Loren Kroh

Well stated, Martha. You are right that many faculty mistakenly believe that they are expected to compromise academic standards to "save" a student. When that happens it only prolongs the pain for the student and postpones the inevitable for the school. The process you outline when aligned with adequate support resources is a winning combination.

At my former school the faculty adamantly felt that meeting deadlines was a critical job skill. Consequently, they incorporated a penalty for work that was submitted late. The first time was penalty free; subsequent "lates" were penalized with increasing severity. Undoubtedly this policy created problems for some students but the consensus was a grade reduction while learning the importance of deadlines was preferable to learning on the job.

Nice ways to reach out to your students, Debbie. It certainly does demonstrate a concern for their well being. What do you do for fund raisers? Are you able to put things together on short notice? How do you determine which students are eligible for benefits like free toys at Christmas?

Do you request receipt of the email? Is this something you do for every student? How frequently?

Who does the calling? How often are the callers able to actually connect with the missing students? Has this practice improved attendance?

It's great to have some many people available for the students. How often do they connect with these advisors? How do they select the proper person to contact?

A good list of community resources can be a very powerful tool to help students solve problems. Do you ever have providers come into the school to make presentations about their services? Some institutions have 'fairs' where social service agencies set up booths to education students [and staff] about support services that are available.

It sounds like you have some very impressive programs in place. How often do you have the student appreciation days and the resource fairs? Do you have different programs or themes for the appreciation events? Do you have representatives from social service agencies come to the fairs?

Does the survey also ask about support services, library resources, facilities, etc?

Are the student to student advisors like peer mentors? Who is responsible for oversight of these students and how are they trained?