Hello Readers!

Spring is in the air! Hope you are all having a wonderful April. This month has definitely been jam-packed: we’ve released a new user capability in the Management Console, had two clients go live, and added a new member to the Comevo team. Read on to hear about our month!

Also, be sure to check out the Comevo Blog for the latest news, updates, and orientation tips!

Product News: Reports-Only Users

We at Comevo strive to continually improve upon our services. We often take the feedback we receive from our clients and see what changes we can make to better serve them. One of the requests we had was to create the ability to have “reports-only” users, meaning users who could view the data collected in their orientation, but could not have content editing power. This month, we’re proud to announce that this functionality is now available! Now, if there are many people involved with orientation, but only some of them should have editing capabilities, you are able to include everyone in the process without jeopardizing your content. For more information, contact us here.

Client News: Nevada State and Harrisburg Area Community College Go Live!

Nevada State College

Nevada State College is a dynamic, young institution bursting with growth and the thrill of opportunity. Since its founding in 2002, the student body has grown to encompass more than 3,000 students representing a broad array of cultural and economic backgrounds, and its 1,400-plus alumni are living and working in every corner of the state and beyond.

Harrisburg Area Community College

Established on February 14, 1964 as Harrisburg Area Community College, HACC is devoted to the community and the individual. HACC’s devotion to the community stems directly from its mission, which is to foster educational, cultural, work force development, and economic growth of the college service areas. The vehicle by which they do this is to give each of its students the tools and environment to develop his or her unique potential. This creates an aura by which the communities HACC serves and each individual in those communities can benefit.

These two awesome institutions will now be able to better communicate and educate their students through the use of Comevo’s @school Online Orientation service.

Take a look at our full list of clients here.

Company News: New Lead Generator!

Samantha Mattingly was recently hired as Comevo’s newest Lead Generator. She is from Sacramento, California where she previously worked for a moving company. She is currently a second year Business major at Cal Poly with a concentration in Marketing. Samantha is extremely excited to start working with the Comevo team as well as gain a new type of work experience.

For more information about how we can help you communicate with your constituents more effectively, please visit www.comevo.com.

Hope you all are enjoying the transition into spring! This month we’ve been busy adding new features, helping clients go live, and creating a brand new partnership. Read on to learn more!

Also, be sure to check out the Comevo Blog for the latest news, updates, and orientation tips!

Product News: Section Review Quiz Cut Scores

Several clients have asked for a way to prevent the user from going forward in their online orientation if they haven’t passed the Section Review Quiz. Now you can! In the “Browse and Manage Sections” box, you will see the addition of two columns, “Quiz Question Count” and “Quiz Cut Score”. Select the section you want to add a Cut Score to and select “Edit Section Details”. The first option is the “Include All Questions”. If you select this option, the quiz will work as before. The second option is “Limit Question Count”. You can then decide how many quiz questions you want displayed (similar to the Final Quiz) and then you can choose to “Enforce Quiz Cut Score”. This will allow you to set a passing number. If the user fails the section review quiz, they will be returned to the beginning of the section to review it and the take the quiz again. Depending on how many questions are available to choose from, the quiz will be slightly different each time.

Remember, if you don’t want a cut score and want the user to keep on moving through, “Include All Questions” is the default choice.

Client News: North Central Missouri College, Sonic Oilfield, and Chattahoochee Technical College Go Live!

North Central Missouri College

The mission of North Central Missouri College is to assist individuals in its educational/business community to attain their goals through open admission, reasonable costs, progressive curriculum and services—delivered by a caring, competent staff in a safe, technology-rich learning environment.

Sonic Oilfield LTD

Sonic Oilfield Service LTD recently went live with their @work Online Orientation! Sonic is a privately held company in the Oilfield Service industry with three locations in Canada. With an extensive amount of regulations, policies, and safety instructions, Sonic is always striving to ensure that employees are knowledgeable and safe. With Comevo’s @work Online Orientation, Sonic will be able to improve the consistency and breadth of its training, reaping benefits for both management and employees.

Chattahoochee Technical College

As the flagship technical college in Georgia, Chattahoochee Technical College provides greater opportunities and resources to assist students in completing their educational and career goals. Chattahoochee Technical College has seven campuses in the north-northwest metro Atlanta area, and another just outside of the region. Chattahoochee Technical College serves a combined student population of 13,000, across six counties and eight campuses in North Georgia to become the largest technical college in Georgia.

Through the use of Comevo’s @school and @work Online Orientation services, these three newly live clients will be able to enhance communication with their constituents while providing them with every opportunity to succeed.

Company News: Partnership with IEMSS

Comevo is always interested in working with potential partner organizations whose clients could benefit from our Online Orientation services. This month, we created a partnership with International Emergency Management & Safety Solutions. IEMSS is a global leader in the development and delivery of emergency management and safety solutions, providing clients with a comprehensive platform mitigating risk while promoting safety and preparedness. IEMSS will now be able to provide its clients with a web-based solution for employee orientations and safety trainings via Comevo’s @work Online Orientation software. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership!

For more information on how Comevo can help improve communication with your constituents, please visit www.comevo.com.

1.   Promote, Promote, Promote!

One cannot benefit from a service they don’t know exists. Likewise, if students aren’t aware of the edQuestion service, they won’t be able to use it (duh). There are many simple measures your school can take in order to ensure awareness of your edQuestion site:

• Put links on your website. The simplest, easiest, and most effective method of promoting edQuestion is to have clear, accessible links on your school’s website, as this is often the first place people go when looking for answers to school-related questions.
• Periodical edQuestion reminder emails. Plain and simple, emailing students about the service will keep it in their minds and make sure you’re reaching the entire student body.
• Put signage in the counseling/administration office. edQuestion is mobile! Encourage students to avoid long lines in the counseling center by quickly searching for the answer to their question on their iPhone, Blackberry, or other device via our mobile site. Make sure to have posters or flyers to remind them about this resource.
• Mention edQuestion on your school’s answering machine. Often, current or prospective students/parents will call your school to find answers, which takes up a large portion of employee time. Simply mentioning the question answering capabilities of the edQuestion service on your school’s answering machine will help reduce your call volume and give callers the answers they need as fast as possible.
• Include edQuestion in your new student orientation program. Whether in-person or online, your school’s new student orientation can be a vital tool in ensuring students know as much as possible about their school. This is also a time when students have the most questions, so make sure to teach them how the edQuestion service works, right from the beginning.

2.   Keep Content in Check

Without current, relevant, and accurate information, the purpose of edQuestion is lost. Making sure that information is up-to-date and correct will alleviate confusion and increase the effectiveness of your edQuestion site. Assign someone on your staff the duty of checking at least once a day for new questions/answers and ensuring that all information is as accurate as possible. Also, their ability to edit will come in key in fixing grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization mistakes, which makes your site appear professional and trustworthy.

3.   Reward Actively Participating Students

edQuestion can only reach its full potential if there are dedicated and active users frequently asking new and helpful questions. As such, rewarding students who are consistently using the service can be key in ensuring a lively and active community. Creating a “Question of the Month” or “User of the Week” type contest with a reward can help increase incentive to use and contribute to your edQuestion site.

We hope you have found these edQuestion tips useful. To sign up now for your school’s own customized edQuestion site, click here. Otherwise, for more information, visit this link.

Hello all!

Hope you’re having a wonderful February! This month’s been very active for Comevo; we launched a brand new service, added a new client and a new member to the Comevo team! Read on to hear about our busy month.

Also, be sure to check out the Comevo Blog for the latest news, updates, and orientation tips!

Product News: edQuestion is here!

Comevo is excited to announce the introduction of the edQuestion Q & A Tool. edQuestion is a next generation Question & Answer platform that goes far beyond the capabilities of any FAQ or site search tool. It delivers quick, effective and approved answers to student questions, and leaves them thrilled with the experience—all with little more than a click of their mouse.

Each school receives its own custom edQuestion site, which acts as an engaging virtual counselor’s office, empowering students to ask questions using normal, conversational language. The service will then display the best matched questions along with any answers that have been posted. If a student is still not satisfied with their answer, they are then able to submit a question for review, and a site administrator will post an answer at their earliest convenience.

To learn more about how you can get an edQuestion site for your school, click here.

Client News: Welcome Edgecombe Community College!

Steady growth and expanding impact have characterized Edgecombe Community College as it has evolved from one small building in 1968 into a multi-campus institution with campuses in Tarboro and Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The college helped meet the educational and training needs of about 9,500 individuals in their community last year. Throughout, their strength is and will remain putting the needs of students first.

ECC just recently became a client of our @school Online Orientation service, and hopes to further their dedication to their students with help from Comevo.

Company News: Meet our new Lead Generation Intern Mary!

Earlier this month, Comevo welcomed their newest team member, Mary Skilling, as the company’s new Lead Generator. Mary came to San Luis Obispo from Petaluma, California, to attend Cal Poly as an Agricultural Business major. She looks forward to gaining experience in the field of business, and can’t wait to work with the team members here at Comevo!

For more information on how Comevo can help improve communication with your constituents, please visit www.comevo.com.

When students today want answers, there’s one place they go to first – the internet. Today’s students greatly prefer finding answers on the web over any alternative method.

Imagine there was a service that provided answers to any question a student may have in an easily accessible, online format. Think of all the time, frustration, and repeated questions such a service would save. edQuestion is that service, and it is taking the student self-service experience to a new level – all while minimizing costs and faculty resources.

Benefits

• Save staff time answering common questions
• Allow students to find the answers they need anytime, anywhere
• Ensure information is consistent and pertinent at all times

What is edQuestion?

edQuestion is a next generation Question & Answer platform that goes far beyond the capabilities of any FAQ or site search tool. It delivers quick, effective and approved answers to student questions, and leaves them thrilled with the experience—all with little more than a click of their mouse.

How does edQuestion work?

Each school receives its own custom edQuestion site, which acts as an engaging virtual counselor’s office, empowering students to ask questions using normal, conversational language. The service will then display the best matched questions along with any answers that have been posted. If a student is still not satisfied with their answer, they are then able to submit a question for review, and a site administrator will post an answer at their earliest convenience.

It’s a low effort, engaging experience unlike anything your students have ever seen. An answering experience this efficient creates a positive impact in all the right areas: higher student satisfaction, better informed students, less wasted faculty time – and not to mention an ever-expanding dynamic database of pertinent institution-related information.

The Modern Student is Everywhere. Are you?

The edQuestion service works wherever students choose to interact with your school. edQuestion is optimized to work on any computer, laptop, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or other mobile device. edQuestion brings the answers straight to your students, wherever they may be.

Key Features

• Best Question Matches appear whenever a student asks a question that may already be in the database. This gives students the ability to see any questions that are similar to the one they have asked in order to avoid duplicate submissions. If none of the question matches completely address their question, they are then able to submit their question for review, or ask another question.
• Most Popular Questions includes a dynamic, constantly evolving list of the most relevant questions asked on your site
• Recent Questions show students the most questions that have been asked most recently. This allows students to find answers to questions they may not have even known they had.
• Mobile Device Integration has never been easier. edQuestion is optimized for use with iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and all other tablets and smartphones.

To order your school’s own edQuestion site, click here.

We hope that you and yours had a fantastic holiday season, and a wonderful beginning to 2012. This month we’ll be discussing our new and improved video streaming capabilities, a new client, and a new member of the Comevo team!

Also, be sure to check out the Comevo Blog for the latest news, updates, and orientation tips!

Product News: Improved Video Streaming

This month we’ve added some big improvements to our video streaming capabilities. Our service is now able to contain videos that work seamlessly in both Flash and HTML5. You are also now able to watch videos on your desktop or from a mobile platform such as the iPad, iPhone and Android due to our cross-platform and multi-device support.

Our new adaptive streaming technology is able delivers optimized video quality to every single viewer, adjusting appropriately for device and connection speed. Video quality adapts during playback when necessary.

Client News: Hello Sowela Tech!

This month, Sowela Technical Comminity College in Lake Charles, Louisiana signed up for Comevo’s @school Online Orientation service! In doing so, Sowela joins a long list of institutions that seek to provide their students the best possible orientation experience.

Located on the former Chennault Airforce Base, Sowela offers Associate Degrees, Diploma Programs and Certificate Programs, courses that can be transferred to credentialed colleges and universities and accept transfer credits from credentialed colleges and universities. Sowela is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education (COE). It is an open-enrollment institution which serves traditional and non-traditional aged students. Students can take as little as one class for professional development or complete a full degree.

We’re excited to help Sowela develop their Online Orientation and take their program to the next level!

Company News: Erica Joins the Team!

In October, Comevo brought on their newest team member, Erica Jennings, as the company’s new Office Assistant! Originally from Walnut Creek, California, Erica moved to San Luis Obispo three years ago to attend Cal Poly and pursue a career in Speech Pathology. In the three short months that she has been working as a Comevo team member, she has already made quite an impact, and we expect even greater things from her in the future!

For more information about how you can improve your orientation program, please visit www.comevo.com.

1. Time Management is Key

Balancing one’s time effectively is necessary to be successful in a college environment. Advise that students get a planner (paper or electronic) and organize their semester/quarter at the very beginning. Tell them to include all their major assignments and figure out how to distribute the workload each week. Be sure to have them account for other activities that will take up time, including work and extra-curricular activities. If done properly, this can help students prevent a frantic last-minute paper or all-night study session.

2. Get Ahead Early

Encourage students to focus on resisting the urge to slack off the first couple of weeks. If they fall behind now, it can be very difficult to catch up.

3. Show Up the First Day

Make sure students know that they must attend the first day of all of their classes. The first day is when their new professors explain expectations and provide the syllabus for the semester. Also, it is very important to understand which classes have attendance policies, not to mention the fact that many professors will drop a student from a class if they’re not there on the first day.

4. Know the Syllabus

Tell students to carefully read all class syllabi and know what is in them. The syllabus is an outline that explains how the class will be graded and what is expected of them, so it is important that they know and understand these expectations.

5. Be Prepared

Tell students to have everything they need for the semester/quarter: books, course packets, school supplies, etc. Also, remind students to print out any additional readings or material they are assigned well in advance to prevent forgetting or rushing an assignment.

6. Start the Readings Early

Getting off to a good start with the readings can make or break a grade. At the beginning of a semester/quarter, students probably are not too busy yet, so suggest they begin the readings early, otherwise, they will have to make them up later when the semester/quarter is busier.

7. Have Good Attendance

Stress that students start off the new semester/quarter with good attendance. The information provided at the beginning of the semester is often key to understanding later material, and professors often dislike when students regularly skip class.

Hope you enjoyed these tips; use them well!

Wow, it’s almost 2012! We can’t believe how quickly this year has gone by; so many good things have happened in 2011. This past month alone, we’ve added an exciting time-saving feature, helped a client go live, and donated to local charities.

BIG NEWS

In addition, we have officially gone live with our newly designed website. We encourage you take a look and see the many improvements we’ve made! Also, be sure to check out the newly redesigned Comevo Blog for the latest news, updates, and orientation tips.

Happy reading!

Product News: Forgot/Change Password Feature Added

Gone are the days where you needed to ask for a password reset from us in order to access the Comevo Management Console. Now you can do it yourself. If you forget your password, you can now obtain a new password using our “forgot password” feature. If you ever want to change your current password, use the “change password” page after you sign in!

Client News: Notre Dame de Namur Goes Live!

This month we’re excited to announce that Notre Dame de Namur has gone live with their @school Online Orientation! It took them longer than most, but we’re happy to have them on board!

Notre Dame de Namur is a private, Catholic University located in Belmont, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. Notre Dame de Namur University is an accredited university in San Mateo County, and the fifth-oldest university in California. In addition to offering the traditional undergraduate liberal arts programs, NDNU also offers computer information systems and business administration programs capitalizing on its location in the San Francisco Bay Area between Silicon Valley and San Francisco. In addition to traditional undergraduate and graduate daytime programs, the school offers undergraduate evening degree completion programs for working adults.

Company News: Comevo Gives Back

Comevo values philanthropy and charitable acts, and we have once again chosen to give back to the community. This quarter, Comevo will be giving a significant contribution to CASA of San Luis Obispo County, The San Luis Obispo County Food Bank, and Habitat for Humanity for San Luis Obispo County. Keep reading to learn more about these organizations.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)

CASA of San Luis Obispo County advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children within the court system. CASA recruits, trains, and supervises volunteers who advocate for this vulnerable population with the goal of ensuring that each and every child grows up in a safe, nurturing, and permanent home.

San Luis Obispo County Food Bank

The Food Bank Coalition is the only countywide source of nutritious food for people in need from San Miguel to Nipomo. Working hand in hand with volunteers, donors, corporate sponsors and non-profit agency partners, it’s our mission to see that no one in our county goes hungry.

Habitat for Humanity (SLO)

Using volunteer labor and tax-deductible donations of money and materials, Habitat for Humanity builds and rehabilitates homes with the help of future homeowners. Houses are sold to low-income families through affordable, no-interest mortgages. Mortgages are issued over a fixed period (usually 20- 30 years.) Monthly mortgage payments are used to support the construction of more houses.

Take a look at our full list of supported organizations here.

For more information about how you can improve your orientation program, visit www.comevo.com.

Hope October and November have treated you well! Here at Comevo we’ve been very busy lately attending the 2011 NODA Conference and helping five clients go live! We also have some interesting news regarding Adobe Flash. Keep reading to hear about our eventful couple months!

Product News: Major Adobe Flash Announcement

There has been some very interesting news regarding the popular Adobe Flash Player service that has a lot to do with Comevo. In an MSNBC article dated November 9th, it was announced that Adobe plans to give up developing Flash Player for mobile devices and focus on web-standard formats, such as HTML5.

This news does not come as a surprise here at Comevo, where we have always supported Flash, but have never recommended building an orientation entirely around the tool. We have seen the limitations of Flash for a long time, and it is difficult to create an ADA compliant orientation using it, which is very important to our clients. Comevo has, and always will, look toward the open web standards (managed by the standards committee W3C) such as HTML5 when designing our services, distinguishing us as a leader in the online communication sector.

Client News: 5 Clients Go Live!

Lone Star College System is a publicly funded, two-year, United States community college system serving the northern portions of the Greater Houston, Texas, area. With more than 75,000 students in credit classes for fall 2011, and a total enrollment of more than 90,000, Lone Star College System is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area, and the fastest-growing community college system in Texas.

Arkansas State University, located in Jonesboro, is an internationally recognized public research institution with 20 different accreditations offering associate, bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees. ASU is home to more than 250 academic programs, concentrations, and options, and more than 85% of faculty hold the highest academic degrees in their field.

Danville Area Community College is committed to providing quality, innovative, and accessible learning experiences which meet the lifelong academic, cultural and economic needs of our diverse communities and the world we share. Danville Area Community College will continue to be an active partner in building and maintaining the academic excellence and economic vitality of the diverse communities it serves.

Baton Rouge Community College, an open admissions, two-year post-secondary public community college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was established on June 28, 1995. The college settled into a permanent location in 1998. The college’s current enrollment is more than 7,000 students.

Clallam County is a county in the U.S. State of Washington. As of 2010, the population was 71,404. The county seat is at Port Angeles, which is also the county’s largest city. The name is a Klallam (Native American) word for “the strong people.” Clallam County was formed on April 26, 1854.

Each of these five entities is now able to reach all their constituents with Comevo’s @school or @work Online Orientation services!

Company News: NODAC 2011

Over Halloween weekend, Sales Representative Heather Cook and Marketing Intern Josh Isaacs represented Comevo at this year’s National Orientation Directors Association Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. We had a great time meeting potential new clients interested in our service, as well as seeing current clients and chatting with them about their experience with our @school Online Orientation service. Overall, we had a blast, and if your institution has never participated, be sure to sign up for NODAC 2012 in Las Vegas!

To learn more about how Comevo can help your school or organization, visit www.comevo.com.

Thanks for reading, and see you next month!

Hope you had a great wrap-up to your summer. Comevo has been hard at work with the busy orientation season, but we’re now settling down a bit. Lots of news this month: a new member to the team, and the end to a busy time for many of our clients. Be sure to find us on twitter and check out our blog for all the latest Comevo news and updates! Read on!

Client News: Orientation Season Comes to a Close

The hectic fall orientation season is now over, to the relief of many of our clients. While orientation is what we love, this time of year can really put a lot of pressure on faculty, staff, and students, so to all our @school clients, congratulations on making it through another year!

Company News: Meet Our New Sales Intern, Christina!

This month, we brought on a new member to the team! Originally from Auburn, CA, Christina is a fourth-year Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration major, concentrating in Event and Tourism Management at Cal Poly. Although she is new to the sales game, we expect great things from her very soon! Welcome Christina!