Student mentor
It was mentioned elsewhere in these threads that it would be great to have and instructor assigned as a mentor to each student when they enter school to help them throughout their time with us. Although this would definitely put more of a burden periodically on the instructor, it would also help get things done. A facilitator assigned would be nice, but it is my experience that when people from two departments (education and financial aid for example) interact on a daily basis, they become familiar with each other, and we know what that breeds. This would just add another layer of frustration for the student to wade through. An instructor, on the other hand, would not interact daily with these other departments and may be taken more seriously.
John, is this joint arrangement in place now? If so, what are the results?
These are just ideas and suggestions as of now.
I have to agree. A student tends to look tword his/her instructor for advice and guidance. I think having a mentor program in excelent.
I think having our seasoned students guiding a group of 8-10 of our green students would be a great idea for our tech school. i am taking this to the HIIC!
Having a student mentoing program is a great idea. Or open up an E-mail hotline on a campus level for questions or comments students may have. They could request tutoring or simply ask a question for clarification.
We have a student tutoring/mentoring program in place. Students can request or their instructor can recommend them for help. The can get help from a student tutor or their instructor or even a different instructor.
i think that would be a good idea to put in place into service writing to have the student mentor a jump start student to help them with there people skills and communacation. just a thought!
Who are the "jump start" students? Is that a special program at your campus?
Jump start is our form of orientation. It lasts for 2 days, approximately the same length of time the students will remember it. Because of the innundation of info during that time, I feel that regularly reminding the students of the support available to them is crucial in improving retention.
Intense orientations can be brutal if students don't have the opportunity to engage with the material and each other. Entering students are anxious about their decision to start on a new path and want to validate the decision not suffer an endless recitation of regulations and services which have no relevance at that time.
I also think using capable students as mentors is a great idea.
