The experience was positive. As more students take courses from a distance, many of them have no desire to set foot on a campus. That can place a strain on traditional support services offered to students. Coastline is one of several institutions that have begun experimenting with putting such services as counseling and career planning on the Internet. The college also provides online course schedules and registration forms, along with real-time video counseling sessions.
Students can also use e-mail for personal and group counseling.
The live online video isn't being provided on a regular basis yet. Cheryl Chapman, a faculty trainer who is also an associate professor of computer applications at Coastline College, says the live video sessions are expected to be available regularly by October. In the meantime, the college is providing some archived video demonstrations in which students can view past orientation sessions and get information on library services. The new technology has its own drawbacks, however. Few students have access to computers with video capabilities, and even fewer have the digital cameras necessary to let the counselors see the students.