Description of the Problem:
The CMC has a great resource that helps Owen students prepare for interviews – the interview feedback binder. Many people have seen/used it, but it is not always accessible as it is not available outside CMC hours, nor is it updated as frequently as it could be because it is paper based. At times valuable comments are not legible because the forms are all filled out by hand.
The CMC needs a more accessible resource that students can easily update and one that they are more likely to update following their interviews.
Our Proposed Solutions
1. Quick and Easy (Scan Current Interview Feedback forms and store on Owen’s BlackBoard.)
Blackboard will store historical records of Interview Feedback forms that will be scanned into the system. In the future, feedback forms will be filled out digitally and the CMC will put them on the site/share folder. This new system will allow 24/7 accessibility to Owen students. In addition, students will find it easier to read digital feedback forms instead of the hand-written forms currently used.
2. The Tech Solution
This solution will utilize software currently available at no additional cost. We see this coming in a survey form tailored to look similar to the Interview Feedback Forms currently used by the CMC. Historical records will be transferred into this new form by student workers in the CMC.
3. The Paper Trail
The Paper Trail will maintain the resource in hard-copy form, but it will be stored in an area that is accessible to Owen students 24 hrs every day. Improvements would be primarily focused toward increasing the volume of feedback.
1) For this idea, who would take responsibility for scanning and filing all of the old forms on Blackboard?
ReplyDelete2) I like this idea. My main question would be - how will you make students aware the new system? Will the software automatically file the records by company?
3) My main concern here would be that someone would "borrow" the resource during off-hours and forget to return it. I prefer the other two ideas to this one.
1) I like this idea a lot. From an outsiders perspective, it seems the implementation would be fairly easy. My one concern would be how easy would it be to read the scanned forms from previous years due to some poor handwriting, but for the future I think it's good.
ReplyDelete2) Again, seems fairly straightforward. How much time would it require the student workers to enter all of the old data? I feel that this may be perceived as requiring extra effort by the interviewee to fill out the form and possibly discourage them from doing so.
3)Implementation seems feasible. Is there a specific plan to improve feedback? Where is the 24-hour accessibility? What if you had it available as a reserve material in the library to make sure the use of the material isn't abused?
As far I am concerned, the Tech solution is by far the best. It seems weird that in 2009 I had to go look through a filing cabinet to get info I needed. A simple electronic form would work wonders, and could even do a better job of standardizing some responses.
ReplyDeleteHere is an offshoot idea I had last year... in prep for 1st years interviews, the CMC should get access to your admissions interviews and use those as a baseline so you know what you need to work on the most. Its surprising to me that Admissions and the CMC doesn't work more closely in this regard -
I definitely like the tech solution the most and think that it is highly feasible. Effectively, you are creating a digital database that would be searchable and more accessible to students. This would also allow off campus access for the night before an interview when at home. My only concern is the amount of time it will take the student workers to enter in all of the data.
ReplyDeleteAs fro the first idea, this would work, though I think the second idea is much better and sleeker.
The problem wih the paper trail is that there is no secure place in Owen where students could go and view these 24 hrs a day. And as mentioned by others, there is the risk of permanent borrowing, people spilling coffee on them, etc. with this setup.
1. i like it. the CMC could use the summer lul to scan them all in. a digital online form is key to making this all work.
ReplyDelete2. the benefit to this one is that all the data is together in an excel like document and not individual pdf's. if that is the case, this one has the most value to students.
3. this is an incremental change, but one that has a greater chance of being implemented. the library (right outside of interview rooms) would be a good place and more accessible for viewing forms after hours.
I think these are all good ideas. This first idea would be easiest to implement, because it shouldn't be hard to scan and sort past forms, and then move forward with digitally entered forms. I think the "paper trail" idea would require almost no change, but I worry about the security of those documents stored in a publicly available area.
ReplyDeleteI think the second idea is probably the most efficient and long-term effective, but I have several questions/points of consideration:
-how do you ensure that students fill out the form? -if the survey is accessible online, how do you get students to fill it out immediately following the interview (since that's when memory of questions would be most accurate and complete)
-what about creating a "question" database? Students could check off common questions ("tell me your strengths and weaknesses, for example" and then enter other questions not on the list. Using method, students could view all questions asked on a year by year basis, rather than having to sort through each individual response page.
I like the idea 2. I believe that put all information online would be the solution for this problem. In that case, people could easily look for the inforation they need online anytime everywhere, as well as people could easily give their experiences and feedbacks online. We all very heavily rely on the laptops/computers every moment in past two years at Owen.
ReplyDelete1. Very good idea, would totally solve the problem, my only concern is the time frame you have for implementing this in 2 weeks.
ReplyDelete2. Very good idea. I am not very familiar with the CMC here though as an exchange student, I don’t know how open they are towards innovation, moreover you would need to know about any of the idea whether students actually see there is a problem as you have stated.
3. It would be necessary to find space for, is there any available at owen? What do you do in case of fire, it would all be burn.
I like the blackboard idea. My concern with the paper trail is that the hard copy forms tend to get lost and unfortunately some of the forms are taken out of the binders and not returned. I am not really sure that I understand your tech solution idea.
ReplyDelete#1)Scanning and storing the documents would be easy but it could take up a lot of space on the server
ReplyDelete#2) Sounds reasonable, but without identifiying specifics, it's hard to tell if it's a simple and implementable idea.
#3) While this would be useful, I think the risk that someone could damage the information that we had and lose it forever is too great to leave it available 24/7 in a paper form.
For me the trick is to get this process into the "workflow". That is, the best solution will be one that requires no extra effort, and that gives great returns in addition. #3 has some of that - it just requires moving the binder, not changing the process.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what incentives people have to update the info on their interviews? Seems a bit "misaligned" if you ask people to give great detailed information about the job they are trying to land in order that someone in a later interview (for the same job) can now do a better job in the interview. If you can come up with a way that addresses the incentive issue (and not just simply moving the binder - physically or digitally), you might get a true breakthrough. What about a system where you don't get access to any interview data unless you have entered meaningful data yourself? Or maybe the information is coded in "layers" and you only get access to the first layer (maybe objective data) if you haven't done any interview data entry, but the more you do the more you get access to. I'm not sure that's a problem, but you are poking into an area where I am sure there are a lot of strong feelings of competitiveness. I think that'd be your main barrier to long-term transformation and adoption.
I like solutions 1 and 2...however, I am not sure if the CMC would be comfortable posting these documents in electronic form. I don't think the CMC (or students) would want to run the risk of these forms getting in the hands of employers. Solution 3 is fairly basic, but it could help solve the problem.
ReplyDelete1. I think this is a good idea as it allows access to all. My main question would be how these forms are organized online. Would students have to search through all posts to find relevant information or would they be able to search by company?
ReplyDelete2. This is a good solution, but I wonder if the participation rate would go down given that it would come in a survey form. Students are overloaded with surveys already, so would they take the time to fill out one more?
3. I don't think this idea would work because I think the book would get taken once and probably never returned. Plus, it's much easier to look at something online on your own time that restricting it to when you're in school, no matter where the book is placed.
I love all three, since I didn't know this resource existed. I think it would be tough to get people to keep track, to keep better track, and to commit to sharing information...I don't know. It seems like a clunky machine to fix. For example, I WANT to take advantage of it, but I'm not sure how much work it would be to CONTRIBUTE to it.
ReplyDeleteI am out of time, but would love to help. I think that if we can automate a big enough portion of this, it could take root.
Good thinking!
The third solution seems like it would be the easiest to implement, and it sounds like it would adequately address at least one element of the bigger problem. However, what do you or other Owen students see as the most critical area of need in this situation? Do any of your solutions address that element of the problem? Also, the third solution seems like it has a terminal end to it in that once it has been implemented, it is unlikely that there will be any future changes to the system. Do the other two solutions open the door to future innovation? If so, perhaps your innovation can be seen as the first step in a larger process.
ReplyDelete