Responsibility
I think the responsibility for student retention falls on all administration of a school. Students should be screen before placement, all pre-requisits should be met and student concerns about time and projects need to be addressed. As a college student I can remember feeling very overwhelmed by the sheer mass of reading material and projects due on the same day. There were many nights that I went without sleep, not due to poor planning, but due to simply not enough hours in the day. I listen to my students when they express concerns about projects or material and if the concern is valid, I will adjust the timeline for the course to reflect their concerns. We might spend less time on a topic and more time on another, but we should be teaching what they don't know instead of covering the material they do know in order to be successful.
Melissa, there seem to be several different thoughts in your comment. How are you going to turn them into an action plan for the next 30 days?
I've already been involved in a discussion with the administration and adjunct faculty regarding an entrance exam. The administration is working on developing a test so that students are up to speed and have the skill sets necessary to succeed in their classes.
Over the next 30 days, I plan on adjusting our test and project timelines for all my classes. I am trying to find a happy medium so that I am not moving too fast for some or too slow for others. Some students are behind and have expressed their frustration. To remedy that, I have made myself more accessible outside of class to tutor, answer questions and work with students on a one-on-one basis as needed.
Thanks, Melissa. You seem to have a sound grasp on what needs to be done and a realistic approach to accomplishing those tasks.
Melissa, I totally agree that the responsibility falls on all of us. I feel, as you do, that there should be some qualifying done by the admissions department. Many times, admissions doesn't place the student in a major that they would be more successful in. I've heard on several occasions that a student wished they had majored in another program but that it was too late to change. As instructors, we must structure our courses to appeal to all students.
Nancy, what can you do to help admissions to guide prospective students into programs that are a good fit? Generally, admissions representatives like to see their enrollees succeed, but sometimes they simply don't have enough knowledge about the programs to provide proper guidance.
Nancy,
I believe that bringing the instructor into the career office to meet the perspective student takes the pressure off the career representative. Who knows better than the instructor to explain the program and what he/she expects of the student.
Admissions should never sell a program that they do not fully uinderstand. Scheduled product knowledge training sessions should occur weekly, where faculty train the admissions staff (This means they really must happen and the faculty should be prepared to really teach). Faculty should be invited to routinely sit in on admissions interviews. Reps I have worked with in the past appreciate the interest and availability of the resident expert.
It's a good practice, Robert. How do you assure that this happens on a routine basis? What do you when a veteran admissions person says that they have heard it all before and doesn't want to attend? Do you ever get resistance from faculty who feel that they are wasting their time because it doesn't do any good?
No one person has all knowledge. School management has to instill the importance of and then re-enforce continuing learning. It's what we expect from our students. It should be expected no less from our staff. Most reps welcome the opportunity to improve their skills. Most faculty love to teach. If either does not, you have the wrong people.
I agree that the instructor needs to be a part of the initial visit with the students. I teach at a court reporting school and believe we should have seminars at our school a couple of times a year for prospective students. What better way for a student to understand what's ahead of him than to speak to a live Court Reporter personally. Admisions may know how to write "cat" on the machine, but that doesn't explain the function of the machine and what would be expected of them to meet our requirements. Admissions can answer many questions regarding financial aid, the stats on the school, etc. Only a Court Reporter can explain the fundamentals in order for the student to make an intelligent decision. I also feel the instructor should visit the high schools with admissions. It has to be a joint effort.
What's it going to take to make this happen, Elinda? Would your colleagues be willing to add this type of responsibility to their job description without a reduction in teaching hours or an increase in pay?
Yes, they would. We do have some free hours during the day where we could implement a type of basic English course. These free hours are generally used for admin work, grading tests, etc.; or if a new class is needed. We don't always have the same schedules each semester., We could each alternate instructing the class. It would only be maybe a three week course. We have five new starts a year. Every new start a different teacher can conduct the class. Our teachers are very flexible. I, myself, would be willilng to go out to the high schools with admissions. I would also be willing to help coordinate seminars at schools for people interested in our school.
The school I work at had an entrance exam that
was real easy and the student could take it over
and over. It was set up that way to get students
enrolled.The down side was that we were getting
students with learning problems which caused thm to fail and drop out.
Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting a different result. Nothing will change if new initiatives aren’t introduced!
Einstein was right. What can you do to introduce some new initiatives? Do you think participation in RT101 could lead to some positive changes?
It might be a good idea for the admissions reps to meet with the instructors regularly.
