How the University of Connecticut built and deployed an online orientation program for new students in less than a month
About the University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut is a national leader among public research universities, with more than 32,000 students seeking answers to critical questions in classrooms, labs, and the community. A culture of innovation drives this pursuit of knowledge throughout the University’s network of campuses. Connecticut’s commitment to higher education helps UConn attract students who thrive in the most competitive environments, as well as globally renowned faculty members. Our school pride is fueled by a history of success that has made us a standout in Division I athletics. UConn fosters a diverse and vibrant culture that meets the needs and seizes the opportunities of a dynamic global society.
Moving Online in Light of COVID-19
Like every other institution this past spring, the University of Connecticut had to act quickly to reach and engage their incoming class using virtual tools. In April 2020, UConn hosted “UConn Bound Week”, a virtual event in lieu of their traditional on-campus admitted student programs.
The series of live and recorded presentations, supported by PlatformQ Education’s managed marketing services, supported over 5,000 students and parents during the most important phase of the recruitment cycle.
Admitted student programs will continue to the spring to ensure continued support of students and families through this extremely difficult time.
Re-Orienting the Online Orientation Experience
Building on the success of UConn Bound Week, the University of Connected needed a way to ensure that students could continue their path to campus (whatever that may look like in the fall) on a platform that was now familiar to them.
In partnership with PlatformQ Education, UConn leveraged the brand new Conduit Workflow tool to create a completely on-demand and self-guided experience for students to complete required orientation modules prior to registering for classes. This system was deployed for the main campus in Storrs as well as the Stamford, Hartford, Avery Point and Waterbury, Connecticut campuses.
Conduit Workflow enabled UConn to develop dedicated modules of orientation content, including welcomes from their President, financing, and pre-registration content dedicated to each college and honors program within the institution. Additionally, these modules were organized in to dedicated tracks based on each student’s unique profile. This means that a first year honors student enrolled in the college of engineering at the main campus in Storrs sees different content than a transfer student enrolling at the Waterbury campus … even when the students are enrolling in the same college.
The workflow tool is also intuitive enough to not allow skipping ahead before a required step is completed (i.e. completing a video module or even a quiz) while also recognizing when a student leaves the Conduit environment, returning them back to the module they left off without having to repeat prior content. The student, of course, can always go back to re-review content at any time.
The Results
Within 4 hours of being deployed, nearly 1 in 3 enrolling students had begun their personalized orientation workflow. To date, 90% of students have completed their required modules ahead of critical summer deadlines with most students completing their personalized workflow during their first session.
“It can be a challenge to manage the expectations and needs of so many audiences when it comes to developing an online orientation program. I’m so proud of the work that’s been accomplished by our team, in partnership with PlatformQ Education, to quickly develop a unique and impactful resource that meets the needs of our incoming students, faculty and staff at a truly difficult time. The immediate impact on such a short production timetable is nothing short of amazing.” – Nathan Fuerst, Vice President,
Division of Enrollment Planning & Management
University of Connecticut
The Conduit Workflow tool is available to all PlatformQ Education partners. Contact your Engagement Marketing Strategist for a demo.
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