UC Rings In The New Year By Offering New Online Services For Students

Consumer surveys report online Christmas shopping increased significantly in 2004, and high-tech toys were a popular gift. Just a click or two brings you satisfaction in the form of a show, a song, or a prized parcel sold out at the stores. But now that the holiday break is over, that expectation of linking technology to superior service will continue to rise for today’s college student. As a result, the University of Cincinnati is expanding its online offerings in student services.

Coming winter quarter, students will be able to find these added features on the One Stop Web site:

• Web Withdrawal – In a matter of minutes, students who need to withdraw from a class from day 22 through day 58 of the academic quarter will be able to do so through the Web site, instead of going back to the class, finding the professor, and getting a form signed and returned by the withdrawal deadline.

• Faculty Web Grading – This feature will be launched as a pilot program during winter quarter. Under the old system, faculty would submit grades on paper to the Office of the Registrar. The staff at the Registrar’s Office would enter the grades into the UniverSIS student database. Under the new system, instructors will be able to submit student grades on the Web, where they’ll automatically be added to student records. That means students will get their grades faster than under the old data-entry process.

• Health Insurance Waivers – Students will get an electronic reminder about going online to waive their health insurance. UC students who register for six or more credit hours are automatically charged a fee under UC’s student health insurance plan. Students who already have health insurance can waive the fee, but if they miss the deadline for the waiver, they are automatically charged through the academic year. The electronic reminder will help students avoid unnecessary charges.

The features, coordinated by UC’s Student Affairs and Services and the UC Office of Information Technologies (UCit), are in line with the goals of the UC|21 Strategic Plan’s goal of prioritizing the needs of students, says Mitchel D. Livingston, Vice President for Student Affairs and Services. “Our vision of placing students first involves an action plan of creating a 24/7 service environment, eliminating the red tape and barriers that students can encounter, emphasizing self service and quality and providing a seamless and paperless student service environment. We are dramatically eliminating the usage of paper, pencils and shoe leather when students need service.”

Applying for admission, registering for classes and conducting other student business is nearly all a high-tech process now –a significant change and convenience for the college student – compared with students who just a decade ago stood in lines that circled buildings to sign up for classes.

For that matter, technology has significantly revolutionized services at UC from when students were entering classes in fall, 1999, says James D. Williams, director of Enrollment Services. A recent online survey through the One Stop Web site found that 63 percent of the 834 respondents preferred conducting their student business, such as registering for classes, paying bills and applying for financial aid, online.  An online student opinion poll of the One Stop Web Site revealed that more than 38 percent of the 149 students who responded found the Web site “extremely useful,” more than 28 percent declared it “very useful,” and  18 percent found it “useful.”

Here’s one example of the demand for 24/7 student services on the Web: When UC launched a Web feature last fall that allows students to track their progress toward their degree, more than 1,000 students clicked onto Web Degree Audit within 24 hours. Wendy Lambing, director of student records, adds that as of early January, students had generated 21,676 audits since the service became available in late October.

Students interested in transferring to UC from other Ohio institutions are benefiting from a statewide Course Applicability System, created by the Ohio Board of Regents, which went online at UC last fall.  Previously, transfer students would not know if courses taken at other Ohio schools would apply toward a UC degree until after they arrived on campus. The online transfer center immediately shows students which UC courses are consistent with their current program.

“You’ll know if a freshman English course from The Ohio State University is equated with a freshman English course at UC,” explains Caroline Miller, associate vice president for Enrollment Management. “Students are treated equitably. There’s a greater level of fairness.” Furthermore, a unique initiative currently being developed by UC and Cincinnati State Technical College will allow Cincinnati State students to electronically forward their transcripts with UC directly from the Cincinnati State Registrar’s Office. “There will be no mail delays and with our Web degree audits, they’ll immediately be able to tell how everything transfers. This is likely a model for the statewide program that aims to make transfers between universities more seamless,” Miller says.

Tom Canepa, assistant vice president for Admissions, predicts that the tech-savvy high school senior class of 2005 will mean more electronic applications than paper applications at UC this fall. “With the widespread availability of the Web, we will soon reach a point where online applications are required,” says Canepa. It’s a trend reflected in a 2003 survey by the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, which found that 47 percent of students in the survey had submitted at least one college application online in 2003. The survey also reported that nearly 70 percent of high school students were exploring colleges online.

The UC online additions are also holding benefits for alumni. “Last year, we launched a process in which students and alumni can request transcripts online. Prior to that, they had to send in a written request and a check,” Williams says.

Currently in the works to become available for spring quarter will be more enhancements to the Web Degree Audit feature, as well as a virtual advisor that will assist students with questions such as how to sign up for parking, apply for graduation or find the name of their advisor.