Loren Kroh

Great idea, Steven. Is this site linked from your institution's home page? [driving traffic to your site] How did you generate the list - staff driven or student compiled? Researching local resources can be a valuable experience for the students. Do you contact the agencies before posting them? Do you ever get any push back from them?

What an impressive action list, James! Hopefully, you will be able to get others within the organization- particularly the campus president - to become involved and take the lead on some of these initiatives. Of course, maintaining this focus over the long haul will be a challenge. The outcome of these actions will probably be some significant change in daily life at your school. It is natural for people to resist change si it will take a lot of energy and focus to maintain this momentum. Good luck; you're off to a good start.

It would seem that your patience has been rewarded by achieving a culture that values student success. Congratulations!

Sounds like a well developed program, James. Certainly doesn't seem like something that 'just happens'. How long did it take to get this fully ingrained in the school's culture? Who is the primary driver on the program? Are there similar programs for the other departments?

Sounds like a well developed system, James, and it doesn't seem to carry much expense. Do you have any data about the impact on retention rates? How often is it used? What percentage of your students receive this type of attention? Have had to add any personnel?

It sounds like your school is quite student focused. What other services does it provide? What are the levels of use? [for example, how many times do students use the food pantry? How do you replenish supplies?]

Good plan, Doug. Making sure students are aware of, and using, the services at your school is great way to keep everyone engaged and show the students how much support your institution provides. That's an impressive list of services.

What is the time horizon for the initial goal setting? Do you have an educational unit that teaches a goal setting rubric? Do you repeat the process to include their goals - personal and professional - after graduation?

While it's true that everyone enjoys fresh fruit occasionally, I'm not sure that an apple will be a sufficient motivator to get a student out of bed on Monday morning. Have you asked students why attendance is low on Mondays? You may not get truthful answers if the question is posed directly to offenders behind closed doors, but you may get the information you seek if done in the context of a class discussion?

Great list, Denise! Please let me know how things work for you.