Helping students to create viable options is important to retention. Just a gentle nudge can start this process. Not just students, but all need some counseling when looking for an abundance of creative options to solve problems. The more options available the better the chances of reaching a suitable solution. An instructor can be a good listener and lead a student to his or her own solution. Many times we all have blinders on and tend to see only one way out. In the case of some students that would be to "quit". My question is : Some students never consider quitting as an option. Is there some way to identify & capitalize on this student mind set to help other students?

How do you help improve the culture at a school to a more open, supportive enviroment as a new employee? It is often hard to create change with staff who are "set in their ways" and aren't open to necessary change to show our students we are a caring enviroment, not just a business.

How do you help the anxious student who refuses to seek any outside help, but continues to fail at school? I have recommended this student seek psychiatric services, but they have not done so. While I know you cannot force someone do get help, what can be done in the meantime to help this student during the time at school?

How do we help support students who have been told their whole lives they will not succeed? Many of our students have had this engrained in their mind by family and others in their life. This effects their school performance and the school's retention rate tremendously.

How do we deal with students who are being admitted by admissions counselors that should not be, due to learning disabilities a school is not equipped with? The school I am employed by is private and does not have any plans on hiring special education teachers due to a small budget. These students are continually being admitted. It is frustrating both to students and faculty and seems to set these students up for failure.

How can career college educators and other college personnel be more aware of our HABE's and our personal blind spots? It is so easy to find flaws in others, but it is much more difficult when you have to critique your own attitudes.

Having students in various cities throughout the country and abroad, would it be best to have an orientation that is synchronous or asynchronous? All of our courses are asynchronous, but I wonder if orientation should be different, so as to develop more of a sense of community & to answer questions that many students may have (simultaneously).

I believe the topic is right on the point when it states that perception is reality. It is important to make sure a school has the proper culture that will foster growth of the students as well as the faculty to attain a high level of student understanding.

What are some of the best ways for students to give their input about what they would like to see in their school in the way of help, extra circular activities, decision input & over all policies? We have tried several things but the students do not as a large group participate in them.

Do you find that the same intervention practices used to retain students also work to retain employees? Instructors leave this career for stressors that would sometimes seem to be able to be reduced if expectations and focus are properly applied.

I have found that many of our instructors have little or no empathy for our students under stress. I believe this is largely because they see themselves as coming up the "hard way" and are somewhat resentful of our students opportunities. Is this common among career schools?

It is sometimes difficult for school employees to understand that in one way or another we are all responsible for the retention of the students. This is realized through how we interact with them on a daily basis. It can be as easy as asking how someone is doing or as difficult as a coaching session that requires specialized assignments to help individuals succeed.

The 3 M's is what we call a TSI = Total School Involvement plan.

We have not tried this. Sounds like it could be an effective way to help new students make connections with the institution and other students. Has anyone tried having the Student Council involved in this type of activity?

Many of us think of our jobs as a "have to". What a difference it would make in our daily lives if we could think about working as a "want to"! Well, we all work in education, which should make the transition really easy. How wonderful is it to think that you have made a positive difference in someone's life? And, if we do our jobs well, we can accomplish something toward that end every day -- a real reason to want to come to work and to do our best.

Intervention does not have to be one-on-one interaction behind closed doors, it can be public display. Create an Interactive bulletin board with common and not so common issues. Allow your population to help us help them. We are not and can not be the saviors of everyone but we can open the door to knowledge. Create a monitored school blog where your students can discuss and find solutions to their issues. Just a few ideas...

Some would say that this is your best Instructor and if we had more like him/her we wouldn't have a retention problem! I say that there is a 98% chance that he/she is the root of your retention problem. I'm not saying that we don't have GREAT instructors in the business but I would bet if you really dig into the numbers you will find out that this instructor has a high grade average as well. If this is the case, then this instructor is doing you more harm then good. What happens is that this instructor falsely builds students self-esteem in believing that they can pass hard courses without studying or showing up to class and sets them up for failure in the near future. I welcome discussion to my opinion

In reading the posts on this forum, it reminded of the saying "it takes a whole village to raise a child." In our schools, it takes the involvement of all departments to identify and assist at-risk students. For example, a collector in the finance department notices that they are sending a past due notice to a student. Passing along that information to the DOE or program chair would provide an opportunity for us to talk with the student and perhaps refer them to career services for a part-time job. Or an instructor who notes that a student is frequently absent because he/she lacks transportation or child care, could contact student services to see if there are resources available. One of the ways in which our campus management team tries to accomplish this is to have weekly meetings (Education with Finance, Career Services with Education, Finance with Admissions, and so on) at which we can discuss students that are having some issue that may result in withdrawal from school. Something I would like to do is organize a retention committee with representatives from all departments; I would appreciate any comments that folks may have on the impact of retention committees.

The motto at our school is "Every Student - Every Day - Every Time." For instructors, this means making a personal connection with every student in class every day. Making that connection can be as simple as greeting the student by name as he/she walks into class. Telephone calls to absent students to touch base with them, let them know what they missed, and letting them know they were missed! For educational administrative staff, getting into the classrooms daily even if only for a few minutes to see what is going on, asking questions of students, participating briefly in a discussion, gives the students a sense of those they can go to when life starts to get in the way of school. For other staff and managers, getting out among the students at breaks or lunch periods lets the students know that we are all committed to their success. Personally, as I have gotten out of my office and into the hallways and classrooms, I feel I know our students better and they are more willing to come to me with questions.

This a problem that I've seen alot, the students that wants to know everything and want's to help on everything. How do you tell the student to be patient and not discourage them?