Improving Students Involvement Activities
Our university campus recently opened in this area. We are in the process of identifying the interests of our students in order to develop activities and improve our programs and services. This course has provided me with useful information in improving retention. We could implement the following:
· Improve the tutoring services by assigning qualified senior students to freshman students.
· A mentoring program.
· On site career fairs including inviting professional organizations and professionals who have demonstrated success in the field to share their experiences.
· Recognition awards including academic excellence, individual academic achievement, and perfect attendance.
· Formal recognition for students who volunteer to bring students to school.
Very good ideas, Betzaida. I'm sure you'll refine and add to the activities you suggested.
Consider asking students what they want to do
as well.
I appreciate your feedback. Actually, I am in the process of surveying my students about their interests and abilities.
Betzaida, Each of the activities you metioned are excellent methods to help retention. At our campus, we have a Student Services Director and one of her primary functions is working with high risk (new start) students. To assist her in the APEX (Achieving Personal Excellence) program, we have a student club called the Ambassadors. These students do many of the things you mentioned such as tutoring, mentoring, and presentations. We believe that student activities and encouraging student interation are some of the ways to show the new student that the college is focused on their success.
All great ideas!!! We have worked with adjuncts to develop a mentoring program with great results as well as reached out to professional organizations- sometimes our alums within those groups. All those ideas really work and help retention numbers greatly!
I allways get the students feedback on how they would like their school experience to be. Find out their goals and mention them throughout the course.
So, how can you improve student involvement in activities? I agree, mention their goals all through the educational program. But, is there a way to link those goals to get them more involved? Guest speakers... saying the same thing? Thoughts?
Dr. B
The involvement of students in some of our activites can be a challange because most of them work or just do not want to be involved.
In our school we do have a mentoring program each instructor is assigned students to help and track for a term, we also have student appreciation day for them as well. We try to have it at the beginning of each term so it let's the students know that we care and they look forward to it every term, this helps with retention as well.
One idea that works well at our school is that every week we have a student retention day. It may be a Chilli cook-off from staff, hot dog or ice cream social, and sometimes it's pop corn and a movie. These events are fun and really get the students excited about being in school. One year, we had a tricycle race with students vs faculty and staff. It was a major hit with the everyone.
Tutoring would be a great resource for our campus, if we implemented these standards we woulod be at a great advantage! thank you
I think that you can improve student involvement by being persistent with your invitation. Ask them personally to attend an event, once you hook them in, they'll want to get involved more (especially if they have fun at the event). I am usually pretty shy, and I don't want to annoy anyone, but it almost takes annoying them to get them to participate.
Nicolette,
Your personal invitation, persistent or not, helps to strengthen the connection between student and school. Keep at it.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
