If the faculity teaches the materials using learning strategies to meet all learning styles the students should be happy with class. I try to get a team of students from Miller-Motte Technical College to participate in community projects such Relay for Life. This year we teamed up with the Massage Department--giving free massages at the Relay for Life Celebration as well as discount coupons. Our team rasied $1810. This team is really proud of what they have accomplished and have bonded together. Bonding of the students really helps retention.

Personally I believe that our institution needs much more student involvement. A newsletter would be great, picnics, and school field trips as well as career based field trips and activities are also something that I believe would boost moral

I believe that it is both the administration and the faculties responsibilities to keep retention numbers high. Administration needs to be up front when getting students in the institution enrolled and it is faculties responsibility to make sure that what we are teaching is relevant to what is needed in the field

Being primarily an online instructor I wanted to express the importance of retention in that environment as well. Being online we are sometimes disconnected from the campus and the students. We don't get to see them on a daily or weekly basis - so we rely on monitoring their participation and assignment submissions. Further it is harder to identify students whom are struggling or having a hard time if they don't express it. Because just because they are handing in their work, etc. doesn't mean they are having a positive and enriched experience. As an online instructor it is very important to keep your students interactive and get to know them a little bit. Make yourself feel inviting and encourage students to ask you questions or express their concerns. Further you should monitor student activity and message quickly students whom are not active. You don't want to reach the student before it is too late!

I find that working along side the student in class or lab helps the student throught there struggles with certian tasks seeing the instructor go throught the actruall labror that the task calls for is more motivating then him just talking about it.

what do you mentor when parents want the student to go studie at a college rather than a technical school.

I agree with many of the other comments that the self-recogition of blind spots is not easy but it is helpful to know of the existence of such blind spots. I detect the existance of my blind spots in test results by the students. I find the difficulty on measuring blind spots even more baffling when not all students suffer the frustration of dealing with my blind spots. In other words some students perform remarkably well, in spite of my blind spots, and some students do not. Student blind spots, although less meaasurable, are far more alarming to me than my own. Would not overall student success verify that instructor blind spots are more myth than extant.

I would find it very uncomfortable, and even a bit careless or dangerous to intiate contact with a student on a personal level. Even were the student to initiate the discussion the line that should not be crossed begins to materialize. What do you think of this red flag?

We all have a part in this program, the campus as a whole, the administrators, education managers, housing, facilities, instructors ect... to include the students. We seem to get alot of finger pointing on who is responsible for retension, just because the instructors have the face time doesn't mean that they need to be the soul savors for our students. The student needs to be willing to accept help from all persons they deal with at their school, as well as to acept that on occasions they (the student) needs to conform or correct a problem they may be pushing. If we all work together we can all gain from this in many ways, keeping students interested in school, keeping employees on a interactive level that stimulates them to higher levels of job gratification.

How an Institute of higher education performs can also influence retention: Are instructors, staff and management personnel qualified, trained and educated to perform and deliver the best experience to their students? Are campus facillities up to date using the latest equipment and technology available to students and staff? Is there a campus culture that demonstrates a true caring for student's success?

A good school with have resources available to assist students with any issues they may have such as counselors, advisors, tutoring, work study jobs, job fairs, etc.

Factors such as personality, culture, ethnicity, finances, employment, commitment and problems outside of school can all effect a students chances of success.

There can be many factors that influence retention. From my experience, I believe students who lack focus on their school work do poorly and can cause them to quit or drop out.

I feel that to have a successful intervention not only does the student have to want it, but the person trying to do the intervention needs to feel the wants and needs as well. Students can tell if your on the level with them or not and if they feel you're doing this just as a job they may not open up to let help them. We need to care about our students this will keep them interested in us and our curriculum.

It is tough to make a student stay at school when so many other factors are pulling them away.

I work with defendant in my full time employment. One on the most important factors is cognitive behavior. This is a good starting point for change.

I do understand things a bit better after completeing this section but is it not as fair question to ask "Is school for everyone"?

Students are effected by everything around them, we as instructors can manage thier stress in our world, in our class rooms, by the elimination of stress factors. We have to make our enviorment a place they want to be, a place that to them is a sanctuary away from thier day to day stress. This keeps them on line to thier goals, and shows them they can suceed even when everything else seems tough.

We all are accountable for retension, instructors, management, and departments. We all have to work together to keep in touch with our students. Communication between departments helps greatly in this effort. Not everyone can see what is going on with the students, together we can combine our efforts to help our students help themselfs to a better education.

What do we do when the student does not inform us that they want to drop?