this course gave ma a better understanding of what it takes to retain students, and new insight/strategies to use in the classroom.

This course illustrated some very important points for student retention.  Instructors need to care about all aspects of the student's life.  They also need to be able to understand students have other issues going on outside of school.  Students need to understand that school is a responsiblity, but they also need to feel liked, respected and understood by the faculty and staff.

I like the way the course repeated its objective over and over again.  Everytime I went back to it I reminded me what I was suppose to be getting out of the course.  I think that it is true, attention = retention.  I have noticed that pattern before at my school.  When my supervisor is out we tend to have lower retention.  I will put more effort into working with my students to get to know them better and build rapport with them. 

This training was very helpful for me as I am both a student and an instructor.  I will be able to apply many of the conecepts I learned in this course to make myself a better student and a better instructor.  Thank you.

This course has clearly confirmed that all participants, including classroom instructor, are responsible for the student's retention.  I actually believe that the classroom have more effect on the student's retention because of the amount of time they spend with the students and also if students are doing well in class and see their instructor as a mentor, they will be willing to discuss any issues with the instructor and because of the respect and trust the students have for the instructor, the instructor may be able to continually monitor the student through graduation which lets the student know some cares.......

This course has just confirmed to me how retention is such an important part of the succes of the school. It is also proven that every staff member needs to be aware of the significance. They need to be trained how each one of the team can participate in the succes of each student and lead them to graduation and ultimately to the right job.

Even though there was nothing that really surprised me in this course material, it was good to see that my concepts for retention succes were accurate.

I learned a lot of new techniques with this course.  At the same time, the course validated techniques that I am doing correctly with helping student deal with daily stress of juggling work, school, and family life all at the same time.

I deal with students who are mothers or fathers, and are working full time jobs. Learning the whole aspect of Retention in this course will assist me more in teaching them about coping with stress and challenges that come with learning, and how to effectively apply ideas of problem-solving. which will help them attain their goals and purpose why they come to this institutiton.

Works both ways towards students and the institution.

Initially, intervention techniques, Survey and Vertical Probing, are useful tools that will assist the institutiton in its success with assisting students to attain their goals.

This was a really great training. I learned things I wish I knew during my first year of teaching. Thankyou

I really have enjoyed reading everyone's ideas and thoughts on this topic. I think we definitely all agree that connection is what improves the student's chances the best. As they say in the therapy field, connection heals. I think it also applies to retention of students. In this day and age we are so disconnected that anything we can do to bring us together with the students and as a community as a whole, will contribute positively to student outcomes and the growth of our schools.

Retention is the single most important aspect of what we do as educators. The students cannot succeed if they are not there. The world will miss out on their ability to contribute to the world as a whole at least in this aspect.

I like to throw out short questions/quizes during hands on workign between students.  I feel that if I casually toss out a few questions and let any or all students respond it helps both those who answer and those just listening to retain subjects we have covered so far.  

As instructors I think that retention should be a very important aspect of our learning environment. If you think about it, having a positive, fruitful, confident, open and fun atmosphere is what we should strive for as instructors. As long as we follow these things then retention in inevitable.  Our students will respect, enjoy and attend our classroom daily to get the positive feed back that is so needed daily.  So, really retention is not so hard to do as long as you are doing your job as an instructor and good person.

Rentention is important as more and more emphasis is being placed on keeping students in school.  It is important as instructors to recognize the early signs of a student in danger of leaving the school.  It is important as instructors for us to play our part and intervening when necessary to change the attitudes of students.  Making sure the student has support while entering this learning journey is important in establishing trust.  I definitely plan on incorporating the tools learned from this course and apply to my role as instructor for a career college. 

As instructors we pour our everything in to our students.  We are more than instructors.  We are motivators, inspirators, faith builders, a listening ear, shoulder.  Its devastating as an instructor to loose a student because ofretentiion, there has been instances where I wanted to call the student and plead with them not to leave.

I encourage the students to stay positive through lifes ups and downs. Which may be difficult but will eventually help them to succeed in life.

Above all, students need to be treated w/ respect. Empowering students to make an informed decision should be the practice for all professionals when working w/ student in Higher Education. Students are to always be encouraged to make their own decisions whether or not we the professional agrees with that decision. We can certainly advise them in what is in their best interest. However the decision needs to be their own and we should not be pressuring them. After all they are adults and will be making critical decisions in the professional experiences. We need to teach stduents independence and… >>>

I find that positive reinforcement goes far with my students!

This class reinforced my ideas of implementing more non-class related activities in order to get the students more involved and incorporate a better sense of community.  I feel that if they just come to class, and aren't involved any other way it's more likely that they will leave.  They need to feel a connection to the school.  Implement activities that are relevant to the industry also remind them why they are here.  It's easy to lose sight of them if you struggling in other areas of your life.  I look forward to taking more of these classes and gathering ideas.