Retention rates verses serving the needs of the student population.
We are an allied health vocational school drawing the great majority of our student population from a public school system that has poorly prepared them. Few of our students can do simple math and many read at an elementary level. They have graduated with these few skills due to a system that simply passes them through and many students arrive at our institution with the expectation that if they show up on a reasonably regular basis we have to pass them.
Assesment of skills possessed, skills needed, time committment understanding, work ehtic, etc. would in many cases indicate that a significant proportion are not prepared to succeed at this level. Compounding this many of their lives are in economic and personal chaos with some always homeless. Retention rates could be improved dramatically by tighter screening practices, but we do have a responsibility to every student who desires a better life, even if they have no initial understanding of what it will take to earn it. We chronically struggle with retention, but is is a struggle we are committed to.
We're in the business of changing lives, Donnie. This job is made much more challenging by the low level of preparedness of many students. Has your school taken a proactive position with the local schools to improve their product?
