Patriot Connect

Patriot Connect Update-February 2025

Dear Colleague,

Thank you for your interest in the Patriot Connect program! We are excited to share recent updates with you.

February Student Focus Groups 

This month, the Patriot Connect organizational change management team held virtual focus groups with undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students to gather insights for driving adoption of Patriot Connect. The sessions included a virtual tour of the student view and a demonstration of how to schedule an appointment. The participants then shared their thoughts on the most effective ways to inform students Patriot Connect is coming, their preferred methods for learning to use it, and how to encourage continued use of Patriot Connect throughout the entire student journey. The feedback collected will be instrumental in the successful student adoption of the platform at George Mason.

Key takeaways from the student focus groups include:

  • Communication preferences: Students ultimately prefer direct communication from the advisors, staff, or faculty members they frequently interact with over department/program emails. Participants also shared that they often rely on George Mason’s popular social media accounts on Instagram for updates and expressed that repeated exposure to information about Patriot Connect will help grab students’ attention.
  • Promoting use: Students confirmed that the benefit of Patriot Connect is that it centralizes appointment scheduling, maintains a running record of previous meeting notes and referrals, simplifies finding contact information for more direct access to different offices and resources, and integrates with Patriot Web for a more comprehensive view of their student contact record.
  • Learning to use Patriot Connect: Students prefer short “how to” videos. The group also expressed interest in watching a video of what their advisors and other staff can see about them in Patriot Connect so that students can understand what information is being shared and with whom.
  • Long-term use: Just as students look to their advisors for guidance on their academic journey, they will look to their advisors as examples for using Patriot Connect. If their advisors and student support services communities are using Patriot Connect, they will too!

The Countdown Continues: 60 days to Patriot Connect Student Success Go-Live 

Patriot Connect: Student Success is now just 60 days away from launching! Starting April 30, 2025, colleges and schools will use Patriot Connect for both undergraduate and graduate academic advising, while units within University Life will leverage Patriot Connect for various student support services, including student success coaching, learning services, Housing and Residence Life, and more. Starting May 1, students will begin using Patriot Connect to schedule new appointments with participating student support services communities. In the two months remaining before go-live, staff and faculty are encouraged to prepare for Patriot Connect by attending training. Live, instructor-led training (ILT) courses will be available in-person and virtually starting April 17 and will continue through mid-May. Registration for ILT courses will open in MasonLEAPS on March 3.

On the Horizon: Peer Trainer Preparation Begins

Thank you to the individuals who have officially committed to being a peer trainer for Patriot Connect: Student Success. These peer trainers will each lead or support 1-2 live instructor-led training (ILT) courses that most closely align with their area of expertise or unit. Peer trainers will get hands-on experience with the course content and learn how to deliver the ILTs to end-users by attending peer trainer preparation sessions in late March and early April. During this period, peer trainers will also participate in user acceptance testing to support their preparation. Patriot Connect: Student Success training will begin on April 17, focusing on preparing staff and faculty to use the system when it goes live on April 30. Registration for ILT courses will open in MasonLEAPS on March 3.

Patriot Connect Change Champion (PCCC) Spotlight Series

This series introduces the PCCCs who are dedicated to supporting you and the George Mason community as we transition to Patriot Connect. Discover their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and a fun fact or two. Get to know the February spotlight, Lauren Wagner!

In Case You Missed It

As always, we welcome your feedback. Please feel free to share the sign up form with your colleagues who are interested in staying up to date with Patriot Connect.

Sincerely,

The Patriot Connect Program Management Team