Entrance and Exit Interviews!
Which ways are more effective when doing Entrance and Exit interviews online or one on one with students?
In reviewing the responses already posted in this forum, I see that the majority of participants believe in-person counseling is preferred, either in small groups or one-on-one. You have a greater chance of ensuring the students absorb the information given, and the borrowers have the opportunity to ask you questions.
Of course, each organization has to decide for itself which approach is best.
i think exit and entrance interviews should be done in person so they are moee personable and u have one on one contact with a rep for more definitive answers
Alice,
I agree with Marie's comment. I too feel that entrance/exit interviews should be done in person and on a one-on-one basis. It is more personal and gives the interviewer the chance to gather information from the student that may be otherwise bypassed.
I definitely think that entrance and exit interviews are better if done in a small group or one on one. It gives the student a better chance to ask question so they can understand things more clearly.
We are a small school, so we can do exits individualy. I do think this is better than online. I think this, because the student is more apt to ask questions at the time of the intervew, and you can tell by their body language if they understand it.
Jennifer,
I really appreciate your comment on reading students’ body language. Many previous forum posts have dealt with ways to engage students, but we have not really discussed gauging how much of the message is getting through.
In a one-on-one or group setting, we have the opportunity to read non-verbal queues from the students and re-adjust our presentation accordingly. This is far better than waiting for default rates to tell us how effective we were in exit interviews!
One on one interviews are more effective and give the student a sense of personal care from the financial aid department of the school. It also helps establish a relationship with the student and from my experience, quite a few students feel comfortable coming back to me with any questions that they may have. We reinforce our students by telling them that any papers they receive and don't understand, should be brought into the financial aid offices and we will answer any questions and explain the papers to them.
After many years of experience I firmly believe group sessions are the way to go. You have questions one student might not think of but another does which in the long term aids both. There is also a sense of comraderie in knowing all the individuals in the room are facing the same set of circumstances more or less and that repayment goals and success are universal.
In our exit sessions not only do we provide the required information we provide our "Financial Aid Booklet" that was originally provided at Orientation and Entrance Interview but now the emphasis is placed on repayment, deferments, etc. as well as infromation on business loans, consolidations, home loans and many other pertinent aspects of the graduates future.
If the student is properly prepared in the beginning, reinforced during enrollment, prepared again at the Exit then a success rate is inevitable. Graduates as well as current students have to know that financial aid services and advice does not end at graduation, it just moves to another level and that we follow them through as needed until loans are paid in full.
I believe that one-on-one would definitely be more beneficial; however, with the large number of graduates, it makes it difficult. Does anyone have any suggestions/strategies on how to make one-on-one interviews more effective when there are large numbers of gradutes that need to be met with?
Our school prefers to conduct both entrance and exit interviews individually with each student for the most effective results.
Amanda,
I think it is wonderful that you have the resources to conduct entrance and exit interviews on an individual basis. This gives you the opportunity to ensure all the students questions are answered and they are fully aware of their obligations in repaying their student loans before leaving school.
I don't think it's bad to do group Exit counseling, I always open it up to Q & A at the end, and questions always come up that i may not have covered and other students hadn't thought of.
One on One or Group Exit Counsleing can both be effective. The key is using repetition to ensure that each student understands the key points in the obligation of repaying their student loans before leaving.
I agree Jennifer. I would love to do our Exit and Entrance counseling in person or in a group setting. My school is an online school with students all over the country and in Canada, however and we are unable to manage these sessions in person.
We currently use an online service that does interactive counseling with a quiz at the end very similar to this course, but without the forums. I am just now wondering if we might be able to add such a forum and require participation as this course does.....I still wish I could view the ever important facial expressions and body language you refer to in order to better judge if a student is "getting it".
I thin that group entrance and exit counseling allows the student to ask more questions. It also allows us to obtain better references from the student.
The hard part is for those students who withdraw. Is on-line counseling working better for those students?
Having on-line counseling available may be a good option to get a withdrawn student to complete an exit interview but chances are the only information you will have is from the entrance interview.
Making sure you get as many references as possible in the beginning (and verifying them if possible)is a great practice so if the student does withdraw you have plenty on file to assist in getting in touch with them.
I think doing a one on one exit interview with students is more effective because you are able to go over the subjects in more detail. At our university we do them online which is more convenient for students that study out of the area.
Our college has individual campuses along with an on-line bachelor's degree program. We have found at the individual campuses we now have a Default Prevention Specialist who presents the Entrance counseling presentation within 30 days after school starts and the Exit interview presentation is given 30 days before the last day of school. These are given in a classroom setting and encourages interaction from the students. The Financial Aid department also give an individual interviews with each student. This process has helped greatly, as the students get to know the DPS while attending school and are able to visit when they have questions. Our on-line program is participating in these presentations as a requirement and also given an individual telephone interviews with a financial aid representative. These relationship-building financial literacy programs have proven to be very successful for our campuses.
In my school we do both online and one-on-one. We always explain to the students and give them the opportunity to ask questions and then we direct them to the web page for their entrance or exit counseling session online. This double enforces their rights and responsibilities while still giving it the personal touch.
