picture Usage levels out Weeks 14 & 15

39. VO: the Big Picture On-campus Orientation materials available Week 16

40. VO: the Big Picture Final Targeted E-mails w/ last minute information Weeks 18 & 19

41. VO: the Big Picture Log-ins compared with student messages sent

42. VO: Lessons Learned, Challenges Faced, and the Rest of the Story Enterprise-wide collaboration and buy-in is most essential success, and most challenging to achieve Content management will make or break you Personalization makes the difference Exercise constraint, and realize limitations (most likely not technological) Always consider the audience and the hook Sustain, sustain, sustain Quality control must be a high priority, with constant monitoring and evaluation Collect and analyze usage statistics and data continuously to anticipate problems and identify trends Be prepared for the unexpected Once you start, it won’t stop Done well, this can be a market differentiator

43. VO: Encouraging Recognition

44. VO: Thank You Marcus P. Robinson University of Dayton Marcus.Robinson@notes.udayton.edu Brian A. Young Hobart and William Smith Colleges BYoung@hws.edu Copyright Marcus P. Robinson, 2001. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.