Most students will respond positively if you treat them with non threatening respect. In otherwords, don't constantly harp on them when they are wrong, don't embarass them when they do the wrong thing. If they find the class enjoyable, they will try to see it through to the end.

Vocational training happens so fast for the student and as instructors we need to give positive influince to our students by giveing them a sense of accomplishment every day,and the feeling of success in every project they perform.

Recognizing a students problem,and intervening before it's to late to evaluate their problem will go a long way with keeping them in school..

Encourage them to succeed even if they don't think they can. Let student know they can do it.

In the industry, all departments must be on the same page. If you aren't working together as one entitty, the smooth flow of information, morale and just doing business will suffer. Once people start becoming unhappy, it is very dificult to turn them and things around.

If retention starts in the classroom, school administrators (managers) can't forget to focus some support, respect and appreciation to the teachers as well as the students. I beleive that an environment of encouragement an a appreciation for the faculty also needs to be considered and implimented.

Orientation is an area that could help in this regard. Student comes in for orientation and is told or (sold) on something that once he is in school he finds it's not exactly as he had envision. Now he starts to get depress to the point of loosing interest in the school that he thought was going to prepare him for his future.

Sometimes it is hard for instructors to relize not everyone we deal with is a intelligent individual. Though they do have dreams and aspirations of becoming something in this profession whether we feel they can or cannot we must follow through with the business end to ensure they get the mentoring and training they paid for and we still have a job doing what we love.

Retention is a problem that is everybody's responsibility,from facility maintenance to the school director....

I believe one of the big issues that we deal with in our courses is the generation of students, I believ we are on generation Z now. A lot of younger people have not had the opportunities to be held accountable or possibly never had responsibilities. This plays heavily into attrition, not used to dealing with problems or stress, some students are willing to take the easy road and leave. This is were the importance of keeping an open ear or knowing who to direct the student to if the problem gets persists

At our school, we believe that retention is driven in the classroom. Our faculty is "on board" with the idea that students must see the relevance in their education and the validity of the outcomes to their success. Adult learners are a very different being than secondary school students. Respect is a premium. Faculty can be trained to perceive the difference between treating an adult the way they deserve, and "coddling" a student. With a concentration on alternative methodologies and an understanding of multiple inmtelligences, faculty can design and impliment an engaging lesson on a daily basis. We want our students to feel like they can't wait to get into class, not that they can't wait to get out.

It's all about choices! So, making the course interesting enough to prove that their choice was or is the right one, keeps them coming back for more. Once hooked the student quickly realizes that they must be there to satisfy their desire to learn.

It is very important to have this within your facility. One person can bring negativity to quite a few people. Some of these students listen because in some cases, this is their norm. They are used to it and listen and believe it. To turn the negativity around will take effort from the whole staff.

Have a big smile on your face, make them feel welcome and that you are here for them, and explain any future possible obstacles in the future that you are available for them for anything

We only have, on an average, three weeks with our students since we have a fast pace program, however I feel that if we are observant we can see the early signs of lost feelings in our students, this is the time to open the monolog and show there are options for assistance besides dropping out.

It was mentioned elsewhere in these threads that it would be great to have and instructor assigned as a mentor to each student when they enter school to help them throughout their time with us. Although this would definitely put more of a burden periodically on the instructor, it would also help get things done. A facilitator assigned would be nice, but it is my experience that when people from two departments (education and financial aid for example) interact on a daily basis, they become familiar with each other, and we know what that breeds. This would just add another layer of frustration for the student to wade through. An instructor, on the other hand, would not interact daily with these other departments and may be taken more seriously.

When a student's attitude toward learning diminishes, early detection is important in heading off the student's reactive decisions which may be hap-hazzard under the mounting realization that things are deteriorating.

We are an adult learning school, and as such need to recognize that there are no "Kids" at our campuses. The use of the term, even when students aren't present, sets up the wrong attitude. Respect is different than becomming a student's buddy, it is the act of respecting and treating each student as an equal adult.

Stay consistant with whatever you do.If you start out hard stay hard.If your loose stay loose.

I think with any situation, you have to have boundaries. I have noticed with some of my students this is the first time for this. I always tell them that even though they are in school, the professionalism starts here.