communications communications Service Task Force Final Report President’s Emerging Leaders Electronic Communications with Students Team (PEL ECS)

communications communications Current Challenge Determine the extent of the perceived problem of students not reading s sent by the UniversityDetermine the extent of the perceived problem of students not reading s sent by the University Examine the potential of developing the University’s portal(s) as either a secondary or possible primary mode of communication with studentsExamine the potential of developing the University’s portal(s) as either a secondary or possible primary mode of communication with students

communications communications Interviews Perception that students do not read or act upon critical s from the UniversityPerception that students do not read or act upon critical s from the University Perception that portal strategy duplicates One Stop onlinePerception that portal strategy duplicates One Stop online Great deal of effort to solidify student portal strategyGreat deal of effort to solidify student portal strategy

communications communications Surveys Pilot survey, 37 studentsPilot survey, 37 students Formal survey, 100 studentsFormal survey, 100 students –35 Freshman –20 Sophomore –20 Junior –15 Senior –7 Graduate Students –42 majors

communications communications Survey Results 70% described their University account as their primary account70% described their University account as their primary account 90% access their University account every day90% access their University account every day 70% receive “just the right amount” of from the University, 24% receive “too many” s70% receive “just the right amount” of from the University, 24% receive “too many” s Nearly 80% delete some University s without reading themNearly 80% delete some University s without reading them –58% delete s because the subject line is irrelevant to them –37% delete messages they believe to be impersonal or broadcast –14% hit delete because they don’t recognize the sender name/address

communications communications Usage Data Between May 1 and May 3, 2006Between May 1 and May 3, 2006 –37,094 students accessed their University account (approx. 77%) –Only 14% forward their University

communications communications Literature Searches University policy better defined than most other schoolsUniversity policy better defined than most other schools University would be best served creating their own effective writing best practices for University would be best served creating their own effective writing best practices for Portal best practice documents cited in report, Portal Development for Undergraduate Students at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities: Fostering Capacity and Assuring SustainabilityPortal best practice documents cited in report, Portal Development for Undergraduate Students at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities: Fostering Capacity and Assuring Sustainability

communications communications Technology Changing Across Campus Difficult to formulate recommendations on a moving targetDifficult to formulate recommendations on a moving target –Webmail was updated not once, but twice during the course of our report –University Counseling and Consulting Services announced a Podcast that offered students tips on avoiding procrastination and managing stress –University Libraries offers UThink, the largest academically affiliated weblog service in North America, and hosts 2,523 blogs –Academic and Distributed Computing Services (ADCS) has developed the “University of Minnesota’s Community wiki” with 69 wikis to date Strategic implementation of enterprise-wide technology initiatives will ensure cost savings and eliminate duplicated effortsStrategic implementation of enterprise-wide technology initiatives will ensure cost savings and eliminate duplicated efforts

communications communications Recommendations Students rely on to receive information, but may delete what they perceive to be irrelevant or too long and may perceive they receive too many messagesStudents rely on to receive information, but may delete what they perceive to be irrelevant or too long and may perceive they receive too many messages –Reassert current University policy for communicating with students –Develop and communicate tips to assist members of the University community with creating messages that are more likely to be read and acted upon by students –Create and enforce one way for University community members to obtain addresses and permission for group or mass s

communications communications Recommendations Technology implementations can be done at the department or college level, therefore, it is difficult to know what is availableTechnology implementations can be done at the department or college level, therefore, it is difficult to know what is available –Create and maintain an enterprise-wide communications matrix of available technologies –Create a department for communication technology development and implementation –Integrate existing technologies as much as possible to avoid the need to duplicate messages –Use the University report Portal Development for Undergraduate Students at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities: Fostering Capacity and Assuring Sustainability as the basis for further portal development