Making Life Easier with Federal Funding

In countless student focus groups that the Center for Community College Student Engagement conducted over nearly twenty years, students have consistently maintained that even if they thought about dropping out, a relationship with someone else on campus—an instructor, a staff member, another student—gave them the encouragement, guidance, or support they needed to keep going. The need for this connection has grown exponentially in the past year.

Health and Emotional Well-Being

Counselor appointments
With the challenging climate, student mental health is a growing concern. 58 percent of college students surveyed said they were “moderately,” “very” or “extremely” worried about their own mental health. Schools can focus on providing in-person and remote counseling by using ConexED to remove barriers and enable student and professional interaction. Plus, ConexED allows students to share their mood before a meeting, providing critical insight for the instructor, advisor, or staff member.

Health services
Many institutions consider testing and tracing the backbone of keeping in-person learning possible and delivering on the expected student experience. As an Academic Communication System, ConexED can facilitate achieving this goal through appointment scheduling for everything from Covid testing to both in-person and virtual health appointments utilizing chat or video.

HIPAA compliance
The ConexED Academic Communication System is fully HIPAA compliant so students, parents, and staff are ensured security and privacy.

Distance, in-person and hybrid learning

Virtual instruction
The ConexED virtual classroom technology is designed to solve specific education needs, be fully compliant with safety and security regulations like FERPA, and enhance the experience for both a virtual and in-person approach. Your school can increase engagement between students and staff using the ConexED interactive platform with whiteboard capabilities and breakout rooms to allow for team project collaboration. Virtual instruction with ConexED is designed around education to increase student success.

Student/instructor communication
By far the biggest complaint from students and faculty members alike about remote learning was the lack of engagement and interactivity between students and instructors. The ConexED platform provides an office hour scheduling system in addition to a virtual space for video or chat “walk-in” appointments. Every touchpoint is documented, saved, and easily reportable.

Institution services

Financial aid
Portions of federal relief funding must be spent to provide financial aid to students, giving them an incredible opportunity to pursue education regardless of financial circumstance. The ConexED platform can help facilitate this goal through appointment scheduling, on-demand chat, and virtual meetings that enable communication between students and financial aid advisors. Additionally, documents can be reviewed, signed, and completed during virtual video appointments.

Academic advising
“We have been able to use ConexED for advising appointments, online chat to answer questions, advise students in other states, and to register students for New Student Orientation. It is a one-stop shop that meets the majority of our needs.” The ConexED software enables continued support through appointment scheduling, virtual office hours, and case management to ensure students are moving toward graduation and ready for the next step.

As schools return to traditional face-to-face instruction, a hybrid approach to engagement and student services benefits students, faculty, administrators, and parents. Schools did an admirable job quickly transitioning to virtual learning and support during the pandemic, and now is the time to review what worked and how to improve on providing support in the future.

Health and Emotional Well-Being

Mental health and counselor appointments
The Covid pandemic transition to virtual learning continues to have a dramatic impact on student mental health and social development. “We were calling this a mental health crisis before the pandemic. Now it’s a state of emergency,” said Amir Whitaker, policy counsel of the ACLU of Southern California. Schools are a literal lifeline for students: of those receiving mental health care, 70-80 percent receive that care in a school setting. Using ConexED removes barriers and safely enables this necessary student and professional interaction.

Health services
According to research, the vast majority of students want to return to safe, in-person learning. As an Academic Communication System, ConexED can facilitate achieving this goal through appointment scheduling for everything from Covid testing to both in-person and virtual health appointments utilizing chat or video

HIPAA compliance
The ConexED Academic Communication System is fully HIPAA compliant so students, parents, and staff are ensured security and privacy

Distance, in-person and hybrid learning

Virtual instruction
The ConexED virtual classroom technology is designed to solve specific education needs, be fully compliant with safety and security regulations like FERPA, and enhance the experience for both a virtual and in-person approach. Your school can increase engagement between students and staff with the ConexED interactive platform with whiteboard capabilities and breakout rooms to allow for team project collaboration.

Equipment inventory management
Seventy-three percent of district leaders and teachers believe greater access to 1-to-1 computing will make high-quality teaching easier. Device checkout can be managed through the ConexED student dashboard while inventory tracking and reporting can easily be managed by staff.

Student/instructor communication
“The only thing that should be changed is how teachers communicate with us, there should be more communication.” The Covid pandemic has increased concerns about students missing milestones or falling behind. The ConexED platform provides an office hour scheduling system in addition to a virtual space for video or chat “walk-in” appointments. Every touchpoint is documented, saved, and easily reportable.