Improving your school involvement activities...
Develop a list of ideal school involvement activities that can be implemented in your school to increase student retention.
We have a student advisory board that meets with the academic dean and campus director on a monthly basis. This is their opportunity to go directly to the top of the administration without going through another director. Additionally, the students have been encouraged to form organizations and it was suggested that they do so within their programs. This has proven to be effective in building team work, as well as, a support group for individual students. We have planned activities that will involve the community, such as a blood drive and have solicited the participation of the students.
Hi Katheryn
Student involvement is critical to retention. It appears that your campus has worked hard to involve students in activities that bind them to the campus and the community.
Thanks for your comments.
1. Panel discussions with advisory board members and students.
2. A student services program that offers a variety of activities. This may include sports teams, newsletter committee, contests, etc.
3. Study Buddy groups.
4. Recognition awards including academic excellence, enrollment referrals, and perfect attendance.
5. Field trips.
6. A mentoring program that assigns senior students to freshman students.
7. On site career fairs.
We are implementing a mentoring program beginning with our next new term. We have a strong student services department that has many events for students to participate in. We do not have a student government, but may consider creating one. We do participate in many community activities including blood drives and food banks. We are about to begin rewarding students for perfect attendance. Transportation is a problem for many students. We are looking into formal recognition for students who volunteer to bring students to school.
Student Advisory Board
A Campus Newsletter that is done by the students
Quarterly awards ceremony-President's List, Dean's List, and Perfect Attendance
Students are invited to Graduation
We have a quarterly Student Appreciation Week that has various activities
Hi Jack
Sounds like a lot of activities. Is there anything you might want to add? Are there any activities you think might be good, in general,
for schools to consider?
Your campus has done quite a lot to involve students. Giving acknowledgement for individual academic achievement and attendance helps, as does rewarding classes for attendance. Everyone works together and it's friendly competition.
Thank you, Lucinda.
We have a weekly leadership team that includes all of our Deans. we have a Dean of Faculty, Dean of Students, Dean of Academic Affairs, Our Director, Director of Career Services, and Director of Financial aid. This is a topic we talk about on a regular basis. we have a plan set up where the student go through a class that talks about team building, working with others, taking care of ourselves, understanding what it is to be a student. The first class for most of the students, they learn how to effectively work in a group. This not only build team building in spirit, with the mix of different types of student with different careers, this helps build a rapport and students take pride in the culture we have here. We also have a program called NTHS National Technical Honors Society. To be in this group, a student must have 95% seat attendance, 3.85 GPA and must be in school at least 24 weeks. Being the advisor for this group, I take pride in what these students have done. We started working with our form of student government. These students are in charge of theme days, and funraisers. These student have more than an education. They have developed relationships that will last past college. I enjoy being around the students because they inspire me to be the best I can be. We plan on doing activities 2 times a month. So far our numbers have been climbing. I enjoy the fact these students want to make a difference.
Hi Dagger
It sounds like you have a great plan going. Student recognition along with actvities is a good combination.
Recognition that incorporates attendance, grades and progression is great for the student and the school. The student has something to strive for and it has to help retention. It also reinforces those skills necessary for the workplace. And, they can put it on their resume. This is something more schools should look into doing.
Activities simply make the atmosphere more vibrant. It makes it better for everyone. From food drives to student appreciation days--it all goes to improve the school community.
It seems like you have a very diverse student population, so you have to work harder at creating community.
Thanks for your input.
We also do actives like panel discussions, newsletters, contests, and recognition awards for GPA, referrals, and attendance; listed by Lucinda Hawes. We also have found success with inviting students to graduation holding student appreciation activities listed by Jack Booth.
What we do that is different from others that have already listed is we hold what we call a red flag meeting. In this meeting we talk about students we identify as at risk students. We talk about what we can to do help them to continue to progress in school. We will even pull these students one by one and speak to them in person in attempts to help them.
Your campus does some very proactive activities. This is particularly important when
you enroll ability-to-benefit (ATB) students, but it helps all students. Showing you care can make a difference. Thank you for sharing, Joshua.
I am not going to bite off more than I can chew, so I'm only going to give a couple of ways in which school involvement activities will be implemented to support retention:
1) We are planning on having themed events quarterly with the change of seasons and the entire student body will be invited to participate. After reading some of this material, I will now ask for student volunteers to work the game booths. I believe their involvement can help with retention efforts.
2) I plan to have the Director of Education on our campus call each new student at the end of the 2nd week of classes to see how things are going. This is a proactive way of identifying potential drop risks. I also believe the campus director should congratulate students on passing their 1st term classes by sending a letter to the home. We will institute both of these activities immediately to help support the retention effort.
Andrew
Both of your suggestions sound wonderful. Any activity that builds students' confidence and interaction with the faculty is worth the effort.
Thanks for your comments.
These are some of the activities that we do at our school.
Monthly Student Rep meetings (A chosen student from each class to represent the class) attends a meeting with the Director, Student Services, Career Development, Head Instructor and Head Supervisor
Local chapter of professional organizations
Field trips to employer locations
Graduation Event for each graduating class with class pictures taken as a group.
The most important activity that can be taken for our students would be constant exposure to successful professionals in the field. This would not only allow them to see how other people work besides their instructors but also give them reminders about how professionals work in the field itself.
Here are just a few of our tried and true student activities:
1. Food drives & blood drives; 2. Booths at health fairs (blood pressure screening, blood testing, etc.); 3. Participation in graduation planning; 4. Adopt a Grandparent (local nursing facilities and assisted living facilities); 5. Awards for academic achievement; and 6. Student Appreciation Day.
We are always looking for new ways to make the student feel motivated and encouraged with their education and "their school."
We will immediately implement inviting our current students to graduation! That is such a simple, effective way to motivate students. However, I had just never thought of it. We will also provide a post-graduation reception for all graduates, current students, and their families. Further, I will be ordering a bulletin board TODAY to display photos we have from past graduations and will update this board with future graduation photos. These are three great ideas I learned from this module.
We are already in the process of developing a PowerPoint presentation to show at graduation with photos of all graduates "in action" during their training. This presentation will also display the graduates hometown, place of employment or continuing ed., and any special honors they received during their training. Motivational music will play during the presentation.
We currently have a campus organization called "Student-Helping-Students." The purpose of this group is to coordinate and provide support for students while planning activities to facilitate student involvement. They have their own t-shirts, hold fundraisers, assist with blood drives and other community events, and even have a fund to loan gas money to students who are having trouble "making ends meet." Every month, they hold a free session to assist the public with basic computer skills. This course is taught by the students themselves and they greatly look forward to it. The organization has been instrumental in effecting positive change in student retention.
We also hold a Spirit Week with prizes and a stress-relief picnic or party (depending on weather) at the mid-term point of each semester. During finals week, we have donuts and cookies and coffee available in the front lobby.
Every semester, Dean's List certificates are provided to studnets who meet the criteria. The list is posted in the hallways and submitted to local newspapers. We recently began selecting a Student-of-the-Month. Faculty nominate students based on attendance, attitude, academic improvement and cooperation with fellow students.
There are a multitude of ways to connect students to your school, but the most important factor is that they feel thay they fit in and have a place in the campus community.
It sounds like you have a comprehensive plan to involve students. Any student success is time for a celebration. Thanks for your comments
Scott.
I think every school is trying to work in this area of need. Some ideas that might be good to work on are:
A good sound orienation introducing student services department and what we do
Conduct a meeting the first week of classes to see how it's going
Study skills/note taking seminar for beginning students
Motivational speakers about sticking with it
Oordinate with pacement officer a workshop on interviewing and presentation techniques
Workshop on job searches and resume writing
Student Appreciations with refreshments
Meet with all first phase classes at the end of the phase to give motivation and track the rest of the phase for them!
Kevin Asberry
