One thing I believe always helps with retention is being able to provide students with a sense of belonging in their chosen school. In High School, students have a strong sense of ownership and belonging. The schools have school colors. There are school sports teams. Clubs and other organizations provide students with a way to represent their school, and feel that they are represented by their school. Most public or "land-grant" universities have fraternities and sororities. They have sports teams which compete nationwide and provide the students with an opportunity to show pride in their school at sporting events, or… >>>

Recently, my school eliminated all positions but the director, in the Student Services Department. Each program chair in academics was then required to identify one or more menbers of the faculty to take on the role of "Academic Advisor" These advisors are required to perform the tasks which used to be managed by members of the student services department. While I definitely understand the thought process behind giving the students a person to go to who is a member of their faculty, and theoretically, this person will be their advisor for the student's entire time at school, this can and… >>>

One thing I have learned is that there is a certain amount of stress that is required to cause someone to be successful. If a student is in a school situation where there is absolutely no stress created by challenge or competition, then the student will have nothing to "rise to". A certain level of stress is necessary to bring out the best in people. As instructors, we should always try to alleviate the negative stress, and reduce the amount of unrealistic stress on our students. But we should also strive to encourage a positive reaction to the stress that… >>>

I have long believed that a students perception of the quality of the school will contribute heavily to a student's dedication to completing a program of study. Schools like Harvard, MIT, Yale, and other such Ivy league schools do not have serious problems with retention and attrition. In my opinion, a prime reason for this is the stringent guidelines and requirements necessary for acceptance into the school. A person can't just walk in off the street, and start classes the following Monday... Any perspective student of one of these schools must first meet the entry guidelines, and then complete any… >>>

As a professional educator for the past 12 years, I have absolutely noticed that students have their "preferred" learning styles. I must segue for a moment though, and say that I am VERY glad that the popular "personality tests" for the late 80's and early 90's are not used so much anymore. I always hated the idea that people actually thought you could clasify someone's personality as things like a color (I'm supposedly a Green by the way...) and other methods like that. People are a conglomeration of personality traits that are dominant at different times and therefore cannot be… >>>

I teach in a setting where all of our classes are basically cohort groups. One of the most difficult challenges I have had is that I tend to be the instructor that everyone respects, but I can be a little "hard-lined" when it comes to certain rules and guidelines. And I always seem to get groups right after they have had a class with the "buddy- instructor". That instructor (we all know one) who is far more concerned with being everyone's friend, so that he/she doesn't upset anyone... This is a tremendous challenge at times, because the minute they walk… >>>