Student Support at UNE Online
At UNE Online, we believe that a successful student is a supported student. To that end, we offer a variety of academic, technical, and administrative support elements that are purposefully woven into the fabric of our college and specifically designed to assist and support students along their academic journey.
Right from the beginning, our enrollment counselors do their best to make sure that applicants are a good fit for the program to which they are applying.
Upon acceptance into a UNE Online program, each student is assigned to a dedicated Student Support Specialist.
These Support Specialists function as that student’s primary contact within the UNE Online College of Graduate & Professional Studies (CGPS), providing support and acting as an advocate within the college and University.
The CGPS student journey is designed to remove the extraneous aspects of higher education so that our students can focus on the essential part – the business of learning and mastering their subject area.
“My family and I went through two category five hurricanes in the span of two months and had to really start life completely over. I had such an amazing support team from my advisors as well as the student support staff.
They stood by me from the moment they heard back from me after the first hurricane. They said ‘We’re going to get you through this.’ And they told me they wouldn’t let me fall behind in my schoolwork.
They saw my passion and my willingness to go on – and I found that to be so compassionate. I can’t thank them enough for that, because I wanted to finish my degree. I didn’t want to give up because of two hurricanes.”
How does Student Support fit into the College of Graduate and Professional Studies mission?
At CGPS we pride ourselves on being student-centric, and we strive to provide a dynamic, learner-centered, multi-dimensional online learning experience. UNE Online programs and courses are specifically designed to accommodate professional schedules while actively fostering a collaborative learning community atmosphere.
What does a student support specialist do?
Student Support Specialists help make the online learning experience as seamless as possible. An inescapable fact is that a certain amount of administrative tasks need to be completed in any higher learning environment. UNE Online’s Student Support Specialists help ease the burden by providing guidance and expert insight. They act as liaisons between students and the University, and make themselves available to help students throughout their academic journey.
Student Support Specialists are one of the key reasons that UNE Online students have such a high success rate.
A student’s initial Student Support Specialist contact
After students apply and are accepted into their program of choice, a call with their dedicated Student Support Specialist is scheduled. During this introductory meeting, accomplished either via phone or video chat, students learn the particulars of their program, form their academic plan, and discuss with their Student Support Specialist how to balance life as an online graduate student.
“One of the things that I’ve really enjoyed is working with my Student Support Specialist Brendan Parsons. I came into the program with a very clear picture of how quickly I wanted to complete this CAGS AEL, and he made it happen for me. The program advises against doubling up on classes until you’ve taken a certain amount of courses, but after my first class my schedule was such that I realized that I could handle the workload of two classes at a time.
He made it super easy for me, got the approval from the program for me to complete the classes at my accelerated pace, and I ended up saving myself an entire semester of time!”
What can the Student Support Specialist help with?
Essentially, Student Support Specialists assist students with anything related to the student’s academic experience, except for course material. Instructors are the subject matter experts there and should be relied on for course-specific questions.
Student Support Specialists assist with the initial course planning, and if a change of plans is necessary, they are there to help adjust the pace of the academic journey. They are available for assistance with course registration, change of contact information, contacting a faculty member, navigating the course site or using course tools, connect with a variety of university units depending on individual needs, or for any questions a student may have. Each program has its unique requirements and policies, and each Student Support Specialist is an expert on their particular program in order to facilitate their students’ experience.
Student Support Specialists also proactively notify students about textbooks, course resources, and announcements about course or schedule revisions.
“I have had a wonderful experience with Student Support. They have been great, and whenever I had a question or need some advice on class options, they have been very responsive.
… This year I have a new job that is a big step up and a big role, so I worked with Brendan to find a plan that will work with my new schedule. I’ve been able to work with him to slow my path down a bit, and push some of my courses back, which has been really helpful.”
How to get in touch
Each of our programs has a dedicated team of Student Support Specialists. The entire team and their contact information can be found in the Student Support section of the UNE Online website.
Student Success Portal
We created the Student Success Portal as a central repository for student resources. The site features dates to remember, links to the latest Vision Blog posts, contact information for each of the programs, and many other frequently-used links such as Blackboard, the UNE Library, your UNE email, and U-Online.
Program-specific information, including Student Support Specialist contact information, can also be found by clicking the program name in the top bar navigation.
Helping students succeed
Student Support Specialists understand that students need fast and easy access to resources to help manage degree requirements along with career and home life, and as such, they are committed to providing our online students with the highest level of support. Helping students succeed is what they do!
Our students consistently name our personalized student support as one of the top reasons they graduate with their degree. To learn more, download the guide to our online graduate programs:
Have additional questions? Reach out!
Call us at (855) 325-0896 – our phones are staffed Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm EST. Alternatively, reach out to owladmissions@une.edu, or via chat on our website online.une.edu.
Ready to apply? Go to https://go.une.edu/apply to start your application today!
Tags: student success | student support