The Assessment Scheduling and Student Interactive Support Tool (ASSIST) – previously known as EASE – was developed as part of the Transform Online Learning (TOL) strategic initiative within the Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences.
ASSIST consists of two major functions:
- Flexible assessment due dates for students: Students are able to request alternative assessment submission due dates within predefined windows for subjects that are set up for flexible assessment. Subject coordinators set the subjects and assessments to be flexible, and the rules around that flexibility. Intended for online students to better manage their assessment due dates around their day-to-day lives, the system is not limited to online subjects. Any subject can be set to use flexible assessment scheduling functionality.
- Dashboard and reporting capabilities to help support online students: Charles Sturt is trialling the introduction of the Online Study Advisor (OSA) role. OSAs are assigned to support students in selected online subjects. OSAs will track student progress and reach out to students who might be at risk, directing them to available university help and tools. If necessary OSAs will flag students to their teaching academics for assistance.
Key benefits
ASSIST went live in 2019 and delivered some significant benefits.
Students are able to gauge and organise their workload to fit into their life. They can track submission date-change requests and receive notifications about upcoming tasks. If needed they can request support for their enrolled subject(s).
Online Study Advisors receive notifications about students who need support. They can also identify students who are at-risk and provide them with relevant help. This leads to increased subject completion and student retention.
Academics are able to check student progress for their subject offerings and identify students who are having issues.
More information
Check out the ASSIST showcase from December 2019.
If you have any questions contact Dan Francisco – Project Manager, Division of Information Technology.