Success in college requires a significantly different skill set than what is required of students in high school.  Students face significant changes in autonomy, course delivery and format, academic expectations, challenges to their executive functioning, new social and independent living pressures, and more – and all at once.   

The support of a coach can help keep a student organized, motivated, and on track for success.

Virtual Hall is much more than a website – it is a comprehensive coaching service, made up of real people who connect with and support students. Students are provided a dedicated coaching team, as well as password-protected access to Virtual Hall’s secure online platform, which helps keep everyone connected.  This custom-designed environment is built for usability, and serves as an organizing space, progress and assignment tracker, and a jumping off point for all types of academic, independent living, and social supports and services.

Students work directly with their coaches to schedule individual meetings – and members of a student’s Coaching Team are also regularly on call and available. 

Having a dedicated Team for each student helps us maximize availability while also keeping core coaching relationships central to the Virtual Hall experience. 

Students generally schedule 3 to 4 hours of coaching per week, and students who regularly accessing more than 5 hours of individualized coaching per week may want to consider additional services or a reduced course load, and their Virtual Hall Team may shift their priorities from direct service to providing centralized case management and service coordination among additional support team members. 

Access to the social activities and peer connections are always unlimited!

Not at all.  If a student can use a phone, text, and email, they have enough technological skills to start benefitting from coaching support.  We also use video conferencing, calendar and planning tools, and other innovative ways to help students access success in college – but starting simple is just fine, too!

Goal setting, progress monitoring, academic planning, writing support – these are all important for the academic aspects of college, but college is also so much more than just exams and homework.  A robust social network within Virtual Hall helps students connect to peers who are also learning how to be successful in college.  Think of it as a virtual dorm or an interactive campus club!

Students work with their team to set up a schedule for contact, and they also have additional time available each week for ad hoc and as-needed coaching and writing support.  Students connect with their coaches via traditional methods, including phone, text, and video conferencing, as well as utilize tools such as the google education suite.  

Coaching is individualized to each student. Students can choose to focus in on a specific area (executive functioning, college study skills, writing), or look at more broad elements of the collegiate experience (social development, independent living, etc), and the focus can shift over time, as assignments and college life dictates.

Individualized and comprehensive coaching provides students the opportunity to set their own goals – and then receive the support needed to achieve their own success.

We find that the challenge most students face is either with executive functioning, navigating college life, or with the writing process.  Our team is well-suited to address challenges in these areas.  Students may also find that they need subject-specific tutoring, and Virtual Hall coaches can help students locate and effectively utilize resources in their own community.

While our primary focus is on supporting students, the Team Leader provides families with monthly updates on student progress and engagement.  Additionally, Virtual Hall can and will reach out to families if we have specific concerns, and we value a collaborative communicaiton approach to supporting student success.