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Needs Assessment - New Student Orientation

Tiffany Loken
CUR/528
October 12, 2015
SIDDEEQAHJOHNSON

Needs Assessment- New Student Orientation

Overview:
Course/Training - New Student Orientation at the Murrieta Learning Center- University of
Phoenix
The Purpose - Is to prepare new students for their class and experience at the University of
Phoenix prior to starting class
The Issue - Staff feels that campus students are not as prepared as online students
The Assessment - Gather data to see if that is in fact true
Introduction to the Issue
Data was evaluated but the University that showed students are more successful if they
attend orientations of workshops prior to beginning their programs, so the University of Phoenix
now requires all students to complete a New Student Orientation that prepares them for their
classes for their program. Online students must pass the orientation in order to move on to their
first class. The campus students are not currently evaluated for a pass or fail of the orientation
and are allowed to continue to their first class. Their comprehension is not assessed at all during
the process. This has recently been a topic of conversation advisors because they have noticed
longer calls or meetings with campus students in their first class than with online students.
New Student Orientation Overview
Currently our online New Student Orientation consists of three days actively learning in
our online learning system, which incorporates learning activities and assignments that must be
completed in order to pass the workshop. However, our New Student Orientation that is held at
our learning centers/campuses are two hours long and often do not require new students to touch

a computer. It is more of a presentation given by our operations staff. Our counselors feel that
students that pass the New Student Orientation at the campus do not understand our resources,
nor retain how to be success in class. Most students, after attending the orientation, can post their
first homework assignment. In the Online orientation the students pass the workshop knowing
most of the resources, how to post, where to navigate if they need something on the website, and
understand our processes. However, there is no data to back this up yet and is the main reason for
the needs assessment.
Stakeholders and Budget
The University of Phoenix is under investigation for the way our stakeholders and
business team have decided to market to potential students and what rules we follow. We have a
great academic team and structure that is often not looked at by the investigating bodies. The sole
goal is to help adults be successful and right now, our New Student Orientations being held at
our campuses are not preparing all of our students for success. Whether a student goes online or
to a campus, they should have the same learning outcomes and preparation program.
The Needs Assessment
The needs assessment will identify if we need to make our New Student Orientation on
the campus longer than two hours, if we should incorporate more hands-on learning activities, or
if it is fine the way it is. In this case, the stakeholders are our students, staff, facilitators, and the
University because we will all reap the benefits of the successful outcome of the orientation's
success. Currently there will not need to be a budget in place. If the outcome does show there
needs to be enough computers to facilitate the orientation or extra hours needed, we already have
those resources allocated at each learning center/campus and will not require any extra funds. It

may have an inconvenience attached because the learning center where students are able to use
the computers at any time may be closed for the orientation, but the operations staff would make
sure to give enough notice to students.
Measurement
The Specific information to be measured is the overall understanding of students once the
orientation is completed. Do they understand what resources are available to students, how to
find resources, how to post an assignment, how to post a message, how to get a hold of their
instructor, what is required of them in class, what learning teams are, and how to find and unlock
their book? All aspects are currently covered in the online version of the orientation.
Assessment Evaluation
The assessment will be completed at the next two-hour campus orientation occurring on
October 19, 2015. We will have the operations team let the students know that this particular
orientation may take two and a half hours, which leaves approximately thirty minutes for the
survey portion for our needs assessment. The orientation will be completed as it has been,
without students at computers. After the orientation has been completed all students will be
instructed to complete a survey in the student resource center. They will be told to only answer
what they can and to leave the difficult questions blank. This will give us a clear indication if
they are retaining as much as the online students. The survey they will be given is similar to a
survey that all online students complete on the first day of their orientation. Portions added to the
survey will have students answer questions about themselves and a section for feedback; this will
allow students to expand on their thoughts regarding the orientation.

Data and Next Steps

This will help myself and my manager to access and measure the data. We will look for
the overall understanding of the material. If the assessment shows that the students do need
computer access while in the orientation, we will need to work closely with operations and our
current students to set expectations of the computer usage in the student resource center.
Operations will need to ensure that all students are made aware of orientations so they can plan
to schedule another time to use the computers while the class is in session or to reserve one of
our learning team rooms so they may work on their homework while the student resource center
is occupied.
There will also need to be new expectations with the operations staff facilitating the new
student orientation. There will need to be a pass/fail expectation established and operations will
need to grade the quizzes/worksheets at the end of each orientation. Unlike online, if a student
failed the worksheet then a private session will be scheduled with an operations specialist to go
through the website together and ensure the student understands. A private session can also be
scheduled with the student's advisor if they feel more comfortable as they have usually built
rapport through the enrollment process.
This will be put in place to assist our students the best we can, but also because the ADA
(Americans with Disability Act) department at the University of Phoenix does not assist the
student until they are in their first class. We are not allowed to ask students if they are working
with ADA or not and this will help all students that may need extra help. However, the student's
advisor may have an indication that the student need extra assistance through ADA as they are
usually made aware of the situation first, but not allowed to bring it up with the student or "dig
deeper" into any disabilities.

Name________________________________

New Student Orientation Worksheet

Please answer with how you navigate to the following:

Full Syllabus:
_Example-

Class Home>Full Syllabus_____________________________________________

Tech Support Number:

______________________________________________________________________________
Library:
______________________________________________________________________________
EBSCOhost:
______________________________________________________________________________
Instructor Policies:
______________________________________________________________________________
Profile:
______________________________________________________________________________
Schedule and Grades:
______________________________________________________________________________
University Academic Policies:
______________________________________________________________________________

Please explain the following in your own words:

How do you post an assignment?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What do you like most about the online learning system (your school website)?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What do you feel will take the most time to understand or is there anything you may need extra
help with?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Facilitator ____________________________________
Score________________________________________

Supporting Ideas

The first page of the worksheet will show how much they understand about the website
and navigating to the resources they will need in their first class and beyond. The second page of
the document also allows for that but also an opportunity to point out anything they are
uncomfortable with. The last two questions will not be associated with the pass/fail outcome but
work as feedback for the student and staff. if the student states they will need help in a particular
area that information will be sent to their student advisor to set up extra help.