Clarifying Objectives in a Digital Community: Transforming Professional School Applications

Abstract

Texas Health Education Service, TXHES, helps students matriculate and graduate from Texas's medical, dental, and veterinary schools. Specifically, TXHES provides professional school application support to prospective, current, alumni students and advisors through newsrooms, Podcasts, Live Chats, and handbooks via their online community. As the umbrella organization for two well-established programs, organizational leaders sought to identify how students and advisors in the pre-professional community understood the TXHES objectives and website. Qualitative and quantitative data identified perceived organizational objectives from pre-professional students and advisors. This mixed-method approach led to understanding the students' and advisor's perceptions; it also helped determine the program's efficacy. Based on the literature and data, the recommendations promote sensegiving tools and continued dialogue (Wix & John-Steiner, 2008) between TXHES, students, and advisors, building their digital communities of practice and establishing belonging and engagement as critical pathways to success.