MIT-Working Group on Advising Information

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Summary of Previous Team Findings

The following page details findings from two recent discovery projects focused on the technological delivery of information to students and advisors. Please click on one of the links below to jump to a description of findings that are relevant to our efforts.

• The Advising Discovery Project
• The Portal Discovery Project

The Advising Discovery Project conducted surveys, focus groups and interviews with faculty, students and administrators. The group found a wealth of valuable data, some of which fell within the scope of the project and some which fell outside of the scope, but that may be useful to us in our working group. These findings are summarized below.

Faculty Members use the following offices/sites regularly for obtaining academic information:

• MIT Catalog
• WebSIS
• on-line subject listings
• HASS guide (mostly the paper guide,but some use the on-line guide as well)
• Individual staff members in offices (such as undergrad admins., ARC, HASS office, CSS, etc.)

Faculty Members seek additional content/revised delivery of information in/on the following areas/topics:

• summer internships
• scholarships
• career info
• professional schools
• more info should be available from WebSIS
• comprehensive list of minors and concentrations (for tracking purposes).
• automated administrative processes such as registration, course changes, petitions, declaration of majors/minors, etc.
• "how-to" web pages with information, procedures, checklists
• audit information could be clarified (i.e. on-line audit w/ both a dept reqs. and GIRs)
• better navigation within the on-line MIT Bulletin
• more training regarding requirements outside his/her department, i.e. HASS requirements.
• provide information on-line and let the individual departments feed into it. Provide support for departments and help them get their information together for on-line audits.
• on-line resource pages for advisors (i.e. web.mit.edu/advisors)
• web-based tool (part of WebSIS) to track reqs. determining units left to be satisfied and providing information on recommended classes to fulfill same.
• streamlined central administration (sites?) so that duties/functions are clearer
• clearer sense of non-academic support options (i.e. mental health, etc.)
• what-if"; interactive scenarios to assist in planning courses, choosing majors, determining career paths (would like to see students matched with alumni based on field of question or interest.
• better feedback system between the instructors and advisors regarding the student's progress.
• It is hard to know where to send a student with problems, particularly personal problems. A web site with resources and short descriptions of what they provide would be helpful. (i.e. a web site of counseling resources).
• web-based registration system that would be able to automatically reject add/drops (in cases when prereqs were not satisfied, Institute requirements were not met, etc.). Such as system would eliminate many errors in registration, some CAP petitions, etc.
• information on registration status should be provided in a more timely manner around exams and registration.
• immediate return of class lists (currently, class lists are not final until after Drop Date or several weeks later after petitions are reviewed, etc.)
• readily available information on the financial aid implications of light load and guidelines for financial aid.

If information technologies would allow advisors to spend less time on the mundane aspects of advising (gathering information, etc.) they would:

• Have more time to discuss matters of substance
• Have more time for guidance and mentorship
  

Also, they like mtg. w/ students face to face at least one per semester, so IT should not replace human contact.

Students use the following offices/sites regularly for obtaining academic information:

• WebSIS
• on-line catalog for majors in order to make plans before going to their advisor
• go to the undergraduate administrators in departments; in order to work out a schedule
• HASS Office is good if you actually go there
• their course secretary
• Student Services Center
• Resources/food
• Course catalog (especially the extended search)
• olc web/answers
• spotlight
• libraries (on-line journals)
• old TechCalendar (now events calendar)
• Sloanspace (portal for course 15 students)
• 18.06 web page is the best!: old exams; video of previous professor's class
• BioMatrix

Note: students use the web as a resource more than paper; however they do use the paper catalogue and HASS Guide (as they felt that the on-line versions lacked many of the links they needed)

Students also use the following commercial sites for obtaining information that is hard to find at MIT:

• fastweb.com/ (for scholarship searches)
• wetfeet.com (career planning internships, profiles of individuals in fields, writing resumes)
  

Students seek additional content/revised delivery of information in/on the following areas/topics:

• on-line audit (both dept reqs. and GIRs)
• minor programs
• concentrations
• list of academic advisors
• list of concentration advisors
• Finding all of the resources that are available (For example it is hard to find what tutoring help is available).
• PE not listed by what is available for the current term
• career-related academic information.
  • Is it worth it to minor in management or will 5-6 courses in management be enough to help in career?
  • Contacting alums and talking to people at conferences has been a better way to find out about this type of question.
  • Career Services office hours are not convenient.
  • Career Services web site not helpful (looks to other schools)
  • Difficult to find out about internships.
  • Pages are geared to upperclassmen; not freshmen (unless you participate in FASIP.)
• search on course catalog is often difficult, i.e. can't search for all 6 credit courses.
• HASS classes: It is difficult to get concentration information; more clarification of categories; printed version needs to be more legible
• a merging of the different institute calendars (Events Calendar, Academic calendar, etc.)
• pictures of administrators (accessible on the web)
• links from course catalogue (to subjects, offices, etc.)
• on-line phone numbers for labs
• a students page (which doesn't just focus on academics and describes resources)
• automatic reminders of upcoming deadlines such as for submitting UROP applications, etc.
• less lead time for changes to get posted in bulletin
• advising Page "things I wish I had known" (before coming to MIT, before taking a particular course, before choosing a major, etc.).
• a mechanism to put students in touch with people in a given profession.
• site where "sample" students telling different ways to go through MIT or a course like ChemE.
• on-line advisor: like a dean on call
• on-line discussion or chat/advising Nightline/advising board (maybe with anonymity)
• a place to ask questions like is it hard to double major in 16 and 17?
• books for courses listed with course in the on-line subject listings, the ability to see information on recitation sections and change sections on-line.
• put emphasis on a well-rounded life: advising should help with a balanced life; non-academic info
• a list of things to do before you leave MIT
• student portfolios
  

Students dislike the following web features:

• Cookies
• Frames
• Logging into sites

Students consider the following to be some of the important decisions that they have to make at MIT:

• Where do I want to live?
• What do I aim to do?
• How am I going to pay?
• What am I going to major in?
• What can I do to make the most of my time at MIT ?
  

Administrators use the following offices/sites regularly for obtaining academic information:

• MIT Catalog
• WebSIS
• on-line subject listings
• HASS guide (both paper and web)
• CAP site and medical resources
• Individual staff members in other offices

Administrators seek additional content/revised delivery of information in/on the following areas/topics:

• on-line forms (such as petitions, etc.)
• more standardization around the look and feel of information, students need a better cognitive mapping of the information.
• create a user-friendly Web interface for advisors, so advisor can access the names of each advisee, the instructor name, the headquarters, etc.
• ensure that information goes to the right places and is timely.
• need a group of people to maintain the Web pages.
• determining the most current and accurate information/resource can be time consuming.
• strong interactive presence on the web, including audio and video streaming. Routine tasks should be easily accomplished via interactive web site. Worksheets to be included to help students and parents identify what they already know and add to that so there are no mysteries about the financial commitment they are getting into.
• on-line scheduling system, where faculty could post when they are planning to hold classes and when major assignments and tests are due. Then they could negotiate so that not all the classes are being held Tuesdays and Thursday at 11, and not all the exams fall in one week.
• an integrated interactive on-line system — developmental and sequential — to prepare students in competencies for life development. This will be an ongoing growth system with constant expansion. Integrated to include perspectives from all Student Services offices. A goal is to develop a common effort and vocabulary. The offices will provide the content. Web site development to be centralized. This will be an inclusive process with room for ambiguity and dissonance.
• shared access to student records
• unified, coherent, accessible student information system that is easy to pull up, read, and understand
• create an area on WebSIS for the student to confirm "these are the courses I am taking now." Keep this information up for a couple of days so the student can verify the information and contact
  someone if the information is incorrect.
• create better explanations for the students on how to navigate school policy, on how to be more knowledgeable on the Institute works.
• an interactive 24 hour calendar
• on-line Math Diagnostic (similar to FEE)
• improve information on Web in December-May for applicants (high school seniors) about next year's academics, particularly exciting opportunities, changes to requirements.
• interactive on-line communication system that is ongoing between advisor, instructor, administrator, and student.
  
• more resources for web maintenance and development * More automated services for current students and alumni

Note: Connie Scribner had the following to say regarding WebSIS; "there is much more information that can be added to WebSIS but resources and staff are not available for study of best way to provide info, creation and maintenance of new web sites, or maintenance of information, response to the questions info generates, and training and support of those who need to access (and provide) information."

DUE Information Needs Identified by Portal Discovery Project

The Portal Discovery Project conducted an on-line survey that was spotlighted on the MIT Home Page from April 21, 2000 to April 23, 2000. 534 people responded to the survey: 75% of them were students, 7 %, alums, 4 % incoming or prospective students, 3% staff, 1% faculty, 10% other or no MIT affiliation. Among the most useful services for a portal, they identified:

• MIT Subjects
• Academic Records
• Current Deadlines
• Academic Forms
  

Financial records were ranked as useful, in the mid-range of the useful services.

Relevant comments:

• The most useful thing would be if it had assignment due dates for the courses you were enrolled in. Other than that, it doesn't really seem like it would offer anything different from an other portal site. right now, I think the MIT home page is a pretty good "portal". I think most MIT students have that set as their default page. It has useful information and an interesting, changing design.
  
  
• Our stuff should be MIT-specific.....I do "not" want my academic/financial records easily accessible to me if that means that unauthorized people can see them, too. Finally I would caution about moving already-stable services onto this portal....Focus first on adding new services (i.e., MIT calendar, MIT news aggregation, deadlines, bulletins).
  
  
• Make MIT the most on-line university in the world. Put student records on-line. These could be accessed by professors. The records could include:

  1. Photograph of student
  2. School history of student
  3. Grades and subjects taken each year
  4. Extra-curricular activities
  5. Any other achievements
  6. Automatic reference generator. The student's reference for employment could be hold on-line. If the student, they could input employers name and address and computer would print out reference and send it automatically--saves admin. time. MIT needs to spend time on research not admin. Use computer to cut MIT administration!
  (From a Prospective Student) The portal should concentrate on what makes MIT what it is--an emphasis on science and math must be employed!

Among the services recommended by the Portal Discovery Project were:

• Personal links including sites like Career Services
• Subjects and Departments
• Academic records (via WebSIS)
• Financial records and eventually an on-line payment system
• Academic forms

Two members of the portal team were undergraduates who produced an undergraduate project report entitled MyMIT: The Next Generation.

In their discussion of services, they said:

• Financial Records. Students will be able to view their financial status on-line. Additionally, the service will allow students to pay their bills on-line, apply for scholarships, and research financial options. Financial channels in the calendar and announcements services will provide reminders of upcoming deadlines and news.
  
  
• Academic Records. Students will be able to complete all activities which they currently complete via WebSIS, including pre-registration, catalog access, registration status, transcript access, etc. Academic channels in the calendar and announcements services will provide reminders of upcoming deadlines and news.
  
  
• Courseware. Information for each course that is currently maintained on separate web pages by each professor can be consolidated using the courseware service. Syllabus information, lists of students registered for each class, assignments, and grade assignment can all be handled by professors and teaching assistants using a consistent interface which will be time-saving for both professors (they don’t need to build a new website for each course) and students (they know exactly where to go and how to find the information they are looking for, and calendar and announcement information can be consolidated across classes).
  
  
• Academic Forms. Students currently must fill out numerous paper forms during their years at MIT, oftentimes involving multiple signatures from people in multiple locations. With the academic form service offered by MyMIT, students will be able to fill out forms on-line (most information will be pre-filled by the system). The people who have to approve the forms that are filled out are then notified of the request and can authorize the request on-line. The whole process will take place on-line, saving significant time and effort on the part of students and faculty, and also saving some trees.

Reported by: Melissa Martin and Mary Enterline, December 5, 2001

Comments and questions to advisinginfo@mit.edu