It has been said many times that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I feel that this also could apply to retention. If there is a plan of action for each student from the time of arrival, and clear roles have been established for each person involved in the plan, adhering to that plan should make the student feel at ease with discussing anything.

I think that being realistic and straightforward with students will help them respect and trust you. I have been fortunate to deal with people in different situations, (teaching, athletic coaching, corporate industry), and each time the common link to trust and respect is honesty and realism. The answers may not be what you hope they would be, but having an understanding of behaviors and thinking patterns may lead to changes and better outcomes.

At our school, we have a student mentoring program. I feel that this program is the first step in keeping the students we have and improving current retention rates. All others involved in the education experience should also play a part in this effort, so we all need to step up our efforts to make sure that we understand the students' problems. How do we stress the importance of retention to the student mentors? Any thoughts?

Why do students attend school? I thought to learn and better themselves. While this is true among a certain population, it seems that more and more young students are looking for a handout and not a challenge. What do we do? Do we hold their hand and coddle them, or do we get tough. It seems that if we get tough, these students leave and don't come back. But what do they expect from the "real world", and aren't we supposed to prepare them for this environment? Any help would be greatly appreciated.