Communication among those interested in retention
If the concept of retention means one thing to administrators, another to recruiters, and something else to instructors, what are some possible methods of getting everyone to see the picture from all of the others' perspectives? What forms of cross-communication are being used in your institution?
I disagree with the concept that retention means different things to different departments. I fear that is the case in many instances, but if we instill in our organization that retention means the students are successful in their ability to complete their training, the problem goes away. The student is our customer. If we service the customer needs and not our own, our success is also guaranteed.
Good points. To be successful in getting people to look at the big picture, it is important that everyone have the same definition of success for the student and the institution. We defined success as graduates who were placed in their field of study. Using this as the starting point we could determine the skills that our graduates needed to be employed. This helped us build the curriculum and shape the requirements for admission.
We also encouraged faculty to get involved with the admissions department by periodically doing “product knowledge†presentations. This was intended to reduce the complaints that “admissions will tell them anything to make the saleâ€. Conversely, people in admissions were encouraged to attend events where students presented their skills.
At Bradley we had an admissions committee comprised of the Director of Admissions, the Director of Education and the school Director. All three had to agree about an applicant's status [accept, reject, provisional] before a prospective student would be accepted.
I like the idea of an admissions committee, however, were students really turned away? If so, did you advise them on what they might need to do in order to re-apply? Were some turned away without a possibility of erturning to apply?
Good question, Lorie. What credibility would the committee have if it just rubberstamped each application?
In my case we had three outcomes – accept, reject or provisionally accept – based on agreed upon standards. We had a minimum Wonderlic or College Board score and, for some programs, a portfolio requirement. The committee members had to agree on the final decision.
We did reject some applicants who clearly were not qualified, but usually the rejection letter would offer a recommended course of action if the student wanted to pursue acceptance at a later time.
The provisional acceptance usually meant that the student needed to complete some remediation. We offered a tuition free pre-admission student success course. If the student satisfactorily completed this program they were admitted, frequently on a part-time schedule for at least the first academic period.
We found that this sent the message to prospective students, high school personnel, future employers as well as our faculty that we were serious about student success.
I agree with Bill that the meaning of retention doesn't necessarily have to differ between departments. Especially as the ultimate goal is universal.
At my institution, we do our best to keep the lines of communication open between the staff members (Instructors, Student Services, and Admissions) who are most likely to be dealing with a student deciding whether or not to continue with his or her education.
At our most successful, each department has usually participated.
Carol, you're quite right that retention should have the same meaning across the institution and that keeping lines of communication is critical. Early intervention is vital to helping students solve problems that might lead them to the decision to drop out. Communication is the key to getting the right people involved in a timely manner.
What does your institution do to assure that these lines of communication are open and functioning properly?
Being a small institution gives us some big advantages. Our staff is small enough that everyone knows everyone else, regardless of department. We also have the opportunity to get to know a majority of our students.
One way we keep the lines of communication open is by emailing frequently between all departments. We also have a pending function, which we employ on a student's profile in our database, and all office staff has access to that. Our instructors are very good about coming to the Student Services Office to either ask us about or update us on a particular student.
What practices do large institutions utilize to keep everyone informed?
I hope other course participants will share their practices, Carol. Being a small institution does have its advantages. As the student population grows it is increasing difficult to keep track of everyone. Anything you can do to maintain the cooperative spirit is important. Some schools formalize the process by forming committees or teams. At my former school we developed a web based application that allowed students to self report problems.
Let's hear from other participants.
We are what I would consider a small institution and have put a lot of emphasis on orientation and student success. Being a former Director of Student Services and now a Campus Director I try not to forget that the task of handling the issues can be very overwhelming at times. We have enlisted our Director of Education, Registrar, Program Directors and Student Services in the retention process. They ALL meet weekly to discuss who was missing this week and why and/or who was here and has a NEW issue that will distract their focus on education. It is time consuming but well worth the effort. We are very blessed to have a Registrar who has a passion for attendance and academic success and keeps us posted daily on who was tardy, absent or left early. As a TEAM we try to avoid the unnecessary drop. We have found as soon as we take our eye off the ball for one second someone slips through the cracks.
Joanne, you are blessed – blessed to have an entire team who obviously are dedicated to helping students. You're quite right when you say it's a lot of work, but the results make it all worth while. Keep up the good work.
