Jamie,
It would be interesting to hear about the results after a few terms.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
daniel,
There is more collaboration today then ever before. The internet and how it is used in a company has made a great impact on this.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
Mentor programs would be great on our campus. we have so many graduates that stay connected with the school that I think we should start an informal mentor program to pair up students who want that additional help and information.
We have clubs on campus, but they don't seem to be very successful. Unfortunatley, that is the schools fault. We don't seem to have the faculty that want to take the time to make these culbs successfull.
Nikki,
How can that be fixed?
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
We have done health fairs in the past and 5K walks for certain fundraising events. I think that brought the students together and was a sort of team building for them. We need to do more events like that.
Jaime,
You have a good start. Consider asking students for ideas.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
Orientation activities that focus on inclusiveness and welcoming the student.
Student appreciation activities.
Pro-active phone calls to students who are absent.
Noticing when students seem troubled - inviting them in to discuss.
Accessible tutoring hours designed to fit student schedules.
Volunteering opportunties in the community, like sports events, facilitated and monitored by instructors.
Big graduation celebrations - students are encouraged to bring friends & family, which they do. Photographs are taken and special commendations issued.
All of these and more are what we routinely do.
Nyssa,
Everything here provides for a strong orientation, and other activities to help students bond with the school.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
I think the survey is a great idea to involve the student.
There are so many activities that can be done!
Each holiday just have some type of get together in the breakroom: Cinco de Mayo-Chips and Salsa. 4th of July is coming up-Hot dog and chips.
In the summer time have a summer themed activity with a cookout.
We are actually a massage school so we like to have activites such as going to do charity events at marathons. It is great for the student body. They love going out there as a group and volunteering their time, even if they have to be there at 3 am!!
We do the potlocks here as well. The students love it!!
I agree. It is very important for Instructors to participate in activities. It shows that they are people too! Sometimes students forget that staff and facutly are "people" too. I think they like to see us participate in activities!
Kristie,
All good but is it setup going on at 3 in the morning or something else?
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
Student involvement is important and can be created by having special events throughout the year. Our students love when we cook hot dogs and serve them for lunch. Also, scavenger hunts are fun. I think a cell phone picture scavenger hunt could be really fun. This could involve social media posting of the pictures to help people outside the school see how we treat our students and how much fun it can be to attend school.
Alissa,
Using Social Media will very shortly be expected by students as a learning medium.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
Some ideal activities include a well planned and organized orientation followed by thorough preparation by faculty and staff on day 1 of class. A student mentoring program is important and currently used at our school. Community activities and field trips help with retention as well allowing students to get involved in helping others and seeing what their work environment might be like. Job fairs really encourage students to complete school and give them a real encouragement that their hard work will pay off. Graduations must be a special celebration of students hard work that really recognizes each graduate and allows current students to have another part of the end in mind while they are going through their classes.
Scott,
Another well put post. Are all these in place at your campus? What would you improve? Add? Take away?
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
We have BBQ's, ice cream socials, and numerous volunteer activities in the community to improve school involvement and retention activities.
Audrey,
What is the frequency of the events?
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
