Admissions calling
I think the idea of Admissions calling during their first week is a good idea, is anyone doing this?
No Michael we are not but I do agree with you. Our instructors always call students who miss class but the first week should be done by admissions since the student already has developed a repoire with them.
We do not call new students during their first week of classes, although I agree that it is a good idea to do so. I will definitely recommend that we start this practice.
Who calls the students when they start missing classes? At our college, the Registrar tracks absenteeism and calls the students. Depending on the student's response, she may contact the Executive Director. He then gets in touch with the student, or has the Director of Education do so, to assist them further with their needs or concerns.
Whomever is ultimately responsible for retention should be in charge of contacting students (whether they do it or delegate)...at many institutions this is the faculty member or Director of Education. I like the idea of the Executive Director being involved as well. That sends a very clear message that you are serious about retaining students.
Susan
Depending upon your student population, it is nice if a faculty member calls those that are absent the first week also.
Actually...the more people that can reach out to students, especially early in the process, the better. It should be coordinated, however. You don't want ten people calling 5 minutes apart!
Faculty is an excellent resource for this and it makes sense since they will be the major point of retention going forward.
Susan
Having admissions call students during the first week of class is a very interesting idea, it is important for students to acclimate and become familiar with other staff members. In our school student services would contact students once they have matriculated into the program in regards to rentention, but I believe retention is the responsiblity of the entire faculty. Students typically have a developed relationship with admissions and may feel "out of sorts" the first week (however having a successful orientation) should appease those feelings, but a follow up call from admissions can only help students through the transition.
Sometimes that is all it takes. Their Admissions representative is their lifeline in many instances. A call from a 'friend' can help to eliminate some of the fear and frustration---even if all they do is refer them to the appropriate person or department. A side benefit can be requesting referrals as well!
Susan
At our school the admissions rep calls students during the first week if they enrolled but failed to attend.
We run a small school, so the Executive Director is the person who makes the calls during the first week of school. Most students are pleasantly surprised to have the personal contact!
I bet! Having a call from the 'top dog' is always impressive and says a lot about the level of caring. Congrats!
In our school the Admissions department call the students, also, we send Assistance warning letters. These letters are sent from the Academic-Registrar department, I think it is the more appropriate since it generates Retention reports.
Our admissions staff call all students who have missed in the first week. Even though the students are ready to progress into academics by our standards, some take a little longer to move away rom their admissions reps and onto academic staff. By having admissions call in the first week, we know they are hearing a familiar voice on the phone. We also have instructors call that first week to help the students realize the academic staff is as concerned about their success as the admissions staff is.
In our school it is the admissions department who is responsible to make sure that students are in class. We do make the calls to the students who are late or not there....during that week we also teach them about calling in if they are late or ill. Teachers do call as well as our back up and to tie themselves in with the students. I believe that it is imperative to the success of the students that their admissions representative maintain contact with them within the first week since the rep is the one who made the initital bond with the student and really knows any issues that may come up.
I agree. It is an interesting idea. I always enphacize the importance of students making that transition to the academic department but I see how this may have an impact on the students by hearing a familiar voice. Definitely something to consider.
We would like all instructors to follow this guideline. This is a step by step process that we use campus wide.
1. When a student is absent or sick, instructors need to call. Instructor needs to call before shift during break, or after school. Let secretary know or write on absent sheet.
2. If no call from student on day 2 the instructor will inform Program Director. Instructor will make efforts to contact student.
3. On day 3 Program Director will make attempt to call. The first generated letter will be sent to student. The registrar will be notified by the program supervisor as well as Dean of Students.
4. On 4th day Registrar, Dean of Students will try to make contact. We will inform Program Director what we find out. We will make a final attempt to contact.
5.On the 5th day regardless of in a row or sporadic, if we don't hear from student, the student will be dropped. If a student does not comply with the student regulated guidelines, student will be terminated from term.
We have a policy that admissions will be resource for the first 30 days students are enrolled. After the 30 days this will be given to Program Director. We try to install a team approach where all parties stay involved with the students and thus far we have seen a decrease in drop rates. this of course is not always smooth running. It takes a lot of communication and effort on all parts to be successful. I have seen improved retention rates when the student feels like they are part of the "Family".
The program director calls the students when they are absent. Many students do not like the idea of having anyone calling them. They say that they are not children to tell them what to do.
It is important, as you note, to balance how long the Admissions staff is available. While the student has built a relationship with their Representative during the enrollment process, making that transition to faculty is key. Sometimes, however, the Admissions team can be helpful to get the student back on track.
Susan
True enough...it is a balance. However, in most cases attendance is so key to a successful academic experience you cannot afford to neglect it. On the job, they will need to be responsible for their attendance. A large part of our mission should be to help them prepare for a successful career, including attendance.
In most cases, if it is framed that way...in addition to the fact that we just plain, 'care' that they are doing alright, most students are appreciative of the contact.
Susan
In our school each facilitator call the students of his class a week before the class start to remind them when(day)the class start and what assigments they should turn in the first day. Also rep call the students that are absents the first day of class to know how we can help them, put them in contact with the facilitators and remind them to do their homework for the next workshop.
