Craig, do all the instructors for the same course create the same expectations?
Paul, do you have a sense that the students actually read the course description documents? In my experience that's too much work; they only review the descriptions if they're dissatisfied. Hope I'm wrong.
One of the things we do here is conduct a end of course survey every three weeks to measure these two very points when it comes to our students.As a Instructor I set the expectations of what the student can expect to learn in the course on the first day so at the end of the course the student walks away satisfied that thier expectations have been met.
The students are given many documents while they sign up for classes with admissions. Those documents give an understanding of what the class is going to involve and the length of time for the class. During the term the instructors are monitoring the performance of the students to ascertain if they understand the class content. At the end of each term the students are given a survey to complete regarding the class. The surveys are reviewed on a few different levels and adjustments made as needed.
How are the student assessments done, Roshally? Are you talking about surveys or some other mechanism? What is the unit of measure for satisfaction?
Interesting comment, Dahlia - Many find it very helpful. Seems to suggest that not everyone is committed to the practice. What are some of the ways that the surveys have been helpful?
Shula, what do you mean by "speak to each student"? Is this virtually or do you schedule phone time? How successful are you at making these connections?
Carlos, how often do you have these discussions? Do you use class time or do you arrange to meet another time? How responsive are your students?
Cynthia, have you shared your concern with your department head or the Director of Education? In order for the surveys to be credible with the students, they have to see that their input if valued.
Sandy, what do you mean by warm connections? What incentives are you using to get the faculty engaged?
Good points, Alphonso. Entering students are concerned about how they will fit in with their new colleagues. It's important to give them opportunities to get comfortable in the new environment. They can't do that when we are lecturing them about the rules.
During orientation students are given details information as what can they expect out of the school and what are the school expections out of them. How their expectations can be met are clearly explain to each students. The school provide resources to assist students with their needs. Student assessment conducted regularly to see whether or not student expections and satisfactory are being met.
On a 20 day, end of academic term ,we distribute surveys for the students to convey their feelings concerning what they have acquired for the term. Many find it very helpful.
As we are an online school, we try to speak to each student and work with him/her. We are clear about what our program entails but are also flexible in tailoring to students' needs. We are in contact with the student throughout the semester.
Some institutions rely a lot on student satisfaction review to improve on any concerned areas. I always try to involve students on quick discussions on how to create a better classroom environment and adress any situations or concerns at the end of the day.
The institution tries to follow up with the students through satisfaction surveys, however, when a trend is seen (negative response to something on the survey) the administration says it is working to improve the problem but either drags their feet or passes off on someone else. I feel like the module said that sometimes the instructors get blamed for lack of retention of the student when classroom satisfaction is only a part of the overall school experience.
We have recently started to ask faculty to become more involved with warm connections. We are trying to show students that we care and are available to help them succeed.
Bob,
I also found the issue of overwhelming students during orientation to be spot on. I've worked at other institutions that made the experience "painful" for lack of a better term. My current institution makes it light and entertaining at the onset, with break downs segregated by programs for more in depth overviews that are essentially tailored for that particular group.
I am happy to say that my institution does an excellent job at making sure the initial expectations outlined by the Admissions are met by all other departments, with Academics being at the forefront. Solid customer service and the commitment to such, is a mantra that is constantly preached by our upper management.
I teach the clinical portion of my department and on a daily basis before and after clinic I meet with the students and ask if they have any questions about what they are doing for the day. And also at the end of the day if there are any questions about what was done throughout the clincal day. And I also ask if they felt they benefited from the days activities.
