May 28, 2013

Your Tip Sheet to Navigating Student Success with Naviance

May. 28, 2013 at 08:43 AM | By Marlysa Connolly | Comment Count

Wendy Low is a client support specialist at Hobsons. Her varied career has seen the likes of providing exceptional client support to consumers, businesses, and educators. For the past two years, Wendy has helped Hobsons clients troubleshoot issues and navigate our solutions by committing herself to building genuine relationships with schools and districts across the country.

I had the opportunity to catch up with Wendy for a short chat last week. We discussed common challenges Wendy regularly supports as well as creating a helpful tip sheet of resources K-12 folks can reference when they're in a bind. College and Career Readiness

Hobsons: What is it like to be Wendy Low day-to-day?

Wendy: The short answer to that question is it depends. During the off-season, summer break, my team usually works with around 150 clients per day. Things really start to pick up once school is back in session. By October or November, I’m proud to say the K-12 client support team averages supporting 600 client questions and issues via email, phone, or through the support system daily.

Hobsons: Wow, that’s a whole lot of support! What are some of the most common challenges schools and districts need help with?

Wendy: Some of the most common challenges for school and districts is getting started. The initial data import of student data appears to be challenging for some clients, but after the first import they realize it’s actually quite simple. A lot of the cases I support are from schools newer to the system. It’s my job to help them gain familiarity with the solution. This could be Career Planning, Success Planning, College Planning, Course Planning, eDocs, Alumni Tracker, or PrepMe.

Sometimes I come across issues that I can’t troubleshoot on my own. When this happens, I – as well as the rest of the support team – forward the issue to our product development team for resolution.

Hobsons: Are there any resources that schools and districts can refer to for additional support?

Wendy: There sure is! I recommend clients reference the Help Library in Naviance. This knowledge-based platform has been recently revamped and includes comprehensive guides and how-tos on a diverse range of topics. One article I’m really proud of is an article titled “The Naviance eDocs Process.” This is a great article that guides our clients through the entire eDocs process from registration to sending a final transcript.

Another great section is the Family Connection library. This section of articles provides instruction on how to activate the Family Connection website, activate registration codes for students and/or parents, and how to distribute them. I also suggest counselors and school leaders check out the Naviance Network. The Naviance Network is a peer-to-peer community that allows users to engage and collaborate on all things Naviance. I always like to encourage clients to visit the Naviance Network online community because it’s a great place to discover creative ways clients are using our solutions.

Naviance users should also keep in mind that Naviance Summer Institute is another resource for learning about the solution. At Naviance Summer Institute, whether you are a first timer or a veteran attendee, you can always expect to leave with a laundry list of things to try out when you return home. Not only do attendees get to see how others are implementing and using Naviance, but they also get to hear from a line up of speakers who are experts in education. In fact, this year’s keynote is Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami and inductee to the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

Lastly, if a client is still on the outs – whether a new user or in need of a refresher - and would like additional support in learning our K-12 solutions, I highly recommend partnering with one of our training specialists. Our dedicated trainers are committed to helping clients master the solution while increasing staff, student, and parent adoption by recommending best practices that can be applied immediately. Clients can view a list of offered training courses, the course schedule, and register for training by visiting the Professional Development page in our knowledge base. A direct link to the Welcome To Professional Development page can be viewed here.