We go over thier expectations in orientation...then review them periodically to be sure they are getting what they need and want out of the course.
self evaulations,by making sure all the objectives are being met on the syllabus.
Well...
One thing that we've done is to create a Retention Sub-Committee, and I am its chair-person. I feel priveledged to serve in this role, and I take it very seriously.
Those who serve on the committee represent different areas of our college, such as Admissions, Trades and Administration. However, the one thing that we share in common, is a genuine regard for our students and a desire to help them to succeed.
We tackle many difficult students concerns, such as inappropriate faculty and staff behavior, which alienates our students, facility comforts...everything from vending machines to benches in break areas, extra curricular activities, and more.
I am also the faculty advisor to our student government, and among other things, I help them to monitor the suggestion box, and to provide solutions and responses to student concerns.
I feel that we take a very proactive approach to retention; however, I am always disheartened when we lose any student, even when it is beyond our control.
Heart, caring, apathy, engagement, challenges, recognition... and creating an environment and culture that students are excited to be a part of... that is always the goal, albeit that sometimes we may falter.
being up to date with the industry, along with good training aids.
We have a multi layered approach as noted below:
1. We begin by listening to what the student(s) are telling us, not what we want to hear.
2. We meet with students on a monthly basis during their active enrollment period to get feedback from them about their classes, their experiences to date within the school, their goals for the next 30 days, and general concerns or issues of focus for the students that we need to be aware of.
We also ask the studnets the following three questions:
What should we keep doing for the next 30 days?
What should we start doing that we are not doing already over the next 30 days?
What should we stop doing?
We also publish a newsletter every month for our students taht features a student of the month that is nominated by the student body based on achievement, academic excellence, and overall ability to live up to the schools core values.
In addition to the student of the month, we also publish feedback from our studnet surveys around our Stop, Start, Keep questions.
Our institution has a student satisfaction survey that is done on a yearly basis. Also some of the programs have student satisfaction surveys that are a part of their accreditation standards. Students also have the opportunity to do course evaluations at the end of each course. All administrators have an open door policy and are more than willing to speak to students about their concerns at any time.
Our institution assigns 10 newly enrolled students to instructors as their Provisional Faculty Mentors; we contact them once per week and act as their "cheerleaders" and offer them lots of encouragement. We also complete a Provisional Counseling Form for each contact to document any of their concerns or issues.
We have critique follow-ups that we do at the end of each three weeks. Also we interact with them and make sure they are getting what they need.
The institution I work for does an excellent job of hiring qualified and dynamic professors. My first class is exciting, positive and packed full of information (not so much information that the students walk away with a dazed look on their face...just enough to keep them coming back for more!!!). In a class where I am meeting the students for the first time, we take a few minutes to get to know each other and what careers they are interested in. I take time to discuss what career options are available at the local, state and national levels for their career choice, which gives them the opportunity to think about their future. I present it in a way where they can see themselves doing a job for that specific company/agency. My university will also conduct midterm evaluations on new instructors to see how they are doing and if anything needs to be adjusted before the class is over. If an instructor is not meeting the expectations of the university and the students, a change will be made (sometimes after the class has been completed, other times during the middle of the class an instructor will be removed…depends on what the students and administration say). We also do course evaluations at the end of each class. These evaluations are wonderful tools that I use to adjust what I teach and how I teach it so students get the best experience possible!
Being an instructor you have to have COMMUNICATION at all times. Meaning you have to be approachable. Let your students be involved, ask them questions, let themm have feedback. I have had great success with this approach.
The open house is extremely crucial, attracting the right student to our institution. We make it very clear what we offer and what we expect of the student, and what the workforce will also expect of the graduate. The orientation is paramount, when policies are discussed and schedules are set. Students are completely made aware of the schools operations and sign off on a handbook and manual. When classes begin the instructor does play an important role in monitoring student expectations and satisfaction. Midterm assessment points are put in place and individual meetings are scheduled for all students so that we keep a close watch on the pulse of the student body.
What have you learned about your classroom skills, Clayton? How have you used this information to improve?
At the end of our course we ask our students to fill out a critique on the class and the info that they learned. This provides us with alot of helpful feed back.
All crucial activities, Tom, but what is the student thinking/feeling when they leave the classroom after the first session? Are they enthused about what they will learn, overwhelmed by the data dump, discouraged?
The first class meeting sets the tone for the balance of the academic period. It's a variation of the "only one chance to make a first impression".
Speaking from the faculty side, there is a great deal of emphasis on what happens the first day of class. There must be complete coverage of the syllabus so the student knows what will be covered and how they will be evaluated. Specific behaviors are addressed. Clear contact information is provided. I guess I would describe the day as one of laying out the playing field. As a result, students know the rules of the game and the boundary lines where they can be left alone or called on issues.
We hold focus groups, about 2 per academic year. These focus groups are designed to address student concerns and gather information about what students likes and dislikes are about the institution, their admissions process, overall educational experience, etc. We gather the information collected and present it to our Director of Education in a power point presenatation. From that point, changes or improvements are made as necessary. This has been our method to meet student expectations or assure their satisfaction.
To ensure that all expectations are met we ask that each student at the end of each term complete an instructor evaluation form. These forms are individually input into our database then reviewed.
Prior to them becoming enrolled each student is individually tested and interviewed by an enrollment counselor to ensure that we are meeting and/or exceeding every expectation.
We conduct surveys which let us know how to improve and we find out if we are meeting our goals.
We also have students on the Program Boards, along with Day and Night Student Body Groups. They really help to get the student involved in the "day to day" of the school and support the educational system they are getting. Also, with the smaller class groups, the teacher is able to be more involved with the student and available to pick up on any potential issues the student may be having, demonstrated by any changes in attitude/attendance/performance and initiate any needed conversations and actions.
On the intake side we are very careful to avoid any exagerated claims or unrealistic projections. On the instruction side we try to excede the student's expectation for the course, which is aided by the accurate representation given during recruiting and admissions. We survey regularly to get feedback from the students.
John Stuckey
