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Description:	Learning management systems give higher education institutions technologies for the strategic deployment of knowledge assets and services on a much larger scale than just courses. This session will share a collaborative/blended strategy that leverages WebCT Vista to create a new learning environment for students (beyond the classroom and online courses) to achieve goals in student orientation, advising, career selection, and more.
Presentation Format:	Poster
Topic:	Enabling learning: Effective instructional practices and student support models
Target Audience:	Course Designers, Faculty and Other Instructors, Senior Administrators, E-learning Managers, K-12 Educational Staff
Appropriate Audience Level:	Beginning or new users of WebCT, Experienced WebCT users
WebCT Version:
Abstract Text:	Traditional courses and traditional delivery methods in Higher Ed are making way for more robust delivery of content and learning strategies: not just degrees, but dynamic information and competencies; not just-in-case, but just-in-time, not a mass product, but individualized knowledge. The new focus in the Bauer School of Business at the University of Houston is dissemination of information, inherent in the institution, encoded and made available to the college community on the same platform (WebCT Vista) and within the same taxonomy as other courses, in real time. The online component of the Bauer Experience (BE) is one such program. Designed to introduce new business students to Bauer College, and prepare them with the information and research tools necessary to make informed choices for a major and a career in business, the program uses a combination of workshops and seminars along with a required online component. Students have continued access to information for better understanding of business majors, career choices, business writing competencies, premium content in propriety databases, an online community of fellow students, and academic advisors / career counselors at hand to answer questions. All these aspects of preparing students to make important academic and career decisions utilize the WebCT Vista's asynchronous and synchronous features. Once the online component (which can be taken in one semester or extended for up to a two-year period) is completed, students are ready to select a specific concentration in business, move into junior-senior level courses, pursue an internship, and prepare for their first job.The presentation will showcase the WebCT Vista component of BE, the objectives and the design in Vista, highlighting the interdepartmental collaboration needed to design and deploy at a college level, the successes and challenges so far, student perceptions, and recommendations for other institutions considering a similar model.