A Critical Analysis of the Current Advising System for Online Students at the School of Allied Health, Health Information Management Program

The School of Allied Health, Health Information Management (HIM) program at the focus school has experienced an increase in its population of distance learning students. The HIM program lacks a formal system for advising these students, which has resulted in noticeable negative consequences for the students and the program. Because the HIM program can expect online enrollment to continue to increase in the coming years and because effective academic advising has been deemed instrumental to student success, it is critical that an appropriate online advising system be implemented. O'Banion's 5-step model of advising served as the conceptual framework for this study. A qualitative case study was used to explore 6 participants' perspectives on the perceived advising needs of students in the HIM program, current and future states of the advising system, and barriers to achieving alternate methods of advising distance students. Data were collected through open-ended questions and analyzed using Tesch's 8-step method for coding data, and then comparisons among the participants were made. Findings indicated a deficiency related to lack of online communication and website inadequacies with regard to program information. Based on these findings, a recommendation was made to conduct an evaluation of the current Health Professions Advising Center website. A project program evaluation plan was designed to assess its effectiveness as a resource for advisors and students. This enterprise may contribute to positive social change by improving communication between the university and distance-learning students, leading to a more informed student body that is more likely to complete the HIM program and become skilled workers capable of satisfying critical job-market demands.