Responsibility for Retention
The module points out that while you may have an extensive orientation process new students can become overwhelmed by the flow of information and retain little of what they are told. At our school our Admissions Representatives frequently are in touch with students througout their attendance and can guide them to the proper staff members when they have trouble. But what about the student who may be over looked? Any good suggestions on putting orientation info back out into the student body midway through their programs? Any good ideas on places to post this info? Newsletters? Group E-mails?
I'm sure that the entering students appreciate having someone stay in touch with them, but since this is no longer the admissions reps primary focus you are asking the right question about people who may be overlooked.
Posting the orientation information on your web site may be a way of making it available to all students all the time. Some schools post homework assignments, the school calendar including inclement weather announcements, and school documents like the handbook and forms on the web. Students become accustomed to going to the site for the information they need.
If you have some sort of student success course, you might ask the instructor to review some of the important points or incorporate some of the material into the course. If you tell them it will be on the test, they'll get the information.
Anyone else have an suggestions for Heather?
As a technical school, we start a small class each month. I have the new students attend the orientation presentation at the start of each month with the new class for the first three months of training.
Tammy, do have them attend the same orientation program three different times? If so, why? What are the results? How do the students respond?
We start out very enthusiastic on orientation day but I feel that as time goes on the mentoring program and the admissions follow-up are not as agressive as they might be. We should keep the enthusiasm building and not wait until the student's problem has reached a crisis stage.
Nancy, what do you mean by “admissions follow-up� Who is responsible for retention at your school?
Quarterly newsletters are one way to provide a flow of information from all areas of the college. To ensure readability, a newsletter presents motivational pieces, humorous stories, and purely informational guides from the Financial Assistance Department, the Career Services Department, etc.
Reminding students of the information contained in their college catalog is also beneficial. Many students file away the catalog after the initial Orientation Day introduction. They can be reminded quarterly of its value during the quarterly class registration. Some students are amazed to find class descriptions, prerequisites, and other sources of information are contained in an easily accessible format.
Written communications can be an effective way to keep people – students and staff, faculty, as well – but it's amazing how they can be ignored, Nancy. Regular reminders or references are a good idea to re-enforce the message.
I think that is a universal problem. Keeping the VISION alive throughout a student's program is the single biggest challenge.
What strategies do you use to address this challenge, Diana?
I am the Director of Education at a school. I noticed that many of our students have a myspace page so I created one for the Education Office. I post timely information on there but I also post the names of people that have perfect attendance, academic distinction and academic excellence. It is a great way to communicate with and recognize students. I also have a separate email account that students can use to contact me. I have noticed that there are students that will email and never come into my office.
It seems that this generation of students is much more comfortable initiating 'conversation' about a problem by using the computer than they are seeking out someone they don't know very well. That is one of the reasons we developed Campus ToolKit - to provide a way for students to get connected anytime without perceived personal risk.
Your use of myspace is intriguing. What percentage of students use this tool? Do you allow them to post to it? How often do you monitor it?
Currently, I have approximately 60 students listed as friends on the page. We have a student population of approximately 315. It seems like new students join each week.
I allow students to send me items to post. They posts comments too. They also contribute to the pictures that I post on the page.
There are times when I will post a bulletin just to see who will respond.
I check the page everyday and post positive thoughts and findings under the blog section. I make sure to do this everday. There is a place under blog management where you can see how many times your blogs are viewed. Mine are viewed per day, every day, by around 40 students. So far so good! I have only had the page up since February 28, 2007
Sounds like a lot of work, but you seem to be enjoying very positive results. Congratulations, Kathryn!
I am a program chair at a remote campus of a large for-profit college. We hand out a "Day One Packet" to all students each quarter. The instructor goes over the information in the packet in each class. Also, the office area for the Chairs of their programs is located next to the student lounge, which makes it easier for the students to connect with us.
We also contact students when they miss class, send email alerts to those who are failing and send congratulation emails to students that are earning an A in a class. These steps have proven effective and are reflected in improved retention.
We are always looking for ways to reach our students; some very good ideas have been posted in this thread. Does anyone have a plan to help keep the personal information about students up to date? We have tried forms, verification at check in and thus far have had limited success.
Like you, I too work for a for-profit college that provides the same information you mentioned in your comment. In addition, each Instructor has the students in their classes complete an index card on the first day of school with their name, address, phone number and an emergency phone contact. We also have them sign the back of the card to use to compare their signatures as needed. Many of the Instructors make these cards available at each class to allow students to update their information throught the Term. This method has helped in some instances although it is not perfect and we continue to have problems maintaining current nformation also.
Interesting question, Surfiene! It seems that the lives of some of our students are in constant motion and that they move frequently. I hope that other participants will offer some suggestions
