Counselors
Counselors are frequently a student's "portal of knowledge" to online education. Some online schools have online counselors who are available to students who are enrolled or are seeking suitable courses. For regular school counselors unfamiliar with online opportunities for students, online schools frequently offer orientation and awareness courses providing direct experience with a variety of online environments and tools and the requirements of different online schools. Some functional areas of importance to counselors are described below.
- Screening and Orienting Students
- Standards and Accreditation
- Registering Students
- Monitoring and Mentoring Students
- Dropping Students
Screening and Orienting Students
Online learning may not be right for every student. Generally, online learning requires more reading than in a regular class, good self-discipline and personal time management skills, willingness to write, willingness to spend a considerable amount of time on a computer, intrinsic motivation and willingness to take personal responsibility.
Survey questionnaires and checklists are frequently used to help students assess their learning styles and make decisions about whether they possess the right qualities for independent learning. Examples include:
"Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire" from North Carolina State College (www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html);
"Critical Success Factors for Online Learning" from Penn State University (www.ed.psu.edu/acsde/Critical_Success_Factors.pdf);
"Tips for Successful Online Learning" from the University of Illinois, Illinois Online Network (www.ion.illinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/tips.asp);
"Study Strategies" from the University of Minnesota Duluth, a tip sheet on how to improve study skills (www.d.umn.edu/student/loon/acad/strat).
In preparation for screening and assisting potential online students, counselors should consider:
- previewing academic courses in depth to get a personal sense of the online program;
- reviewing syllabi of potential courses;
- attending an online school's counselor orientation every year.
Standards and Accreditation
Online courses are typically aligned with standards of the state in which the online school resides. Most online schools are accredited by the same accrediting body as the brick-and-mortar schools in each state, providing the same assurance that standards are maintained. The Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS) provides a set of standards for accrediting distance education schools. http://www2.boisestate.edu/nasc/
Courses taken for college credit and advanced placement have additional requirements. Colleges often require these instructors hold a Masters degree and for the course to be more rigorous than a high school course.
Registering Students
Registration is typically completed online using the online school's registration system which is linked to the grade reporting and course management tools. For school-specific information, counselors speak directly to online school registrars. The financial arrangements between the home school and the online providers provide access and training on the registration system. In some cases, a home school can pay for a specified number of registrations and the registration system will allow enrollments to that number.
Many online programs require students to complete an online orientation course before enrollment. Counselors may guide students through the orientation course and help them to understand their responsibilities for managing their own learning. In a school where many students are interested in online opportunities, a counselor might consider conducting orientation courses or sessions.
Once online learning becomes a well established option for a school, courses may be listed in the regular course catalogue so that students can register for online classes in the same way and at the same time that they register for all courses.
Monitoring and Mentoring Students
Once enrolled, a student is typically assigned an online school mentor (who may be the counselor), to monitor work, check grades, represent the interest of the student (or the online school), communicate with parents, and perhaps coordinate testing or lab work.
Students are required to attend classes regularly and maintain contact with teachers. Mentors frequently use work contracts and schedule agreements to help students pace themselves through the coursework.
State law requires that student records be available on-demand to students, parents, and schools. The password protected online records are available only to those directly concerned with the student's progress: school counselors and administrators can only see their students' records; teachers can only see their class records; and parents and students can only view individual records.
Attendance and Dropping Students
Online school policies vary on attendance or performance standards and schools may drop students for unsatisfactory participation or performance.
Students are required to attend classes regularly. The number of missed consecutive days before a student is dropped from a course varies according to state policy, and must be clearly communicated to the student for each online class. These policies determine state funding for that particular student. In some cases students are dropped if they miss 10 consecutive days. The policy might be that the teacher contacts the student after three missed days. If there is no response in three more days, the teacher notifies the parents and the school counselor. At the end of ten days the counselor is instructed to drop the student unless there is a compelling reason for the extended absence. At that point, the student is removed from the class roles.
When students decide to drop, they must work through the counselor to make the drop official. In some cases, online course drop procedures are similar to in-classroom course drops. Some online schools offer students and home districts a no-fault drop period, which could extend through the orientation period or beyond through the first two weeks of the course.