Dalton State College | Authentic connections bring the virtual classroom experience to life

Dalton State College (DSC), a four-year institution offers broad access to quality higher education for the population of Northwest Georgia. An institution of the University System of Georgia, students benefit from targeted bachelor’s degrees and a full range of associate degrees, career certificate programs, and public service activities.

More than half (51%) of students are first-generation college students, and, as Georgia’s only Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), there is a 33% full-time Hispanic student enrollment. DSC’s Peer Education assists independent learning by developing student skills across four areas: Tutoring, Supplemental Instruction, Math & Science Learning Center, and Financial Fitness Learning Center.

Results

• Quick and easy implementation
• 792 active users
• 291 active Hispanic users (36.74%)
• 2500+ sessions delivered
• 500+ study skills series sessions

Challenges

• Non-intuitive appointment booking created difficulties for new users to manage.
• Generic user profiles reduced opportunities for tutors and tutees to form authentic online connections.
• Lack of online classroom facilities created issues for bringing tutors and tutees together in the virtual world.

Solution

When the pandemic arrived, Dalton State College Peer Education, like its many counterparts at institutions across the world, needed a way of authentically connecting its tutors with learners in the virtual world.

“Our previous system worked in the sense of letting students schedule
appointments,” explains Financial Literacy Specialist Sammi Carter. “However, the simplicity of the system created some issues with relationships forming between tutors and students.”

Partnering with QuadC has allowed Sammi and her team of 50+ Peer Educators to overcome these challenges and more.

QuadC profiles can be fully customized by users – allowing students to learn a little bit more about their tutor and even see their face prior to arriving for the first appointment.

The platform’s easy booking system avoids issues such as double booking. Now, it’s “easy to navigate,” according to DSC Tutee Support Coordinator Ian Shank, adding:

“I really appreciate the reminder emails and how easy it is to see everything on the calendar.”

Feedback like this has seen the platform’s usage widen and diversify, according to his colleague Sammi.

Currently, QuadC facilitates virtual office hours for Supplemental Instruction leaders, schedules all Financial Fitness sessions and helps with event staffing.

Looking ahead, the team hopes to utilize QuadC for a new mentoring program.

“We are very excited about all of the new changes headed to QuadC and will be adapting as new features arrive,” concludes Sammi Carter.

Key Features

Virtual classroom connects tutors and tutees with collaborative whiteboards and multi-way audio video – bringing the classroom experience to life.

Fully customizable profiles for tutors and tutees allow users to form more authentic relationships – helping generate better outcomes.

Easy scheduling and booking reduce the risk of errors while allowing users to manage their own schedules.

Customer Testimonials

“QuadC helps to create the welcoming environment that we strive to achieve in all of our sessions. It has really been a game-changer for us! Students love that they can see a picture of their tutor and read a little bit about them before they come in for a session. And tutors feel like they have more control over their scheduling.”

Sammi Carter
Financial Literacy Specialist
Dalton State College