Preparing for Online Program Success

Oregon State University’s online learners – also called Ecampus students – are OSU students, just the same way Corvallis campus and OSU-Cascades students are. That said, they have some unique characteristics:

The majority of Ecampus students are transfer students who transfer about 90 credits of coursework when they begin at OSU. Some are even postbaccalaureate students, meaning they are seeking a second bachelor’s degree, but will not need to repeat general education or other non-major credits. In other words, many Ecampus students are ready to jump into upper-division coursework when they enroll in their online degree program.

Ecampus students juggle other responsibilities on top of their coursework, including careers, families, and other life demands. To manage it all, nearly 80% take classes on a part-time basis and may take longer than most on-campus students to earn their degrees. The average age of the current Ecampus student population is 31, and they live in all 50 states and more than 50 countries.

OSU’s online learners may be hundreds or even thousands of miles away from Corvallis, but they still want to feel a sense of belonging at OSU. While they’re focused on earning their degrees and creating brighter futures for themselves and their families, they also want to connect with their faculty, advisors and peers to feel that they are part of the OSU community.

For questions, contact Marleigh Perez, senior director of student success.

Ecampus leads recruitment marketing for all of Oregon State’s online programs, using a centralized strategy that includes advertising, SEO, CRM management and lead nurturing to move prospective students from awareness to enrollment. This work is led by the Ecampus marketing and communications unit and the enrollment services team, and is done in close collaboration with every OSU college, as well as Enrollment Management and the Office of Graduate Education.

While Ecampus manages the recruitment marketing strategy and execution, strong communication and yield efforts within your college are critical to supporting prospective students and building a sustainable program.

Prospective Ecampus students often require more time and information to make their enrollment decision, especially since they are likely to be adult learners who are navigating complex decisions about career, family and finances. Meeting these students where they are—often with little time to spare and in need of clear, personalized support—requires intentional strategy, dedicated staffing, and a willingness to test and adapt.

Suggested best practices:

• Engage with requests from Ecampus marketing for program information. Thoughtful, student-centered input helps ensure your program is represented accurately and compellingly in marketing and recruitment strategies. Focus on what prospective students value — such as career outcomes, skills and unique program features — and aim to share that information in clear, accessible language.

• Connect with your college marketing team to learn more about how they market OSU online programs and how they collaborate with the Ecampus marketing and enrollment services teams.

• If you manage communication plans, evaluate them to ensure they are accessible, inclusive and tailored for online learners. Consider whether your outreach messages and timelines are aligned with the needs of modern students who may not follow the same enrollment patterns as on-campus students.

• Expand pre-admission advising capacity by allocating FTE or designating staff to answer prospective student questions, provide transfer guidance and assist with understanding program fit before application. This early connection builds trust and can positively influence yield.

• Consider growing your recruitment team or creating new roles, such as online student ambassadors or peer-to-peer recruiters, to provide authentic voices that resonate with prospective students.

• Monitor the full recruitment funnel, including inquiry, application and admission trends. Leverage dashboards in tools such as CORE and Slate to analyze conversion rates and identify areas for improvement.

For questions, contact Ali Duerfeldt, director of marketing and communications, or Kat Ambrose, associate director of outreach and recruitment.

Advisors are crucial to a successful online program. Successful online programs, especially those with higher enrollment, need to have dedicated staff to supervise, train and support advisors, ensuring they meet the needs of online learners. We also recommend establishing clear metrics to determine when additional advising staff is necessary to maintain a healthy advisor-to-online student ratio.

Suggested best practices:

• Develop structured asynchronous training modules for advisors to assist with onboarding and large program growth expectations.

• Utilize the expertise of the centralized university advising unit to stay on top of advising caseloads and ensure that advisors meet training requirements.

• Connect early and often with the Ecampus Student Outreach and Success (SOS) team to ensure advisors are receiving relevant updates and attending quarterly Ecampus advising meetings.

For questions, contact Marleigh Perez, senior director of student success.

A seamless onboarding experience can set the tone for student success. Tailor your online student onboarding processes to include both general and program-specific content. Sharing real student stories can foster a sense of belonging and help new online learners connect with valuable resources. Online learners want to be engaged and supported just as on-campus students do, and they look to their instructors, faculty, departments and college to feel a sense of community and inclusion. New Ecampus students will follow a similar onboarding process as Corvallis and Cascades students, but it’s all done in a virtual space. Ecampus communicates with all new admits to clearly articulate next steps and requires completion of the online orientation before meeting with an academic advisor.

Suggested best practice:

• Develop college-specific onboarding content that uses real student stories to foster belonging and connection for online students.

• Look at how existing campus onboarding programs can be duplicated and modified to better meet the needs of online students.

• While fall term is the traditional start term for on-campus students, online students often choose to start throughout the academic year. Ensure robust onboarding is offered all year and during breaks between terms.

For questions, contact Joe Schaffer, associate director of student services.

Careful planning around your curriculum and course design is essential. Ensure key courses are developed before program launch and consider designing courses that are flexible enough to be taught by multiple instructors over time. This flexibility can help accommodate the needs of a growing program. Also, take into consideration the availability of key prerequisite courses for your program.

Suggested best practices:

• In course development planning, be mindful about developing upper-division coursework on a timeline that allows for transfer and postbaccalaureate students to access those courses sooner.

• Develop courses in a way that they can easily be taught by multiple faculty members in your department.

• Be proactive about reaching out to relevant departments to give them a heads up about any increased demand for key prerequisite courses for your program (such as introductory math and science courses).

• Consider adopting consistent design standards across your program to create a cohesive student experience as they progress through the program.

• Connect with the Ecampus Course Development and Training Team to learn more about potential design options.

For questions, contact Karen Watté, senior director of course development and training

Making your programs financially accessible is key to attracting and retaining all students, but is especially critical for fully online programs. Fully online students are about twice as likely to be designated as “High Financial Need” as their on-campus counterparts.

Suggested best practices:

• Proactively include online learners in existing financial assistance programs, such as emergency grants, scholarships, and experiential learning funds.

• For many students, expensive course materials can present a significant financial barrier. When selecting or developing course materials for your online program, consider prioritizing courses that require only low cost ($40 or less) or no-cost course materials.

• Maintain a guide or resources list that helps students identify scholarship and grant opportunities.

• Encourage students to use library resources – the Valley library supports all OSU students, including fully online students.

• Advise students to use the tools in the Schedule of Classes to identify low- and no-cost course materials sections.

For questions, contact Marleigh Perez, senior director of student success, or Stefanie Buck, director of open educational resources.

Strong communication within your college or department team is vital for smooth operations. Establish clear communication channels and keep everyone informed about enrollment projections, course development/availability timelines and any other changes. Regular updates can help ensure that all team members are on the same page.

Suggested best practices:

• Create a comprehensive tracking system for acceptance, entrance and matriculation numbers. Investigate CORE dashboards that will allow your team to stay informed about current enrollment numbers to anticipate future FTE needs.

• Pay close attention to first-year retention and persistence rates, until a few years into the program, when looking at graduation rates will also become important.

• Ensure that all faculty, including adjunct instructors, are regularly informed of any program-wide updates.

Remember that the Division of Educational Ventures and Ecampus are a part of your team. Stay connected and be sure to inform us of any changes to your programs or program contacts.

Contact Shannon Riggs, associate vice provost for educational programs and learning innovation