Advantage Orientation® Among Online Cool Tools in EdTech

Advantage Orientation^® is recognized among online cool tools in EdTech industry, earning top honors in the annual EdTech Awards, sponsored by EdTech Digest. The company’s cloud-based student orientation platform was recognized as a Cool Tool in the Enrollment and Admissions solution category. This awards program attracted hundreds of submissions in over 65 categories across K-12, Higher Education, and Skills and Workforce sectors. Submissions were judged on pedagogical workability, efficacy and results, support, clarity, value, and potential.  

Supporting Successful Student Transitions

Advantage Orientation^® is a fully-featured and customized, cloud-based platform,” said Co-Founder and COO Catherine Swingle. “It’s been strategically designed to deliver online orientation in a fun and engaging way while also providing schools with a set of powerful administrative, analytic and reporting tools.”

While online orientation can be introduced at any number of touch points during a new student’s transition to college, company data reveals Higher Ed clients report the greatest success when online orientation is introduced early in the enrollment process. Because of its linear and modular framework, students are introduced to what they need to know, when they need to know it, avoiding information overload. Students complete online orientation at their own pace, giving them more time to learn what it takes to be successful in college, most often before they get to campus.

Higher Ed Rates Happiness with Advantage Orientation^®

While earning industry recognition is commendable, client feedback offers actionable insights. Nearly 94 percent of respondents say they’re “very happy” or “happy” with their online orientation. Advantage Orientation^® users represent small, independent universities, community colleges and large public institutions that have used the system from one to four calendar years. For 68 percent of schools, Advantage Orientation^® is their first cloud-based orientation system, while another 22 percent are using it to replace a web-based program they built themselves.

Why all this orientation happiness?

When asked how Advantage Orientation^® has helped the institution, nearly 90 percent rate making information more accessible as a top benefit, followed by

• Creating more student awareness about the services and resources available to them
• Providing students with a digital resource they can use again and again
• Reducing student confusion about what to do next
• Saving everyone time (staff and students)
• The ability to make in-person orientation more fun and meaningful
• Reducing information overload
• Improving the Student Experience
• Students arrive more prepared and with fewer questions

Respondents also report a variety of scenarios in which students engage in orientation, pointing to the system’s adaptability to personalize the experience for different student populations and flexibility to fit within unique enrollment strategies.

• Audience: Just over 81 percent of respondents are using the platform for all new students
• Positioning: Depending on the admissions model, about 45% of schools open online orientation to students upon admission or deposit in advance of an in-person event.
• Requirement: When it comes to enforcing orientation, schools make the program a requirement, mandatory or optional, at almost an even rate.

Find a Model to Follow in the Digital Library

To explore how schools are using Advantage Orientation® and the impact since launch, browse, filter and select digital content from our Online Orientation Library. Request access to the white paper and case studies as well as recorded conference sessions and webinars.

About Advantage Design Group^®

Advantage Design Group^® is a multimedia production and software development firm established in 1998. This certified, women-owned business is the largest online orientation production company in North America. The company’s diverse talent includes digital specialists in art direction, UX design, programming, video production, content development, project management and training. Advantage Orientation^® is a customized, cloud-based application deployed by hundreds of higher education institutions in three countries. The solution provides an online onboarding experience to support new student and new hire success, employee training, member affinity and customer engagement.