JACKS ONLINE NAUS High Score Low Risk Peer

JACKS ONLINE: NAU’S High Score, Low Risk Peer Mentor Program For Online Students AZTransfer Summit Presentation April 13, 2018 By JJ Boggs, Melissa Sottosanti, Anora Tillman, and Tammie Vaughn

JJ BOGGS v Director of Transfer and Commuter Connections v 15 years in higher ed; 2 years at NAU v Background in student activities, student organizations, leadership development, orientation, community engagement, the first-year experience, and transfer student services v Working with this team of mentors and staff to create Jacks Online has been one of the highlights of my career

ANORA TILLMAN ❖ Program Coordinator, Senior ❖ 4 years university experience ❖ Previous background in online advising ❖ M. Ed Leadership from NAU ❖ Former music teacher 3

MELISSA SOTTOSANTI ❖ Jacks Online Mentor since August 2017 ❖ Completing Bachelors Degree in Dental Hygiene at NAU ❖ Dental hygienist & entrepreneur ❖ Full- time mother of 3 boys 4

TAMMIE VAUGHN ❖ Jacks Online Mentor since August 2017, GA 2018 -2019 ❖ Completed Bachelors Degree at NAU ❖ Starting Master Of Organizational Leadership at NAU Fall 2018 ❖ Work full time at a Fortune 500 company 5

TRANSFER AND COMMUTER CONNECTIONS v 6 -year old program; part of Student Affairs v Developed to assist transfer students with their transition to NAU v Now serve new transfer students on our Flagstaff campus, students who live off campus, and new online students v Staff § § Director 2 Program Coordinator, Srs who direct our mentoring programs 2 Transfer Specialists who assist prospective and transitioning students 20+ mentors v Served over 2500 students during the 2017 -2018 AY 6

Demographics of New Online Transfer Students (Fall 2017) § § § 87% AZ residents 65% Part-time 74% Female 47% Students of Color 74% First-gen Lower Div. Upper Div. Avg. age 29 31 Avg. credits transferred 44 87 Avg. core gpa 3. 41 3. 32 7

Where we started: Our mentors: Janet, Liz, Melissa, Jessica, Kayla, Tammie and James 8

MISSION Designed to assist students with their transition to online learning and to help them feel connected to the NAU community through… § Peer mentoring § Outreach § Events § Advocacy § Campus partnerships 9

PEER MENTORING § § Opt-out program New students are typically matched with a mentor from their degree family Interact as frequently as needed for the first semester Communicate via text, phone, email and video chat

MENTORS § § § § Mentors are successful online students 1 veteran 3 moms and 1 dad Mentors are from diverse backgrounds 4 are working other jobs (some fulltime) All live outside of Flagstaff All have a 3. 0 or higher GPA 11

MENTOR TRAININGS On-campus training in the summer & winter Expectations and mentoring basics Teambuilding Salesforce, Bb Learn, and Collaborate Ultra Resources Advising support Ongoing professional development through weekly video chat staff meetings, 1: 1 meetings with Anora, and group texts § Mentor-led trainings § § § §

OUTREACH § Focus on first-time online students § 1, 204 students enrolled in Jacks Online for 2017/2018 § In the first week, mentors supported 150 new online students § Partnership referrals § 200+ Mentoring relationships have been established this year

JACKS ONLINE COURSE § § Created a Bb Learn course shell Enrolled all new online students in the course and assigned them to a mentor Students have access to a resource folder, mentor contact info, group mentoring folder, and video chat through Bb Learn Collaborate Ultra Mentors have their own chat room and resource folder 14

MENTORING TOPICS § § § § § Bb Learn LOUIE Resources Tips and tricks Goal setting Tech support How to order books Connecting with advisors Pep talks/calming nerves 15

EVENTS We’ve hosted several big events this year: § Football game and tailgating in Flagstaff with the mentors § Spring Break Celebration with break-out sessions § Program-specific events such as the Business Meet & Greet and Health Sciences Fair 16

DESIGNING YOUR LIFE & FORUM In conjunction with NAU Reads, mentors have developed a weekly virtual book club to discuss and facilitate activities from Designing Your Life. (Bill Burnett & Dave Evans) Based on student feedback, mentors have also developed weekly forums to ask for help in a group setting on selected topics. Mentor forums are being identified already for next fall!

ADVOCACY Retention committee § Several retention initiatives have been identified and are in progress What are we hearing from online students and how are we helping? § Social Media & Website Classroom partnerships § Multi-Term Enrollment § Connecting to the broader online community § 18

CAMPUS PARTNERS § § § Academic Success Center Student Service Center Advising Career Development Information Technology Services Veteran Success Center 19

Goals for the Pilot Year 10 mentors 50 mentees 2 events Outcomes for the Pilot Year 5 mentors 200+ mentees 5 events Weekly mentor-led online groups

NEW OPPORTUNITIES 2018 -2019 School Year § Summer mentoring § Resource roadshow § Appointment Planner - tools, consistency with other departments § Probationary status students § Senior Mentor/GA § Social media § More special events that develop connections to NAU throughout AZ and via online forums 21

LESSONS LEARNED § BBLearn/Collaborate Ultra § Predicting enrollment & hiring cycle § Group communications § Mentoring needs of online students § Sense of community § Events 22

Melissa’s Stories Beginning of The Semester: Melissa, I need help with essays, analyzing, citing. . . I'm not doing well with my classes. . . I'm trying but. . not working. . Worried now. I might just have to drop these classes. I really don’t think I should have gone back to school at my age.

End of The Semester: Hi Melissa, Thanks for the encouragement, things are going really well! I have an A in my class and haven't had any issues , thank goodness. The end of my class is quickly approaching. You have been a tremendous help and I don’t think I could have done it without you calling me and encouraging me, you really held me accountable and I thank you for that. Sorry to get all sappy but it’s true! P. S I just had my dental checkup and my hygienist said my teeth are the BEST they have ever been! I told her that you taught me how to properly floss and how to get that piece of popcorn out of my gums (Ew haha)!!! Hope you have a great day!

Tammie Video Chat with Feet!

WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR US?

FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US Anora Tillman JJ Boggs § Jacks Online Program Coordinator § Anora. Tillman@nau. edu § 928. 523. 9233 § Director of Transfer and Commuter Connections § JJ. Boggs@nau. edu § 928. 523. 0367 Melissa Sottosanti Tammie Vaughn § Jacks Online Mentor § Melissa. Sottosanti@nau. edu § Jacks Online Mentor § Tammie. Vaughn@nau. edu 27