Effectively communicating change to students . . .
In order to meet the needs of the industry, it is necessary to make changes to the curriculum and programs of study to stay competitive. This tends to happen quite frequently at the college I work at.
We are a large career college with 7 campuses. How can we effectively communicate changes to students? We have tried e-mails, flyers, meetings etc. I would be very interested in hearing how others communicate change to the student body.
Classrooms. It's not very efficient but you can reach students – and get their reaction – by going into the classroom to announce change to the affected student group. Constant change is hard on everyone – students and faculty – and should be monitored closely.
How often are changes made, Diane? Are they significant changes in direction or simply adjustments to competencies? Many small changes on an on-going basis may create the sense that the school doesn't know what it's doing or lacks clear focus.
I'm afraid the changes occur often and very quickly. More often than not, we tend to react to the changes rather than taking a more proactive stance and forecasting the potential impact of the changes on students, faculty and staff.
Managing the process of change is important for the morale and confidence of all concerned. What do you, collectively, have to do to gain control of the process and make it a positive one for the students, faculty and staff?
Student information through e-mails, flyers, meeting etc. is like the old saying of trying to get a drink from a fire hose "Lots goes by but very little is retained". I have noticed in our school that a good class representative [when you happen to find one] that meets regularly with school personnel is the most effective way of communicating changes. We have weekly flyers and other forms of information going out to students with little on no retention of what is in the article. Too many, this information is just more jargon with little on no direct impact on them as students. However, when a student representative brings one or two issues to a group they are more likely to give some input to the representative, and appear to grasp the importance of the school intention on the one or two topics at a time.
Getting information to students is indeed difficult, Troy. It seems that many students have very effective filters. One approach that has been successful is using students personal email addresses rather than a school supplied one. Another tool that can work is having flyers read by instructors at the start of class.
Any one have any other suggestions?
I find it most effective if you can communicate any changes face to face with the students, that way if any questions arise you will be there to deal with it in person.
