Retention
I understand that retention is really a problem that everyone in the school must work together to deal with, however, as a faculty member, I only see "our" end of it. It may be helpful or at least informative if we knew what admissions or student services were doing about retention and maybe we could all work better together.
I agree I think the front of the house as I call it should work with the faculty more I think I've spoken to a front of the house person once and that was when I first started. How do we get the whole school on the same page?
Yes, I agree with this. To be successful in retaining students, the faculty need to know all sides of the process. Just doing our part may not help if we are not aware of what the rest of the employees(namely the admissions and the student services representatives) at the school are doing.By having a coordinated response, the school's retention rate will improve. This is what I believe.
Auston, sounds like you have the right idea. "Front of the house" people should be approachable. Why not invite them into your class or to meet with some of your students? Take the initiative and see what happens.
Good things to believe, Darakshan. Also, sounds like a good topic for staff meetings or in-service training.
Loren Kroh
Good things to believe, Darakshan. Also, sounds like a good topic for staff meetings or in-service training.
Loren Kroh
How do you stress the importance to the Admissions staff about balancing quality and quantity of enrollments, and what practices does your institution use to measure this?
Christopher, that's a message that has to come from the top of the organization. If the emphasis is solely on making the start, the balance you seek will be hard to achieve.
Paul, it's important to develop a team that understands the roles that the other players have. This is the sort of information that can be shared easily at staff meetings or in-service training.
Our emphasis is on pure retention as a whole, but we have found there is a gap between the enrollment and start date where we lose a handful of students. Have you found this to be true with other institutions?
I completely agree. Many times students are told one thing by admissions and then the instructors, not knowing what admissions has informed the incoming new students, contradicts what has been told to the students by admissions. This causes great frustration on the part of the student and distrust from the beginning. I thing instructors and admissions/student services should work together and be informed as to what information students are receiving and also if the information being conveyed by admissions/student services is completely accurate.
Christopher, your experience is fairly typical. This is a vulnerable period where the prospect may still be reviewing other options. Admissions must stay in touch and keep the prospect's interest focused.
Kathy, this shouldn't be a difficult, long-term problem. It's a matter of education and coordination. What can be done to fix the problem?
I think a key to successful retention is for academics to become personally involved in the conversations students are having with admissions.. As a Program Chair, one of my personal goals for 2012- is to be sure that I meet "personally" with as many prospective students as possible- during the admissions process. A great way to be sure the correct information is being communicated!
Bravo,Lisa! If you are unable to meet with the prospective students, are some of your department mates able to fill in? This engages more people in the process and enhances a sense of teamwork and institutional commitment to success.
Loren Kroh
