Student Support
UW System and Higher Learning Commission (HLC) standards for distance education stipulate that online programs must have strong support systems to enable student success, and UWM is committed to providing these. Resources available to meet the unique needs of distance education students include the following:
UWM Online serves as the primary entry portal for prospective and enrolled students interested in learning about available online programs.
The One Stop Student Services Center is a comprehensive site linking students to an array of campus services including academic advising, registration and records, academic calendars and policies, financial aid and many other academic and administrative support services. Of particular interest may be information about online classes and about Canvas, the technology platform used to deliver online courses at UWM.
Students may also be interested in learning more about the Tech Support available to them at UWM.
The Accessibility Resource Center is dedicated to providing equal access for students with disabilities to the University’s academic programs and support services. ARC staff can also help faculty and staff involved in online programming ensure that their programs are designed and delivered in a manner than ensures accessibility.
Online tutoring in a variety of subject areas is available to undergraduate distance education students via the Student Success Center Online while the Writing Center offers online tutoring in writing at all levels.
The UWM Libraries play a strong role in the academic success of online students, who have access to all of the same library resources as students attending on campus. These include, among others, the ability to have articles sent to them electronically; to talk to a librarian via chat, email or phone; to have needed books sent to them in the mail; and to borrow books from the nearest University of Wisconsin System library. More information on these library services is available at Distance Services.
A survey template has been developed for online programs at UWM. The template contains questions that are intended to help online programs create surveys that solicit feedback from their students. The survey template can be used as-is or can be customized for individual online programs.