Enhancing Student Support Services

Student support services help pupils manage their studies, plan for the future, and transition to college.

FREMONT, CA: University may be a life-altering experience for many people. Most will embark on a journey that will hopefully broaden their horizons, enable them to acquire new skills, and lead them to their preferred career. It is a phase of self-learning during which students can equip themselves with soft skills that will enable them to succeed professionally and personally throughout their lives.

The assistance we provide students along this path can significantly maximize the value of their academic experience. Effective student support services assist students in surviving and thriving, but ineffective services can lead to worse academic achievement and higher dropout rates.

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Universities must dramatically increase their support services to provide large, diverse student bodies with access to the resources and, most importantly, the people they require in the post-pandemic world. This is due to increasing university admissions, the increasing prevalence of online and blended learning, and the anticipated increase in student numbers after the pandemic. This is especially difficult in the current world, which is dominated by the Internet. Scheduling a 15-minute Zoom session with a student is OK, but it can be more difficult to detect minor indicators that they are struggling via online videoconferencing, making it more difficult to provide quick assistance.

The student support services can, however, scale up to meet this challenge and provide effective support to students throughout their university careers.

A PERSONAL APPROACH

Over-enrolled students may cause challenges to your student services department, as colleagues-regardless in their training-may not have enough time to get to know students individually and identify their needs.

And because online education is increasingly pervasive at institutions around the world, it can be easy for students who require assistance to slide through the cracks between various departments, critical contacts, and specific specialists.

The value of having a consistent point of contact or a success coach for each student cannot be overstated. Students know where to go for support or guidance when assigned a single person with whom they can build relationships and rely on good and bad times.

Consider how you can escalate critical concerns and refer specialized subject matter experts as a way to maximize the one-on-one aspect of your support function.

Frontline support staff cannot be expected to be experts in all the challenges that a large, diverse group of students may face; instead, they should be viewed as the hub of the student support wheel, directing students to the right expert who can work with them to address any issues they may be experiencing.

Experts on the welfare side should also connect with individuals on the academic side to ensure that red flags are spotted, no difficulties fall through the cracks, and students receive the necessary support.

All of this helps to guarantee that early, meaningful, targeted preventive action is taken before a problem has worsened or reached crisis proportions, giving students the assistance they need to face any upcoming obstacles.

DEVELOPING MULTIPLE TOUCHPOINTS

It has always been crucial to provide students with many touchpoints as they embark on their university careers, but this is increasingly important in a post-pandemic world.

You can benefit greatly from an in-depth telephone and live chat option backed by a distant team available to assist when needed.

This replicates the type of support that students are accustomed to receiving in other contexts, acknowledges that everyone is unique, and enables each individual to engage with the institution in whichever manner makes them feel most at ease—boosting the likelihood of students seeking assistance.

It also facilitates time management by enabling students to access support services during study days at home, when they are likely to feel calmer, more relaxed, and less pressured.

Recognizing that even the most proactive staff teams cannot identify every issue affecting students, it is crucial to implement technological solutions that support teams on the ground.

Some solutions offer predictive reporting—recognizing pupils who exhibit risk indicators and analyzing the pertinent data so that teams may be warned. This technology is designed to complement the existing reactive methods by providing packets of student data that will allow staff teams to conduct proactive, focused outreach many weeks in advance of any reported issues.