Final Focus Group Research Report

Online Advising in a College of Agriculture & Applied Sciences Marisa Brough | Chase Christensen | Betsy Jorgensen | Rachel Lewis

PUBLISHED | December 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS 03 | Executive Summary 04 | Intro & Literature Review 09 | Purpose Statement 09 | Research Questions 10 | Methodology 11 | Findings 17 | Discussion 19 | Recommendations 24 | References 26 | Appendix A 30 | Appendix B 32 | Appendix C 38 | Appendix D 41 | Appendix E 2

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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anvas is an online course management system used by universities to assist in and simplify the education process. At Utah State University in Logan, Utah, the Student Services Center for the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences implemented the system as an advising tool in the fall of 2012.

Before conducting the research, student researchers studied literature that had been written in regard to online management systems coinciding with advising. Researchers then conducted two focus groups to determine the perceptions and experiences of students in the college who were using Canvas to supplement face-to-face advising. By meeting the needs of the students through Canvas, researchers hope to help the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences increase student retention, graduation rates and accessibility.

Researchers found: A majority of the students were unaware of the different services Canvas provides.

Students wanted announcements less often with major specific content, ex. scholarship deadlines, academic opportunities.

Students favored having more information online, such as four-year degree plans and class descriptions for each major.

A large majority of students would like to schedule face-to-face meetings with their advisor through Canvas.

After collecting data and establishing key findings, researchers recommended: Promoting awareness of the Canvas site through teachers, student orientation and USU Connections.

Regular updates of the website with concise major-specific content.

Posting advisors’ schedules online, partnered with the ability for students to sign up for face-to-face advising.

Weekly or bi-weekly information bulletins.

Creating explanation videos to introduce students to the website so they are aware of the features and functions.

Although Canvas has been established as an effective online management system, researchers found through the literature and focus groups that face-to-face advising should not be replaced by Canvas, but enhanced and supported by it. The literature and focus group participants were able to give recommendations that would enrich Canvas for advising. However, it will be through trial and error that the College of Agriculture and Applied sciences will be able to effectively use the program for advising purposes.

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. summary .

INTRODUCTION

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esearchers have explored the use of course management systems (also referred to as online learning management systems) such as Moodle, Blackboard, and Canvas as effective advising tools. Researchers at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, are looking to assess the viability of the online advising model currently set in place by the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. Online advising has become increasingly prevalent in colleges in an attempt to get students to interact with advisors more efficiently (Feghali et al.,

2011). The literature speaks to the benefits of online advising and generally encourages its implementation. In fact, there seems to be an excess of information regarding the characteristics that make online advising most useful but a lack of information instructing others how to actually go about doing so. This review focuses on student ratings of online advising tools, elements that contribute to an effective online experience and the renewed recognition of the importance of advising to the educational experience.

LITERATURE REVIEW

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esearchers have explored the use of course management systems (also referred to as online learning management systems) such as Moodle, Blackboard, and Canvas as effective advising tools. Researchers at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, are looking to assess the viability of the online advising model currently set in place by the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. Online advising has become increasingly prevalent in colleges in an attempt to get students to interact with advisors more efficiently (Feghali et al., 2011). The literature speaks to the benefits of online advising and generally encourages its implementation. In fact, there seems to be an excess of information regarding the characteristics that make online advising most useful but a lack of information instructing others how to actually go about doing so.

This review focuses on student ratings of online advising tools, elements that contribute to an effective online experience and the renewed recognition of the importance of advising to the educational experience.

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. introduction, literature review .

Student Ratings of Online Advisement Tools Several research reports took into account the importance of student ratings of their online advising tools. Online advising is only “as good as the freshness of its information” (Feghali, Zbib, & Hallal, 2011, p.

93). According to Feghali et al. (2011), student advising is an essential component for success in the academic world. Advisors are also “critical determinants” for program improvements (Coskuncay & Özkan, 2013, p. 13).

During their study on online advising systems, Feghali et al.’s (2011) goals were to turn the advising process from a prescriptive relationship to an engaging relationship by incorporating an online advising system.

The researchers believe that “introducing technology to the advising process aims at leveraging repetitive tasks on software and dedicating time to helping a student plan his/her education road map” (Feghali et al., 2011, p. 82). Twenty students filled out a 7-point Likert scale questionnaire about satisfaction with their current online advising system.

Of those students, 10 percent were freshmen, 30 percent were sophomores, 25 percent were juniors and 30 percent were seniors (Feghali et al., 2011, p. 90).

The results of the survey stated that: 79 percent of users were satisfied with using the online advising tool.

90 percent rated the system, which features a simple and customizable menu, as effective and efficient.

More than 75 percent of those surveyed rated it as useful and helpful.

In regards to face-to-face advising, the results indicated that: 54 percent of the students felt they could find out information without an advisor.

23 percent did not meet with their advisor due to advisor availability or their own lack of time.

The researchers also looked at what was most important to students in regards to advising.

The results stated: 60 percent of students rated the helpfulness of the advisor as most important in regards to advising.

50 percent of the students stated advisor information about requirements and prerequisites as most important.

35 percent of students voted availability of the advisor as most important.

30 percent of students rated advisor knowledge about requirements outside their major area of study as the most important thing to them in regards to advising.

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. literature review .

Comparisons between the online advising system and the current advising system were made in the Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut, Lebanon. The study explained that, on average, users were more satisfied with the online advisor versus the current face-to-face advising system. The curriculum is clearer with the online advisor because it provides exact information about requirements, courses taken, academic background and courses required outside the business school (Feghali et al., 2011).

A study done by Morris and Miller (2007) explained students’ expectations of online advising: “Students are used to web-sites with online tutorials, downloads, video images, and being able to have continuous access to any product they may want to view and purchase. Online services have become a habitual experience, and students expect the same services from higher education as they would get when shopping online” (para. 10).

Although most students reported positive feelings toward online advising, they did find that face-to-face student advising should not be replaced by online advising but should support, increase and simplify access to student information (Feghali et al., 2011).

Traits of effective online advising systems Appearance is key. Research has found that website appearance and accessibility plays a major role in advising effectiveness and student impressions of the overall advising experience. The article, Depth-of-Processing Effects as College Students Use Academic Advising Web Sites, echoes how important the presentation of the website is (Boatright-Horowitz, Langley, & Gunnip, 2009). If the website isn’t easy to navigate, clean and concise, students will see it as outdated and the ratings of the website would decrease (Boatright-Horowitz, et al., 2009).

The Boatright-Horowitz et al.’s article also lists multiple ways that researchers have suggested colleges who are making online advising websites construct their websites. The idea is to make the website attractive and useful enough that site users will come back to the site (Boatright-Horowitz et al., 2009).

Findings from the article suggest: More effort to comprehend is exerted and memory is increased when online news stories are selected from hyperlink-rich web pages.

Research participants prefer light colors on the screen (dark-colored main images made them feel tense).

Use of web-based personification tools (i.e., digital images that mimic humans) resulted in more positive emotions and high perception of credibility.

Personal voice can create stronger emotional responses in users (don’t use corporate messages or passive voice).

Web-page users who viewed unpleasant pictures of plane crashes, starvation, war and illness had more negative moods (use pleasant pictures when applicable: families, animals, happy children).

Accompanying positive pictures with emotional text creates a more positive mood.

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When participants interact in semantic, rather than superficial, memory processing of web content, on average, they should remember its usefulness and plan to use the website in the future more often.

Increasing the effectiveness of online advising tools will increase the traffic on the college website. Feghali, Zbib, & Hallal (2011) wrote that effectiveness and efficiency were two of the four top traits wanted in an online advising tool. Perfecting the flow of the website will increase how much students use the website and engage in the advising process . To improve interactivity and therefore usability, the website should increase “sense of fun and satisfaction, engagement and performance quality, and time saving” (Feghali et al., 2011, p. 84). Ultimately, the goal of an online advising system should be to “consolidate all information in one interface” (Feghali et al., 2011, p. 86).

Building relationships matters. Research suggests that an advising website’s appearance is not the only contributing factor to its effectiveness. Due to the fact that online advising is a relatively new technology, Morris and Miller (2007) provided guidelines for actually interacting with students in their article, Advising Practices of Undergraduate Online Students in Private Higher Education. Morris and Miller (2007) argued that online advising can be a powerful tool in retaining students if utilized properly. They claim that it is of paramount importance “that the student experiences an environment where there is real care and attention directed toward all students and that there is an effort to communicate important information about the entire program” (Morris & Miller, 2007, p. 2).

Initial contact with students, and the period directly following it, is of pivotal importance and should be done to prevent students dropping out of their first three semesters of college (Rimbau-Gilbert, Martínez-Argüelles & Ruiz-Dotras, 2011).

An article detailing the experience of a faculty member who used online advising for his leisure studies and recreation students discussed the fact that having 2030 students per advisor provided “opportunities for one-on-one interaction and small group activities outside of the classroom and online via OLMS discussion boards” (Schaumleffel, 2009, p. 146). The advisors were able to get to know their students on a personal basis, which allowed for a more individualized advising process. The article did not discuss the relationship established by advisors responsible for a much greater amount of students.

Rimbau-Gilbert et. al (2011) suggested that there are four distinct roles for any advisor to follow to help promote the retention of students: enable students to reach academic and career goals, promote efficiency pertaining to both economic and time restraints, encourage students to “follow the selected educational itinerary” and serve as a representative of the university in developing a close relationship with students (p. 128).

Schaumleffel (2009) explained that through an established learning community, “students can be more connected to their advisor and each other and have the necessary resources readily at their disposal for more informed academic 7

. literature review .

and professional career decision-making” (p. 147). He said that an effective online advising program would help students “build a sense of belonging and identification” and increase the likelihood that they will more frequently utilize the service (Schaumleffel, 2009, p. 146). A separate study explained that “research literature on student retention suggests that contact with a significant person within an institution of higher education is a crucial factor in a student’s decision to remain in college” (Feghali et al., 2011, p. 82).

Increased recognized importance of advising Research suggests that online advising forces both parties – the students and the advisors – to recognize its importance and applicability. For students, online learning management systems (OLMS) “might serve as a visual reminder . . . every time they login to OLMS for other classes that academic advisement is an active process that should be continually sought after and participated in” (Schaumleffel, 2009, p. 146). Advising is more than the help given when scheduling classes; it is a continuous process created for the betterment of a student’s education and future career (Schaumleffel, 2009). Online advising systems with ample information available put more of “the responsibility on the student” (Feghali et al., 2011, p. 83). Effective advising, however, is a two-way street that requires the full cooperation of advisors.

An article written by two Turkish professors stresses the importance of the manager’s role when using learning management systems. “Instructors’ attitudes toward a technology will affect learning outcomes and should be considered when technology-mediated distance learning systems are evaluated” (Coskuncay et al., 2013, p. 13). Advisors who are most interested in and enthusiastic toward learning management systems as a means for advising would likely be significantly more effective propagators of information than those who are more reluctant and skeptical of the technology (Coskuncay et al., 2013). Schaumleffel (2009) noted that “using OLMS for academic advisement requires some regular maintenance” by the course manager (p. 144).

Advisors eager to engage their students should keep the supplied information up-to-date and relevant to their interests. As a result, they will be able to make more informed decisions (Schaumleffel, 2009).

Overall, the literature favors the use of online advising when supplemented with face-to-face advising. Several of the articles explained that students find it helpful and convenient to get common information through an online resource and advisors are saving time. It has been found that online resources are best implemented when the website is easily accessible, pleasing to the eye and complemented with timely and useful information. It was most difficult to find information on the proper implementation of an online advising system into the current face-to-face advising system – the studies detailed in this paper gave minimal details on the “how” and focused on the “what” and “why.” Implementation process studies could be useful literature for educational institutions looking to establish effective online advising systems for their students.

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PURPOSE STATEMENT & RESEARCH QUESTIONS

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he purpose of this study is to explore the experiences and perceptions of undergraduate students with an online learning management system, specifically Canvas, as an academic advising tool.

This study is being conducted to see if the current use of online advising through the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences is effective, efficient and worthy of campus-wide implementation. The researchers hope to help the Student Services Center determine how they can best meet the needs of their students through Canvas to increase student retention, graduation rates and accessibility. The study was guided by five research questions:

Q1

How do students use Canvas to interact with the Student Services Center in a College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences?

Q2

What feedback do students have about advising content delivered through Canvas?

Q3

How can the Student Services Center meet the needs of students through Canvas?

Q4

How should the Student Services Center advertise Canvas as an advising tool?

Q5

How should the Student Services Center advertise its services?

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. literature review, research questions .

METHODOLOGY

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ocus groups are a form of qualitative research that provides deep insight into a particular phenomenon (Nagle & Williams, n.d.). They are typically small group discussions guided by trained professionals that encourage an active discussion in a comfortable environment (Guidelines for conducting, 2005). Focus groups are an affordable, relatively quick means for procuring useful information.

Because of their personal nature, the focus groups required a great deal of planning and care. A poorly-executed focus group would not have yielded desirable results. Group dynamics had to be taken into consideration (Guidelines for conducting, 2005). It was the moderator’s responsibility to monitor the discussion, control those who spoke too much and encourage those who spoke too little.

Focus groups allowed for indepth feedback that will help the Student Services Center improve or encourage the implementation of Canvas for advising. Because the participants were all students in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences that had used Canvas as an advising tool,

they shared many similar characteristics. This contributed to the comfortable focus group atmosphere. The focus group method was ideal because the Student Services Center was looking for deep insight to determine the effectiveness of their current online advising program; quantitative data would not have been nearly as useful in making those determinations.

university building on October 23, 2013, and October 30, 2013. Both sessions were held at 11:30 a.m. Because the aforementioned times and dates were chosen specifically to coincide with a campus-wide free period, potential participants were typically available to participate. A pizza lunch was offered to encourage students to participate in the group.

When setting out to conduct focus groups, the researchers first defined the study’s purpose.

After the purpose was established and understood, the researchers determined how many groups would be appropriate to conduct as well as when and where they would be conducted.

The researchers then recruited potential participants from lists provided by their instructor (see Appendix A). Moderators and assistant moderators trained and studied proper techniques beforehand and used their moderator’s guide during the actual sessions (see Appendix B). A moderator’s guide was used to explain the purpose of the study, address guidelines for the group, and ask questions. All necessary materials were gathered in advance and refreshments were provided for participants.

The data were collected during two focus groups held in a

The researchers transcribed the focus group sessions and their debriefing notes to assist in the data analysis process (see Appendices C and D). The results from the focus group were analyzed by taking the focus group data and compiling it into Excel worksheets for a qualitative content analysis (Renner & Taylor-Powell, 2003). Each question asked was put on a separate Excel sheet with the quotes of who said what following it (see Appendix E). The data were organized into identified themes and then into coherent categories. Categories were labeled; this was a critical part of analyzing the data. Rereading the information was necessary. Data were then interpreted by attaching meaning and significance to the analysis. A list of important findings was compiled (Renner & Taylor-Powell, 2003).

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FINDINGS The students involved in the focus groups were: 3 male, 9 female 4 seniors (33%), 6 juniors (50%) and 2 sophomores (17%) Majors included: Dietetics, Food Science, Landscape Architecture, Agricultural Systems Technology

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Q1 How do students use Canvas to interact with the Student Services Center in a College of Agriculture?

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hile many of the students in the focus groups conceded that they had interacted with Student Services Center in some way, the manner in which that interaction took place was drastically different.

Some utilized email, while others received notifications via Canvas.

Most had at least visited the Canvas page, although a few admittedly had never looked at the page.

A few students interacted with the advising page solely through email. The agreement among these students seemed to be that checking updates via email seemed to be easier, or more efficient, than actually logging all the way on to the page. One student had this to say, “I have mine set up to send me email notifications when I get announcements, and I definitely check my email a lot more than I do my Canvas, so that is very conve-

nient. I can see the announcements on my email instead of logging in every day.” This is a perfect example of how several students felt about interacting with advising through their Canvas pages.

A majority of students said that they only saw the announcements while they were using Canvas for their other classes, and were unaware of what was actually offered through the page. One student said, “To be honest I don’t really use it too much for advising. I look at Canvas to see when my stuff ’s do or see what my grade was; that’s what I use it for. I don’t remember any job postings or anything like that being on there. Most of the information I get is from the department up here.

There’s a secretary that will send us emails, so I don’t know. I guess you could do that on Canvas also, but she doesn’t.” Some seemed to think that announcements were the only

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thing that the site was available for. This confusion was personified by a student who said, “That’s all I know you can do with it; I just get the announcements.” While these students checked the announcements sent to them, they rarely were directed back to the advising page in Canvas.

However, a minority of students did use the Canvas advising page regularly and found it very helpful.

Some of these students felt that the page assisted them in staying on top of academic obligations. One student who felt strongly about the assistance provided by the Canvas page said, “It helps me stay organized. Just letting me know what I’m needing to be doing always, I check it regularly.” While a minority, these students interacted with the page frequently and had a greater appreciation for the page and the assistance it provides.

Q2 What feedback do students have about advising content delivered through Canvas?

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hree major themes came out of this particular question.

The themes included how often information was posted, scheduling advisor meetings through Canvas, and major specific content instead of irrelevant information.

The first theme brought up about the advising content delivered through Canvas was how often information was posted on the site.

A large majority of the respondents felt that there was too much information posted too often. One respondent said that, “it doesn’t really feel like an advising page, it just feels like a flood your email page.”

Another respondent made the suggestion that, “maybe it would be nice if they did like a weekly bulletin, or something, and just com-

bined all of their announcements for the week into one, instead of having to click back and forth between four or five announcements.”

Respondents also said they would like the ability to schedule advisor meetings through Canvas. One student explained that by the time they realize they need to schedule an appointment, it’s past 5 p.m. and the office is closed. The ease of scheduling appointments online appealed to students and was a common theme throughout the focus groups.

The final theme that respondents discussed was the content delivered through the advising system. Multiple respondents felt that often times the information was irrelevant to

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their major. One respondent said, “I think the most important thing is how specific you can get. Make it more specific to a major and the information we are being given.

That is the most important thing.”

Many respondents said they did like the announcements for events and internships. One respondent said, “the longer we’ve had it and the more announcements that have come, there are some announcements and things that have been on it that I have been really grateful for, ‘cause I wouldn’t have known otherwise.” Some respondents said they like the reminders about deadlines, such as when students can withdraw from classes or just regular academic school deadlines.

Q3 How can the Student Services Center meet the needs of students through Canvas?

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he students expressed two major needs that Canvas can meet: reminders about upcoming deadlines and class schedules, and the ability to make advisor appointments online.

The popular view of having Canvas remind students about upcoming deadlines was expressed by one respondent, “It would be nice to hear about scholarship opportunities. I know they do post some, every now and then, but kind of the more random ones too.”

Several students favored the

idea of having detailed schedule assistance online. One student explained, “I kinda wish there was an easier, maybe, checklist on the Canvas was classes you need to take and when they’re available every semester. I feel like some classes I have to go through Access and look at every class...It would be useful to be like, ‘Okay, I should take this my sophomore year and not my senior year because I won’t be able to do it because they’re both at 9:30.’ I feel like there would be a lot of people that would benefit from it.”

Students suggested using Canvas to schedule appointments to meet

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personally with their advisor would be beneficial, rather than having to call in and set the appointment up during office hours. This idea can be expressed by a student who said, “The main thing I was thinking was just setting up appointments with your advisor; that would be very useful.” Another student said, more specifically, that it would be beneficial to “have some way to get the meeting with our advisor through it cause I feel like I hate calling and then trying to be like ‘oh when can you do it?’ I wish there was just a more direct way of just saying these are the times I have available to do it and do it from there.”

Q4 How should the Student Services Center advertise Canvas as an advising tool?

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he Student Services Center should advertise Canvas as an advising tool through email and student advisors.

Initially, the Student Services Center should advertise Canvas as an advising tool through an email to each student’s preferred email address. Several students either stated outright that they check their email “a lot more than I do my Canvas” or agreed, by nodding, with those who did. One student explained that when she receives partial announcements via email, she rarely takes the time to click the link to read it: “You have to click on the link, but then you have to log in to see it. I never like putting in the time to login and see what it says,

so I just say ‘whatever.’”

One student explained that she felt more inclined to attend events when the message was sent by a student advisor rather than a faculty advisor because it was something they could “relate to more.” The student continued to say that “getting student advisors involved could be really good.” Everyone in the room nodded their heads in agreement. If the Student Services Center asked students to vouch for the service, other students might be more interested in learning about it.

A majority said that what they know of the center’s use of Canvas for advising is simply that they send announcements/notifications.

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When asked what they use the Student Service Center’s Canvas site, one student said, “That’s all I know you can do with it; I just get the announcements.” A second student said, “I just mostly use it for the announcements, like I just get the announcements, that’s really all I got.” Students tended to use words like “got” and “receive,” typically indicating that they felt the advising offered through Canvas was little more than something sent to them.

If the Student Services Center wants to encourage more students to interact with their Canvas site, they should clarify what they offer and how those offerings can be accessed by the students.

Q5 How should the Student Services Center advertise its services?

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he majority of students, as was discussed in the previous research question, feel that the online advising relationship is a one-way street in which they see themselves simply as recipients of the center’s messages. For the most part, they don’t go out of their way to interact with the Canvas page itself. When describing their Canvas advising experiences, they explain that the advising messages come to them, indicating the fact that they are significantly more active at checking their email than checking their Canvas advising page. If the advising center wants to advertise its general services, one of which is online advising, it should do so through email.

The Student Services Center should be careful, however, that they aren’t abusing email as a means of communication. Several students felt that they received too much in their inbox from Canvas. When students were asked their impression of the Canvas advising page, one explained, “I think it’s really bland, and it doesn’t really feel like an advising page; it just feels like a flood-your-email page.” If and when the center uses email to advertise its general advising services, they should be extra cautious about what and how often they post.

Several students also mentioned that they would like sample schedule outlines and four-year plans

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posted on Canvas, revealing the fact that they sometimes face uncertainty about their schedules. One student said, “I kinda wish there was an easier, maybe, checklist on the canvas was classes you need to take and when they’re available every semester.” The rest of the students in the focused group said they agreed.

If they visited their advisors, faceto-face, regularly, this would likely no longer be a concern. The Student Services Center would do well to play on this insecurity, insisting to their students the best way to know what they’re doing is to see them regularly.

DISCUSSION

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esearchers found that students in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences have little understanding of the Student Services Center’s Canvas advising site, desire the ability to schedule appointments online and wish that the provided information was more specific to them.

The study conducted by Feghali, Zbib and Hallal (2011) said, “online advising is only as good as the freshness of its information” (p.

93). If students don’t feel that the information they receive is relevant, they’ll lose interest.

The Feghali study was conducted at a university where 79 percent of users were satisfied with online advising, and 90 percent rated it as effective and efficient. Of those surveyed, 50 percent felt that advisor information about requirements and prerequisites was most important, and 35 percent felt that availability of the advisor was most important.

Utah State University students in the focus groups indicated they wanted more access to their advisor through Canvas, including the ability to schedule appointments online. They also felt they would benefit from information about required courses and prerequisites.

What they’re asking for isn’t uncommon or unreasonable, as evidenced by the Feghali et al. study.

The more services the center can provide the students through Canvas, the better. Several studies analyzed in the literature review insist that effective use of online advising systems can facilitate better learning, contribute to student retention and save time for both students and advisors. Unfortunately, the studies failed to detail how they go about implementing their successful online systems, so the Student Services Center will likely have to work through an extended trial and error process to determine what works best for students in a College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences.

Limitations Focus group research helps researchers determine a group’s feelings toward, and experiences with, a certain topic and can provide useful insight when the organization sponsoring the research works to make future decisions. Recruiting respondents was the most time-consuming task of it all, so the focus groups themselves were executed relatively quickly. Should an organization hire more experienced researchers, the process would take even less time.

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The first focus group conducted consisted of 9 respondents, allowing for a large variety of voices and ideas to be shared. A couple of these students in particular, however, tried to hide behind the large number of students and typically only contributed when prompted directly by the moderator. These prompts were largely successful.

Only three students showed up for the second focus group, limiting the number of voices but enabling more time for each of those students to express themselves. One student was extremely opinionated and dominated conversation for several of the questions, but the other students typically said they agreed with what she said. The moderator directly called on the other two students several times, and they usually responded with an original contribution.

Because of the vast difference in size, the two focus groups gave way to two entirely different atmospheres. The moderator for each group responded accordingly, making sure to encourage the quiet voices to speak and implied, sometimes indirectly and sometimes directly, that the louder voices should give way to the rest.

RECOMMENDATIONS

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RESEARCH QUESTION

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hile email can be a quick, easy way to communicate with students, using techniques that point students back to the Canvas page could be beneficial. The more frequently the students interact with the page, the more likely they may be to find useful information. This could include links in the emails, or just brief descriptions of updates with a link back to the Canvas site to see further detail.

Encouraging teachers to utilize Canvas as much as possible could also encourage students to utilize the Canvas advising page. Many of the students in our focus groups suggested that they only viewed the Canvas advising page, and notifications, while checking the site for other classes. A few students in the group said that some of their professors don’t utilize Canvas, and thus, they don’t use the advising site or any of the updates.

One idea could be to have student

testimonials at the first of each semester, either from peer advisors or from students who have successfully used Canvas advising. Many of the students interviewed were virtually unaware that the Canvas site was utilized for advising purposes.

Promoting awareness of the page, via other students, could greatly increase their understanding of what the page is for, and promote engagement with the site.

Another suggestion for encouraging students to utilize Canvas more frequently for advising, would be for the advisors to promote and ensure that students understand what is available through the site. Most of what was discovered was a lack of awareness as to what the Canvas advising site actually offered. There is clearly a disconnect between students adding the page and knowing what it is or how to use it. A faceto-face interaction is the perfect opportunity to ensure students are aware of the page and to encourage its use.

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RESEARCH QUESTION

D

ue It is suggested that advisors send students content that is more specific to their major. The Canvas site should be populated with more information students can make good use of as well as make sure that the bit of information the center currently offers is accessible and complete.

RESEARCH QUESTION

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he need for a place online to view advisors’ availability times and set up appointments is a huge need. A couple students said when they remembered to set up appointments with their advisor was after regular business hours, and they failed to remember to call and schedule an appointment the next morning. A couple other students expressed that it was a hassle to call and talk to the receptionist and have him/ her list available advisor meeting times. Having a place online where students could see all the dates and times of an advisor’s availability would be really helpful for students

to coordinate with their schedules.

The Student Services Center should condense the amount of emails they send out through Canvas advising each day. Making email content more applicable to the major will make students want to use the advising service more because it will be beneficial to their college experience. Emails should consist of scholarship, research, and class schedule information to help remind students of important deadlines and be sent out in one concise email (sent weekly), so as not to overflow students’ inboxes.

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RESEARCH QUESTION

B

ecause students tend to check their email on a regular basis, the Student Services Center should take advantage of that platform to better explain how they use Canvas for advising and why it would be beneficial for them to use. A short, well-produced video explaining why the tool is beneficial might also be an effective way for students to learn what the center has to offer online. The center could play the video on the flat screen televisions located in the buildings that house the college’s majors.

However, because the center’s Canvas site offers little more than announcements, the best way to appeal to students would be to change that. If students feel like they al-

ready get it all to their email, they’ll see no point in visiting or using the site. It needs to offer something unique. The site could add instant messaging, Skype chats, how-to videos and/or advisor schedules.

The center would also benefit from using students to encourage their peers to make use of their Canvas site. In fact, the aforementioned video could features junior- and senior-level students who have had positive experiences with online advising. Seeing fellow students vouch for the system would not only persuade more students to give it a chance, but it would contribute to greater understanding of the online advising system as a whole.

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. recommendations .

4

5

RESEARCH QUESTION

A

dvertising the Student Services Center’s general services primarily through a platform that is not fully utilized would be counterproductive. Until the Canvas site is more populated and appreciated, advertising the center’s services should be done elsewhere. Email, for example, can be an effective communicator when used properly.

at once and have assistance nearby, if necessary. By hosting events like this, the Student Service Center would promote their services in an engaging, casual way, improve accessibility and likely remove the need for several appointments earlier in the week. The center would establish itself as willing and able to serve the needs of its student population.

One common theme mentioned throughout this paper is the fact that students would appreciate the ability to schedule meetings with their advisors online. This scenario could be remedied a number of ways, most clearly through the creation of an online calendar through which students can schedule appointments. However, other solutions exist; the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences could adopt an approach currently implemented by Utah State University’s Honors program. On the first night of registration, Honors advisors throw “registration parties” and encourage students to bring their laptops, desired schedules and any questions they may have. It serves as a pseudo-appointment where dozens of students are able to come

In order to get students to visit their advisors more often, the center should add a “why should I see my advisor?” page to their Canvas site and general website, as well as promote the page on social media outlets. The page would detail all the benefits of regular advising and might even include a few “horror stories” about those who couldn’t graduate when they thought they would because they overlooked a single general education class.

Advisors are the best help when it comes to four-year plans. Seeing your advisor regularly, the page would say, would prevent this from happening. The campaign should stress that online advising is meant to supplement, not replace, face-toface advising.

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. recommendations .

REFERENCES Boatright-Horowitz, S. L., Langley, M., & Gunnip, M. (2009). Depth-of-Processing Effects as College Students Use Academic Advising Web Sites. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 12(3), 331-335. doi:10.1089/ cpb.2008.0207.

Feghali, T., Zbib, I., & Hallal, S. (2011). A Web-based Decision Support Tool for Academic Advising.

Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 14(1), 82-94.

Findik Coskuncay, D., & Özkan, S. (2013). A Model for Instructors’ Adoption of Learning Management Systems: For Instructors’ Adoption of Learning Management Systems: Empirical Validation in Higher Education Context. Turkish Online Journal Of Educational Technology, 12(2), 13-25.

Guidelines for conducting a focus group. (2005). Available from http://assessment.aas.duke.edu/documents/How_to_Conduct_a_Focus_Group.pdf Morris, A., & Miller, M. (2007). Advising Practices of Undergraduate Online Students in Private Higher Education. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, X(IV), Retrieved from http://www. westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter104/morris104.html.

Nagle, B., & Wiliams, N. (n.d.). Methodology brief: Introduction to focus groups.” CAPA. Available from: http://www.uncfsp.org/projects/userfiles/File/FocusGroupBrief.pdf Renner, M., & Taylor-Powell, E. (2003). Analyzing qualitative data. Available from the University of Wisconsin-Extension website: http://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/g3658-12.pdf Rimbau-Gilabert, E., Martínez-Argüelles, M., & Ruiz-Dotras, E. (2011). Developing Models for Online Academic Advising: Functions, Tools and Organisation of the Advising System in a Virtual University.

Int. J. Technology Enhanced Learning, X(Y), Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/922716/Developing_models_for_online_academic_advising_functions_tools_and_organisation_of_the_advising_system_in_a_virtual_university.

Schaumleffel, N. (2009). Enhanced Academic Advisement with Online Learning Management Systems.

Schole: A Journal Of Leisure Studies & Recreation Education, 24142-147.

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. references .

APPENDICES

25

. appendices .

APPENDIX A E-Mail Recruitment Script Use this subject line: Invitation: Focus Group Study for College of Agriculture & Applied Sciences Dear [Name], We invite you to participate in a focus group discussion about your experience with using Canvas as an online advising tool in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences.

I am a student researcher working with Dr. Kelsey Hall in the college. We have been asked by the Student Services Center to help them get some information about students’ perceptions and experiences with using Canvas as an advising tool. This information will be used by the college’s Student Services Center to improve the service they provide.

If you agree to be in this research study, you will participate in a one-time focus group session with 8 students that will last roughly 60 minutes. The moderator will ask a series of questions that you may answer voluntarily. Research records will be kept confidential, consistent with federal and state regulations.

Lunch will be provided to compensate you for your time and participation.

We will conduct focus groups on the following days.

DATE: TIME: PLACE: Please respond to me with the date you can participate by [deadline]. If you have any questions or comments, please contact _____ at _______.

You may also contact Dr. Kelsey Hall, assistant professor in agricultural communication and journalism, at kelsey.hall@usu.edu or 435-797-3289. This study has been approved by the USU Institutional Review Board.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and support.

Thank you for your willingness to participate; we hope to see you on ______.

Sincerely, [Name] Student Researcher [Number] [Email] Kelsey Hall Assistant Professor, Agricultural Communication & Journalism 435-797-3289 kelsey.hall@usu.edu 26 . appendices .

APPENDIX A Telephone Recruitment Script Name of person_______________________________ Phone number________________________________ Time called___________________________________ Better time to call______________________________ May I please speak to [name of potential participant]?

My name is ______________. I am a student researcher working with Dr. Kelsey Hall in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. We have been asked by the Student Services to conduct a research study about Canvas. The college recommended you as a participant in the study. Were you enrolled in the college last year? [Can chat about major, how much time left, etc.] Is this a convenient time to give you further information about our study?

[If no, thank student for their time and ask for a more convenient time to call back.]

[If yes] We want to know about students’ perceptions and experiences with using Canvas as an advising tool. We are getting together a small group of students to gain input about Canvas as an advising tool. Information discussed at this meeting will be used by the college’s Student Services Center to improve the service they provide.

The focus group will last about an hour, and we plan to have about 8 students in attendance. A note taker will write down your comments to facilitate collection of information and analysis. All information will be considered confidential, and no names will be attached to the report presented to the Student Service Center. If you choose to attend the discussion, you will receive a meal as a thank you for helping us out.

Are you interested in participating in this discussion?

[If no, thank student for their time, give contact information in case he or she change their mind, and close conversation.]

[If yes:] We are planning two different meeting times: [day and date] at [time] and [day and date] at [time]. Does either of these times work for you? [If not, take note of other days or times that would work for them.]

Day & Time: _____________________________________ Other days or times (if necessary):__________________________________________ [If yes, make note of day and time.] Great. I will send an email a few days before the focus group as a reminder.

What is your preferred email address?

E-mail address:___________________________________ Thank you so much for agreeing to help us out. We couldn’t do it without you. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns before or after the focus group, you can contact me at [phone number] or [email address].

Thanks again. I look forward to seeing you at the discussion. Good bye.

27 . appendices .

APPENDIX A E-Mail Confirmation Script Use this subject line: Confirmation of Focus Group Participation Dear [Name], Thank you for volunteering your time to discuss your experiences and perceptions with using Canvas as an advising tool. This e-mail confirms your attendance at the focus group on [date] at [time] in [Building Name & room number].

It will be a small group, about 8 people. All information is confidential, and no names will be attached to the report presented to the college’s Student Services Center. As a token of our gratitude, you will be provided with lunch.

If you have questions or cannot join us, please contact us at [phone number] or [e-mail address]. This study has been approved by the USU Institutional Review Board.

We look forward to meeting you on [day].

Thanks, [Name] Student Researcher [Number] [Email] Kelsey Hall Assistant Professor, Agricultural Communication & Journalism 435-797-3289 kelsey.hall@usu.edu  

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APPENDIX A Reminder phone call May I please speak to [participant name]?

Hi, my name is [name]. I’m one of the student researchers conducting the focus group you agreed to participate in. We’re calling to remind you that we are looking forward to seeing you on [date] at [time] in [location] to talk about your experience with Canvas as an advising tool.

As a token of our appreciation, a meal will be provided.

If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact [name] at [number] or [e-mail address]. Please let us know if you need directions or are unable to attend.

Thank you for agreeing to help us out. We hope to see you there.

Reminder text (if voice mail is not available): Reminder: Your focus group will be on [date] at [time] in [location]. Contact this number if you need directions or can’t attend. Thank you.

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APPENDIX B Focus Group Moderator Guide Moderator reads: Hello and welcome. Thanks for taking the time to participate in our discussion about your perceptions of using Canvas as an advising tool in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences.

My name is ________________, and I am a student researcher working with Dr. Kelsey Hall in the college.

Assisting me today is ________________, also a student researcher.

We have been asked by the Student Services Center to help them get some information about students’ perceptions and experiences with using Canvas as an advising tool. They want the information to help them improve the service they provide. You were invited because you are all students who have used Canvas as an advising tool for the past year, and you can provide valuable information about your experience with the center’s Canvas site.

Before we begin, I’m going to share some things that will make our discussion easier and more productive.

There are no right or wrong answers. We expect that you will have different points of view. We want you to feel free to share your point of view even if it differs from what others have said. We ask that only one person speak at a time and that you speak up so all can hear. We are audio recording this session because we don’t want to miss any of your comments. No names will be included in the report to the Student Services Center.

Your comments are confidential.

We have name tents here in front of us tonight. They help me remember names, but they can also help you.

Don’t feel like you have to respond to me all the time. If you want to follow up on something someone else has said, you want to agree, or disagree, or give an example, feel free to do that. Feel free to have a conversation with one another about these questions. My role is to ask questions and listen. I will not be participating in the conversation. I’ll be asking around 10 questions and be moving from one question to the next. It is important for us to hear from each of you today because of your unique experiences. So if you are talking a lot, I may ask you to allow others to respond. And if you are not saying much, I may call on you. We just want to make sure all of you have a chance to share your ideas.

Our session will last around 60 minutes. Please turn off all cell phones or other electronic devices you may have with you while we are in the discussion.

Engagement Question Let’s find out more about each other by going around the table one at a time. Please tell us your name, your hometown, and what you are studying. [5 minutes] Now that we have all been introduced, I would like to begin today’s discussion by understanding you viewpoints about the Canvas page for your academic major. Think back to last year when you participated in the Student Services Center Canvas page for your academic major. What were your impressions? [3 minutes] Exploration Questions How have you used the Student Services Center’s Canvas site? [3 minutes] 30

. appendices .

APPENDIX B

What do you like best about the use of Canvas for advising? [5 minutes] What do you like least about the use of Canvas for advising? [5 minutes] What advising content would you like the Student Services Center to post to Canvas? [5 minutes]

What advising content would you like the Student Services Center to delete from Canvas? [5 minutes] How does the Student Services Center get students to use Canvas for advising? [5 minutes] How often do you want to receive information? [2 minutes] Exit Questions Moderator Reads: Of all the things we discussed, what to you is the most important?

Our assistant moderator is now going to try and summarize the main points from today’s discussion. [provide summary] Assistant Moderator Reads: Is this an adequate summary?

Moderator Reads: As I explained at the beginning of the discussion, the purpose of this focus group was to get your feedback about advising through Canvas for the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences.

Your comments today will be very useful in determining the future actions the college will pursue with advising through Canvas. Have we missed anything?

Thank you for taking the time today to come and share your opinions with us. We greatly appreciate your participation; it has provided us with very valuable insight into this topic.

Debriefing questions to be discussed between moderator and assistants.

1. What are the most important themes or ideas discussed?

2. How did these differ from what we expected?

3. How did these differ from what occurred in earlier focus groups? (If necessary) 4. What points need to be included in the report?

5. What quotes should be remembered and possibly included in the report?

6. Were there any unexpected or anticipated findings?

7. Should we do anything differently for the next focus group? (If necessary)

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APPENDIX C

Focus group transcripts 10/28/13 Q1: Think back to last year when you participated in the student services’ center Canvas page for your academic major. What were your impressions?

1.1: Well I thought it was really helpful when applying for the program because they kept us up to date on qualifications and things that we needed to do and deadlines and stuff like that for our application. So I thought that was really helpful and like volunteer hours and where we can get more hours because we need so many for our application, and so I thought that was really helpful.

1.4: I know on mine they put all the clubs, well some of the clubs, will put their events and stuff that’s going on and that was helpful for people that didn't have emails or anything they could just go on there and figure out when the clubs were doing stuff.

1.5: We have a lot of job postings for ours that’s really helpful to see what kind of jobs are available and then you can start applying for them as well.

1.6: I agree with Julie, I was down at SUU last year but I was planning on transferring up here so I had a Can-

vas account here, I had a Canvas account to at SUU but it was a little different, so it was really helpful in the volunteer opportunities that it notified me of. Because I needed to get volunteer hours so I could apply for that program and so it just let me know when they were and how I could sign up and get there since I wasn’t here in Logan in the class or anything. So it was a special case though but…

every day.

Q3: What do you like best about the use of Canvas for advising?

Q2: How have you guys used the student services’ centers Canvas cite?

1.3: I think it’s good because as advising I think it answers a lot of question you’d probably ask your advisor anyway. Like with the volunteer hours we have to do for dietetics is something we definitely talk to our advisor a lot about, but since it is put on Canvas we can just get the information there and kind of figure it out ourselves without having to take up our advisors time doing that.

1.7: It helps me stay organized. Just letting me know what I’m needing to be doing always, I check it regularly.

1.8: With ours we get a lot of speakers but they just don’t tell us like when that’s happening so like weekly we know what to expect from that.

1.4: Ours it lets us know deadlines for different journals or something that we can get in for free and also different scholarships that are available.

1.2: I have mine set up to send me email notifications when I get announcements and I definitely check my email a lot more than I do my Canvas, so that is very convenient so I can see the announcements on my email instead of logging in

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1.5: I really like the access of it. It’s just really easy to get in and see and figure out the organization.

1.4: Everything is all in one spot.

You don’t have to go to like six different sites to get all the information you need. It’s all in one area.

1.4: And also ours has a link where you can actually make an appointment with the advisor right online so you don’t have to try and can up and be like ‘hey is the advisor available today?’ you can just go and reserve it.

1.8: To be honest I don’t really use it to much for advising. I look at Canvas to see when my stuff ’s do or see what my grade was, that’s what I use it for. I don’t remember any job postings or anything like that being

APPENDIX C

on there. I’m a master’s student so most of the information I get is from the department up here.

There’s a secretary that will send us emails, so I don’t know I guess you could do that on Canvas also but she doesn’t.

Q4: What do you like least about Canvas for advising?

1.3: I do like it overall but some of the things that they post are irrelevant I feel like, I don’t know.

So it was most helpful when I was trying to get in my program when I kinda like sluffed through all the stuff that really didn’t matter to look for those things that had the hours that I wanted. But I’ll be honest, like I don’t use it anymore just because it’s mostly like, I don’t even know. Like if you were to ask me which things were irrelevant I wouldn’t even know because I don’t look at it anymore but sometimes I’m like I don’t have time. Probably just some notifications that pop up.

1.4: I don’t know if this is relevant but I really don’t like how they consolidated everything so you have one log in and its suppose to give you access to Canvas and Aggiemail and all that, like it just made it more confusing. I liked it when you could just log in to canvas and that was it. It made it easier to find.

1.1: I agree with Ashley, I don’t

know if it’s just because I’m busy but I feel like there’s a lot of notifications and so it’s like you have to go through all of them and have to delete all of them. So I don’t know.

1.3: I would suggest just limiting it to just college of agriculture advising things, like when notification things pop about like study abroad, that’s not relevant to a dietetics major and that’s not, I just don’t want ads about study abroad on my Canvas I guess.

1.9: One of the things I don’t like with all of the notifications is that I also have them emailed to me and I hate that you have to get it and open it up in your email and you have to click on the link but then you have to log in to like see it. I never like putting in the time to login and see what it says so I just say whatever.

1.4: Especially because when you login it doesn’t actually pop up, it’ll just pop up with the list of all the different announcements and you have to go find it.

1.7: I agree, I don’t use it much for advising, it’s brand new for me.

I didn’t use it last year because I wasn’t here so I’m still honestly learning about it but I think there’s a lot of notifications, but other than that I think it’s been really helpful.

Q5: What advising content would 33

. appendices .

you like the Student Services Center to post to Canvas?

1.5: I like how they post the deadlines, just like withdrawal things, or like general academic school deadline.

1.4: Weird scholarships they find would be nice. Like if some eccentric billionaire is out $100,000 for this (laughter from all). Stuff that’s not really posted, but they just kind of hear about, that would be useful.

1.6: Well with the dietetics people it would be nice if they could kind of separate it to people who are in the program, and who is not, so that the information is more relevant to that education.

1.2: Same as what I’ve heard. It would be nice to hear about scholarship opportunities. I know they do post some, every now and then, but kind of the more random one too.

Q6: What advising content would you like the Student Service Center to delete from Canvas?

1.4: I think what someone mentioned before, just the study abroad, if it’s not a study abroad that is actually applicable to our major, if its like an arts study abroad, or something like that, none of us are going to be going on that. So there is no need for us to be getting a notifica-

APPENDIX C

tion about that.

1.3: I don’t know if it’s like super important for them to post activities. Cause they’ll have a lot of a lot of the College of Ag activities and I don’t know like, for advising, if I’m going to go see my adviser they're not going to be like, “here come to the chilly cookout.” Its just not really relevant to advising I think.

class,” or whatever. And I wouldn’t have even, like, I didn’t really even know what was really going on. But since I’m on campus all the time, I think since they keep popping up I’m like, “oh well, I’m in the College of Ag, so that is probably why I’m part of this group. But I hadn’t actually been really told about it, it just popped up in canvas.

1.4: See and I actually like them because that is like the only place you can find that, those announcements, cause you can’t find them anywhere else. I mean, yeah it’s not applicable to advising, but they haven’t made another website, or anything that they put all of those announcements on.

1.9: One of the things my departments does is like we have a student advisor who post on to that.

And so it’s just kind of like, I don’t know something we can relate to more. Like I know the kid, so it’s like, I don’t know. It’s like one of those things that if they are posting an event, and it’s a student rather than a faculty member, the chances of them going and getting people to go is greater. So I think getting student advisers involved could be really good.

1.8: What if they did like a setting thing, where you could click on the things you want to hear about?

You know? Because, I guess some people might want to hear about it there and some people don’t really care.

Q7: How does the Student Service Center get students to use Canvas for advising?

1.5: I think a lot of teachers use canvas for advising. Or canvas as well. So it gets you to look and see what’s new.

1.1: I hadn’t even, like I got a notification at the beginning of the year saying like, “join the College of Ag

1.4: Having professors have their class on there would be good. I know one of my professors has his own website, so you don’t even go into Canvas to look at anything because he doesn’t post anything on there.

1.7: So I didn’t even know, it’s like optional to use Canvas? For all my classes, they are all there, so I don’t really have a choice really. Because that is how I submit assignments and all of our modules are there. So I guess I didn’t even realize there 34

. appendices .

are people still not using it.

1.4: I think he puts like a final grade on there, but yeah like there are no assignments, no announcements on there.

Q8: How often do you want to receive information?

1.4 “I don’t know. Weekly, biweekly.”

1.3 “Maybe it would be nice if they did like a weekly bulletin, or something, and just combined all of their announcements for the week into one, instead of having to click back and forth between four or five announcements.”

Q9: Out of all the things we discussed what was the most important?

1.1: I think the most important thing is how specific you can get.

Make it more specific to a major and the information we are being given. That is the most important thing to me anyway.

1.2: I agree, I think more the more specific it is to me and the more relevant, I’d be more likely to get on there.

APPENDIX C

Focus group transcripts 10/30/13 Q1: What were your impressions of the page?

2.1: I dunno, it just kinda, there is nothing on it I feel like, I think it’s really bland and it doesn’t really feel like an advising page, it just feels like a flood your email page. But that’s all I got from it at the beginning.

2.2: I kinda felt the same way with it at the beginning. But the longer we’ve had it and the more announcements that have come there are some announcements and things that have been on it that I have been really grateful for cause I wouldn’t have known otherwise. So, it’s been a good thing.

2.3: Um, I kinda just feel like it kinda flooded my email, I didn’t really know what to do with it really. It was just there, kind of.

Q2: How have you used the student services centers canvas site?

2.1: Um, I’ve just gotten the announcement some of them, like she said, were useful but most of them were just annoying cause there were just things that I feel like we already know or should know like deadlines or when to drop classes and um other things like that, but there have been some useful ones, but I

feel like I don’t get the useful ones cause when I have I close down how many I get from the canvas site cause there were just so many, I literally got ten a day and it wasn’t worth it.

2.2: I just mostly use it for the announcements, like I just get the announcements, that’s really all I got.

2.3: That’s all I know you can do with it, I just get the announcements.

Q3: What do you like best about the use of Canvas for advising?

2.1: I dunno, I feel like it’s nice in the fact that certain stuff like this, like things such like research. I feel like I wanna help with research whether I can be in it or participate as a ya know as you guys are doing but ugh I feel like that’s not what they use it for, I feel like that’s done more in class. So I mean like today I got an announcement if you wanted to become a research participant that I like looked at but I don’t fit under the criteria but I feel like that’s a good goal. Or if you have things like right now at the aggie ice cream they have the beef study right now and you get a free aggie ice cream and I feel like that would be useful like people would actually do something with that, but that’s just my opinion.

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2.2: Ya, no I agree. I feel like there is more things they could put in there like things like that. I just barely learned that the nutrition students are selling soup for something. Like that’s something good to put in there. Just put everything that the college is doing and put it in there, so that we are aware and informed. It is nice to have those announcements. That’s what I use it for mostly. I am sure there are other things I could use it for.

2.3: Um, yeah I agree with that. I don’t really have anything to add.

Q4: What do you like least about using Canvas for advising?

2.1: I feel like it would be nice if we could have do some way to get like get um the meeting with our advisor through it cause I feel like I hate calling and then trying to be like oh when can you do it. I wish there was just a more direct way of just saying these are the times I have available to do it and do it from there cause I feel like trying to call is just, I have been wanting to call for like three weeks but every time it’s like 6:00 or 7:00 so I just can’t but I just feel like there is more than just announcements they could utilize. I feel like I didn’t even know that major was in the Ag thing so I feel like there is just a lot of disconnect between the Ag majors and we just know our little aspect of it, which could be better

APPENDIX C

utilized on the site.

2.2: The main thing I was thinking was just ugh, setting up appointments with your advisor, that would be very useful.

2.3: Yeah I dunno if like, I have never really explored it so I dunno if there are links to each major or just advising stuff, like stuff you can do on your own to kinda look up. If there is I just haven’t found it. That would be good to have too.

Q5: What advising content would you like the Student Services Center to post to Canvas?

2.1: I know on there they had who your advisor is, but that’s the extent of it. I don’t know where they are available, when they’re not available. It might be on there, but it’s not very readily accessible especially if you click on the home page... you have to go through files and such to find things. This is a problem for me because I feel like advisors don’t help in the aspect that they’re supposed to in the first place. I feel like Canvas isn’t helping because I feel like it’s not starting at a good place. I kinda wish there was an easier, maybe, checklist on the canvas was classes you need to take and when they’re available every semester. I feel like some classes I have to go through Access and look at every class because some of the classes I have to take for PA school are only offered during the times that I have during these nutrition

classes and they’re offered at the same time every year. It would be useful to be like, ‘Okay, I should take this my sophomore year and not my senior year because I won’t be able to do it because they’re both at 9:30. I feel like there would be a lot of people that would benefit from it.

2.2: I agree with what she said.

2.3: Yeah, that’s pretty much what I was thinking too.

Q6: What advising content would you like the Student Services Center to delete from Canvas?

2.3: For me, every day seeing the notification that you can still withdraw from the class or that you can still withdraw with a W is kind of pointless to have that on there every day. Maybe just have the final deadline of that. That’s like the only thing that I really saw that I could think of. Pointless stuff like that.

such. When I was in the dietetics program, I deleted it because it was just flooding my inbox so much that I was like okay, I’ll keep in the Ag Science but I won’t stay in that one because I keep getting so much useless information.

Q7: How does the SSC get students to use Canvas for advising?

2.2: The thing I really liked that I’ve been thinking about is how instead of calling we would have our advisor’s schedule on there because everything is through Canvas anyway, so why not put that on there, too? I think that’s one thing that I would appreciate.

2.3: Put more useful things on there, like the classes you need to take. Stuff that actually applies to advising besides deadlines.

2.1: On most Canvas, there are ‘people’ and ‘files’ and stuff like that.

On the people file, it doesn’t tell you what major people are studying.

2.1: As I’ve been looking on it, there So I don’t know who is even in my really doesn’t seem to be much on major at times because I may not it period. So I feel like if we took be in the same classes at the same anything else down there would be time as them. If they were like, nothing on it. So I feel like there’s so these were Ag majors, here are the much more they could do than an- nutrition majors, this is dietetics. nouncements but that’s all they do.

Sometimes I know who people are And then people don’t know that kind of, because maybe I’ve seen the page really exists because they them. If we know what major they flood your email with announceare, we can come together better ments and they don’t want to take and it would be helpful for classes the announcements off because that and such like that, asking how they will take from other classes and studied, what notes they took, such 36

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APPENDIX C

like that, would be useful.

Q8: How often do you want to receive information?

2.1: It just depends on what they’re sending. I feel like the school sends stuff already about when to drop and sign up for classes, but I feel like it would be more useful for food day, or you get a free Aggie ice cream if you sign up for this research study. College students don’t have a lot of time and we already get emails about so much. We hear so much about the bad test scores we get that we would rather get more useful and happy information.

2.2: I don’t really have anything to add. We talked about how messages can get redundant.

2.3 If it’s important, once a week.

2.1: I think once a day is fine.

Q9: Of all the things we discussed, what to you in the most important?

2.2: Better access to your advisor.

When I first changed my major I was still trying to decide which I wanted to do, it would have been very helpful to have a link saying

which classes each major requires.

I’m sure we could find it on another site, but it would be nice to have it all consolidated so we can just go there and compare and contrast without having to go onto Access or do all these other things that take forever. It would help in making decisions to have that there. So, access to our advisor and listing the courses for each major. I would appreciate that.

2.3: Having access to classes you need to take would be helpful and being able to set up the appointments online, that would be really great. I know the pre-med advisor has that set up already, so there is a way to do that.

2.1: How I said earlier about the classes times. I was talking to Debbie my advisor and she said like, “Yeah, the teachers keep it at that time and so a lot of students get screwed up and have to stay another semester or year longer.” They don’t talk in classes at all about how this advising is available so I feel like it would be better used if people actually knew it was out there and knew what it was for, instead of just being this thing that I keep receiving without knowing why.

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APPENDIX D

Focus group debriefing notes 10/28/13 1. What are the most important themes or ideas discussed?

Marisa: Alright, well I think the first major theme brought up by the participants was utilizing Canvas as a forum for students to sign up to meet with their advisor instead of having to go into the office or call for a meeting.

Betsy: I also thought a majority of students were not quite sure that the advising page on canvas was even for advising. Some of them seemed confused at first. They said they liked the announcements but it was brought up quite a few times that there was information overload.

Marisa: Another theme was students wanting to know more about deadlines for scholarships or a plan for them to sign up for classes so that they don’t get to graduation and realize they are a class short... I had that happen to me this year.

2. How did these differ from what we expected?

Betsy: I was really surprised that only a couple of people really knew what the page was about and even the ones who knew about it thought it was simply for announcements

not for advising.

Marisa: Yeah, I thought that was odd but I feel like once they knew what we were talking about they gave us some good input. The one girl saying it was just message overload didn’t shock me either.

3. How did these differ from what occurred in earlier focus groups? (If necessary) [skipped question because this was the first focus group] 4. What points need to be included in the report?

Betsy: I think it’s important to discuss the students’ desire for major specific content, setting up meetings with advisors and that all the announcements can be overbearing.

Marisa: That would be good. Especially, since those things were brought up multiple times during the focus group. I think it would be important to note that many of the students were not really clear about the page and that it is for advising purposes.

5. What quotes should be remembered and possibly included in the report?

Betsy: I thought the quote about it

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flooding your email would be good to add.

Marisa: I also liked the quote about how they need to “have some way to get the meeting with our advisor through it cause I feel like I hate calling and then trying to be like ‘oh when can you do it?’ I wish there was just a more direct way of just saying these are the times I have available to do it and do it from there.”

6. Were there any unexpected or anticipated findings?

Marisa: Honestly, there wasn’t anything unexpected. I felt like I had many of the similar opinions as the respondents did, just by being apart of the page this semester.

Betsy: I felt the same way. It was a little unexpected that a lot of the students didn’t really know that page was for advising. But if I was in the college I don’t think I would have either because it doesn’t seem like it’s really talked about. I also figured they would say something about the announcement overload.

7. Should we do anything differently for the next focus group?

Marisa: I think the biggest thing is just making sure we have everything we need beforehand. Having the pizza come in the middle of

APPENDIX D

the focus group made things really hard and interrupted the conversation. Other than that I think it went really great.

Betsy: Yeah, I think it went great.

That girl coming in late was kind of a distraction too, but I don’t know how we prevent or fix that.

Focus group debriefing notes 10/28/13 1. What are the most important themes or ideas discussed?

Marisa: One of them didn’t even know that Canvas was being used for advising. It took them a while to understand what we were talking about.

2. How did these differ from what we expected?

Chase: These views are pretty much what I expected.

Rachel: Though, I was a little surprised that some students who had Canvas for advising didn’t even know it was there.

Rachel: I think that the major theme from all of the people who participated in the focus group is that Canvas isn’t effectively being used as an advising tool. Emails either aren’t coming at all or are flooding inboxes and the reminders aren’t for things that the students are specifically looking for.

3. How did these differ from what occurred in earlier focus groups? (if necessary)

Chase: A lot of the students said that they wanted a place to sign up for advising appointments online.

A place where they can see the availability of their advisor and can make an appointment at any time of the day or night.

4. What points need to be included in the report?

Betsy: I found that a lot of students want to know more about upcoming deadlines for scholarships or signing up for classes.

Marisa: The main views and what we expected really didn’t change from the earlier focus group.

Rachel: Yeah.

Chase: That Canvas, if used and marketed correctly, could really be beneficial to students. Reminding about scholarships and other school deadlines, having a place to schedule advising appointments online, and effectively distributing information to students would all be ways to improve the current Canvas advising system.

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Rachel: Yeah I really agree, a major part of Canvas advising not being used effectively is the fact that a lot of people don’t know about it. If the site offered something that would be really beneficial to students then more students would use the program. I know when someone in my major finds a website super helpful we tell each other.

5. What quotes should be remembered and possibly included in the report?

Rachel: I really liked this quote and how it explicitly discusses how Canvas’ current system of communicating with students is overpowering: “I’ve just gotten the announcement some of them, like she said, were useful but most of them were just annoying because there were just things that I feel like we already know or should know like dead-lines or when to drop classes and um other things like that, but there have been some useful ones, but I feel like I don’t get the useful ones cause when I have I close down how many I get from the canvas site because there were just so many, I literally got ten a day and it wasn’t worth it.”

Chase: I thought the quote about a better way to access your advisor would be very beneficial to include in the report: “Better access to your

APPENDIX D

advisor. When I first changed my major I was still trying to decide which I wanted to do, it would have been very helpful to have a link saying which classes each major requires. I’m sure we could find it on another site, but it would be nice to have it all consolidated so we can just go there and compare and contrast without having to go onto Access or do all these other things that take forever. It would help in making decisions to have that there.

So, access to our advisor and listing the courses for each major. I would appreciate that.”

Marisa: I thought it was a good point that was brought up that there should be an outline on the advising website so that students can view what classes they need to take during which semester: “How I said earlier about the classes times.

I was talking to Debbie my advisor and she said like, ‘Yeah, the teachers keep it at that time and so a lot of students get screwed up and have to stay another semester or year longer.’ They don’t talk in classes at

all about how this advising is available so I feel like it would be better used if people actually knew it was out there and knew what it was for, instead of just being this thing that I keep receiving without knowing why.”

6. Were there any unexpected or anticipated findings?

Chase: We expected them to know about the advising page already because it had been announced to them already, but apparently it wasn’t correctly. I also anticipated the students’ responses to be more positive, that they would have thought that Canvas advising would be more helpful.

Rachel: I anticipated the flooding of emails. I feel like that is a big theme with all the departments at USU. I know between the JCOM department and the Business school I get at least three emails a day from USU. 7. Should we do anything different-

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ly for the next focus group?

Betsy: For the next focus group I think that we should make the students in the focus group really focus on what the questions we ask are really asking. When looking over the transcript, for a couple of the questions there were a few responses that didn’t necessarily answer the given question.

Chase: I think maybe to let the students talk more evenly. There was one girl that talked quite a lot, so maybe just have people like her talk last more often so it doesn’t cause groupthink.

Rachel: I think in all the focus group went pretty well! Maybe next time just make the moderators script a little more explicit so that students in the focus group will know that we are studying Canvas for advising, not the regular class uses for Canvas.

APPENDIX E

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