VIRTUAL PARENT

Brief Description of the Problem or Opportunity: The transition from high school to college can be a challenging one for many. As a college freshman, I found that not having a constant reminder from my parents to study opened my eyes to the reality of time management. Furthermore, because I was not in any particular academic program (ie. Meyerhoff, Sondheim) I often felt at a disadvantage because I had neither the support from or access to additional resources, nor the peer interaction that often kept students in these programs on track by essentially making them accountable to one another. The fact of the matter is that all students struggle with time management, particularly first-year undergraduate students. As a result, an unfavorable number of students become subject to academic probation. According to Nancy Miller, Associate Director of Academic & Pre-Professional Advising, "In Fall 2008 and in Spring 2009 almost exactly 600 students have been subject to Probation, Suspension, or Dismissal based on poor academic performance. That is, 600 in the Fall and 600 in the Spring." Despite these discouraging numbers, if there is one thing we know here at UMBC, it is academics. With that being said, decreasing the number of students that face the academic sanctions instilled on them because of poor performance would be in the best interest of a University with such a reputable academic history. More concretely, students who are better prepared to do well in their first year at UMBC directly affect the retention and overall value of the institution. Let us challenge our students while we rise in the ranks among other top notch universities. Let us compel our students to perform competitively using the good old guilt factor that my proposed service will use to keep students on track. Without further ado, I introduce to you the VIRTUAL PARENT!

My Idea: I propose to provide a service to UMBC students that will serve a function comparable to a Virtual Assistant. Virtual Assistants (VAs) are being used by many businesses as a way to outsource the responsibilities that a traditional secretary would have had. Tasks such as scheduling appointments, managing contacts, etc. are now being done by VAs who will never speak with their employers face-to- face. When thinking of ideas for this competition, I thought of how this virtual assistance could be applicable to an academic setting. I came up with an idea that would help to keep students organized, by essentially developing a framework to assist them in getting assignments completed on time, studying when it is critical, and helping them to optimize their time. The service, known as the VIRTUAL PARENT(VP), will cater to parents, students, and decision making persons of UMBC who may elect to infuse this service into the package offered to incoming and returning students alongside housing and meal plans. After reviewing the students schedule and syllabi, a success plan will be created by the VP. An automated text message, email, call, and/or instant message will be sent to the student when it is an appropriate time to read, take notes, prepare for examinations, register for classes, check academic records for accuracy, etc. The student will interact with the VP by uploading notes, study sheets, etc. into the VP portal (an extension of the UMBC portal), that will be accessible by the student and VP and serve the purpose of tracking work completed. Additionally, the student will engage in a student performance evaluation in which time the success plan will be evaluated. In conclusion, the VIRTUAL PARENT will provide the following benefits, those of which will impact both the students and the university:
*Help students better create their own schedule
*Set a precedent for meeting deadlines
*Empower students to learn as opposed to doing the work for them
*Increase interest among prospective students/parents with a service that UMBC offers to give both the students and university an edge

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