If I think back, I can recall my first mentor, Mr. Emmi. High school wood shop teacher. He showed me that life has many paths and all I had to do was walk my own. That small conversation stuck with me and his style of instructing has shaped mine.

I agree that classmate bonding, food, games, employer presentations, are not only things that should be implemented into the first week, but also into the weeks to come. With this generation "fun" is added into the value part of the equation. Students now want to be entertained on some level at some point during their education. It is best used a stress reviler and "prize" for hard work.

"Faculty play an extremely important role in retention and students are typically very intimated by them, especially early in their classroom experience. Having faculty communicate things that make them 'real' and affirm to students that they are people as well as professionals, will significantly help retention efforts." I related to this insight. There is a fine line between faculty, mentor, and friend. Being a mentor puts you in the position between the two, but makes the students relate to you and come to you with any needs or concerns.

I think the idea "where students, either as individuals or in groups, travel from department to department to gather the important information," is great. It helps break down the walls of fear by helping students get to know the school, departments, and faculty before the first day of school.

Being a recent graduate I can say this was one of my fears on the first day of school. The way to diffuse this is by group activities, both social and academic related.

I think it is also very beneficial to look close at the student's track record - does s/he have a history of completing courses or of dropping out. If the latter, what needs to be done - by the student, by the student's family, by the school - to ensure that there is completion this time?

Where do I begin?

What are top key indicators of behavior to notice when to intervene.?

Where does the fear factor start creeping into academics..

How much is motivation related to retention?

We do an amazingly good job of following the steps in this module as a team within the school. We have very high retention for this reason. (We want it higher, of course) Where we struggle at times is making sure that a student's classmates do not become too strong of a influence in helping that student to not succeed. The sometimes this can happen because a "click" or an individual with a strong personality has a life experience that tearing someone else down will build them up! (This of course is not true.) How do you suggest helping students become more team-oriented and act a resource of learning to increase their experience?

I am curious what is everyone's thoughts on mystery shoppers? Do you think the mystery shopper should be a subject matter expect in the coursers or field they are posing to be a perspective student in?

Mystery Shoppers, From what I see, I believe that our Admissions Staff preforms a great job. If a mystery shopper was to come into our school I could only hope that the information collected would meet all standards set by our Home Office.

If it wasn't for our internal customers, the instructors here would be at a loss. There are many times we rely on our internal customers (Student Services, F/A, Accounting, ect.) and not even realize what is going on. The instructor staff here does appreciates our internal customers.

In order to have a properly functional educational facility, the task of coordinating all departments is and always should be the campus president. My organization has an excellent coordinator that monitors all functions with the emphasis on completion rates, tutoring, etc. To that end, all students benefit as a result.

improving retention.

How teamwork can benefit the students.

How to retain by helping students cope with the unexpected.

how to help students cope with stress.

What I think is lacking when people are helping others is effective communication and listening. If a student see's or hears something they don't like it will ruin finding resolution to their problem.