Syracuse University’s web-based online advising tool, Orange SUccess—an initiative that advances a key priority of the Academic Strategic Plan—has made positive strides in better connecting students, faculty and advisors since its campuswide launch this fall, according to data from the Office of Academic Programs.
The program, which aligns with the Academic Strategic Plan’s call for enhanced student support and retention services, actively engaged more than a third of undergraduate students since its partial implementation last spring and subsequent campuswide implementation this fall. Students used it to reach out to professors and/or advisors to ask a question, schedule appointments or otherwise seek information or assistance. More than 800 faculty and staff, in turn, have used it to respond to students, raise a concern, offer praise for work well done or better coordinate advising protocols.
“The response we have gotten from students, advisors and faculty during this early phase of campuswide implementation has been mostly positive and very encouraging,” says Kal Srinivas, director for retention in the Office of Academic Programs. “Faculty have also told us that in several instances, early feedback from them through Orange SUccess helped students bounce back in their courses when they might otherwise have fallen behind. We know that timely feedback on a student’s academic progress is one of the best ways to ensure success, and this program gives both faculty and advisors a coordinated way of doing that.”
Srinivas adds that the trial run using the program for mid-semester progress reports was also well received by faculty who participated.
An infographic with more detailed information on the program’s progress in its initial year of implementation can be accessed here.
Orange SUccess had a pilot run at the Whitman School of Management, the College of Arts and Sciences and University College in spring 2016 before going campuswide this fall. Plans are in place to further expand the program to all graduate and law students in fall 2017.
Orange SUccess is in compliance with international standards for web content accessibility and has been further tested and verified by an independent third party. For more information on accessibility or on Orange SUccess in general, go to the program website.
