Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Investigating the Use of Online Degree Audit Technology and Understanding the Student Experience

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/hx11xp525

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  • Academic advising is an integral step in a community college students higher education journey, and as such must be supported with any tools available to increase student success. Technology is becoming more highly integrated into the academic advising process as are online tools which provide access to student records, course requirements, and academic planning towards degree or certificate completion. In the current pandemic situation, social distancing and increased dependency on virtual communication brings higher expectations to how technology supports and improves the college experience. The use of online degree audit technology has not been fully explored through the eyes of actual community college students and findings are scarce in the scholarly literature. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the lived experiences of community college students who had been enrolled for at least three consecutive terms and had participated in both in-person academic advising as well as having used the online degree audit software called DegreeWorks TM. The focus of the research questions was to understand the student perceptions of their interactions with in-person advising processes, and how the technology impacts the quality of their academic advising experience in terms of course selection and degree completion. This study stemmed from the constructionist and pragmatic perspectives of the researcher. Additionally, this study asked how community college students perceived the effectiveness of the face-to-face advising process as compared to the information provided by the online degree audit tool. This qualitative phenomenological study explored community college students lived experiences with the process of academic advising and with using the online degree audit tool. Students were selected using a purposeful sampling selection process based on their usage of the online degree audit tool and continuous enrollment of four consecutive terms at a PNW community college. This study used verbatim transcript data from semi-structure interviews with community college students as the primary source of evidence. Data for this study were interpreted through a process of thematic qualitative analysis by identification of codes or categories from the transcripts which led to discovery of patterns and then the creation of themes focused on answering the research questions. This study sought to find evidence that followed three theoretical frameworks: (a) student involvement, (b) student engagement, and (c) the essential functions of academic advising. The major findings of this study were evaluated within the guiding theoretical framework found within the body of literature on the topic: (a) advising for student success and retention, (b) technology’s role in advising, (c) student persistence in their involvement with advising, and (d) functional elements of academic advising. Key insights appeared stemming from the participants experience: (a) a display of motivation and persistence, (b) evidence of intentional involvement, and (c) engagement with advising and improved retention and success. Participants described both positive and negative experiences with in-person advising as well as with the online degree audit technology. Of the five essential academic advising functions, shared responsibility was quite evident. In addition, participants did not feel a sense of individuation when receiving in-person general advising, but when engaged with specific subject area advising from faculty or were involved with the special advising programs they expressed extreme satisfaction with the services they received. The online degree audit technology was giving both positive and negative ratings, with accurate information and the ability to avoid the cost of enrollment in unnecessary courses earning the most appreciation. The negative experiences contained frustration with navigation, lack of additional course fee, and other registration restriction information. The apparent lack of promotion and student support was a significant finding, indicating a lack of staff commitment to integrate the online degree audit technology as a key resource for academic advising to improve student success.
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