We invite you to explore best practices and find inspiration from your colleagues as we all strive to offer inclusive, innovative support to students in this virtual world. This site is iterative, and we welcome questions and suggestions.
Virtual Front Desks
Numerous student service departments, both large and small, have created a Virtual Front Desk to support community and belonging, provide more timely service to students, and cut down on the need for individual emails to staff. View our Virtual Front Desk How-To Guide for details on how to create or improve your own Virtual Front Desk.
Virtual Offices
Create a visual/interactive graphic for your virtual advising space via google slides. See video instructions here. Below are a few examples:
Special Purpose Accounts
Special Purpose Accounts, or SPAs, are CalNet IDs that can be shared by multiple users for collaborative purposes. They are often used to set up department bMail accounts or file shares. SPAs and affiliated bMail addresses are owned by the department that created them, not the employee. You can give delegated access to the SPA account to anyone, including student employees and peer advisors.This means you can have a general email address that students and the public can use to contact your office, and trained students can respond to these inquiries. Learn more about how to set up a SPA account.
- One use of a SPA email account is for quick question advising and office hours at fixed times via Google Chat. Using a SPA account will allow you to log in just for your advertised hours, keeping your own email account separate. This way, students are more clear about how best to reach you and less likely to try to reach you through your regular email account when it’s outside of your published office hours.
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SPA email accounts have associated calendars which can be used to coordinate advising appointments across multiple advisors. For example, you can schedule the appointments on the SPA calendar and then invite the advisor who will be leading those appointments as a guest. The advising slots will appear on both the SPA calendar and the advisor’s calendar. Then you can give only the link to the SPA appointment calendar to students - and they will be able to see multiple advisor’s availability all in one calendar. See SPA FAQs and Best Practices.
Tips for Setting Up Student Appointment Systems
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For appointment scheduling, set up a separate bCal calendar just for student appointments (which can overlay your personal bCal) to create clearer boundaries between your appointment availability and your other work responsibilities. Advising blocks for student appointments can be scheduled directly via your bCal. Here is a useful guide on setting up and sharing appointment slots. This Google calendar system is seamlessly integrated into your personal bCal, and the benefit is that our students are already familiar with the system.
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Some staff prefer using an additional scheduling tool like YouCanBookMe or Calendly in tandem with bCal. Both YouCanBookMe and Calendly will send email notifications upon confirmation and have an option to “Add to Your Calendar.” To sign up for YouCanBookMe, you will be required to enter a phone number. Some advisers and students may prefer phone appointments, but some students may not have access to a personal phone.
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Connect Zoom to bCal so that a Zoom meeting is automatically generated and shared with students.
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To make your services more accessible and welcoming, advertise on your website a wide range of appointment options (telephone, email, text, Zoom, GoogleChat, in-person, etc.). Offering a range of options can address concerns about privacy, wifi strength, time zones, disability, and more.
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Within your appointment system, give students the opportunity to indicate up front if they have privacy issues, connectivity issues, or accessibility needs they would like you to know about. Remember that some students may not be in a private space when speaking with you.
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Use a Zoom waiting room and build in a break between appointment slots to create separation between student visits and to ensure that you have an opportunity for note-taking and bio-breaks.
Tips for Pre-Scheduled Appointments, Drop-In, and Group Advising
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Offer students as many choices as possible for access, e.g., phone, text, Zoom (you may also wish to offer Google Hangouts/Meet, but remember that some international students in China may have accessibility issues with Google products). Students may have connectivity issues or personal/privacy reasons for choosing one mode over the other.
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Consider offering flex scheduling for appointments, since many students and staff are in other time zones or have other commitments (e.g., home schooling, child care) during regular business hours.
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Use Google Voice for phone calls and text messaging to hide your personal phone number. It connects to your GoogleSuites apps, and in the settings you can update your “Do Not Disturb” preferences. This setting will forward calls outside of your work hours and transcribe voicemails to an email notification.
- Consider keeping your video on to enhance connection with the student but give students the option of video on or off, for their comfort or to improve their wifi connection.
Community Building and Supporting a Sense of Belonging Among Students
Transitioning advising and student services to virtual environments challenges us to establish practices that support a culture of inclusion, belonging, and care. From principles to tips to suggestions for activities, gain inspiration and insight from your colleagues. Learn more
Additional Best Practices and Resources
- Virtual Peer Advising, Mentoring, Counseling, and Ambassador Programs
Student employees and paraprofessionals are an integral part of our teams within advising and student services. Learn how student peer advisors, mentors, counselors, and ambassadors are enhancing the student experience across campus. Gain insights on how you can best support our students as people first. More here
- Virtual Tutoring Programs - Coming Soon!
Our tutoring programs play a key role in supporting student academic success. Check out principles of practice, tools and resources, and examples of how tutoring programs are operating in this virtual world.
- Looking for more ideas? See additional tips from your colleagues across campus.