Student coucil, events to give back to our school,students, community. Participation in an alumni association, blood bank donations etc.
Our school commitment is shown throughout the campus becasue we are a small campus. Faculty will call each student that is absent to make sure everything is ok. Student Services will then follow up with student to see if that department could help out. We have a weekly meeting with all the departments to discuss student concerns and needs. We treat our students like customers at Nordtroms.
We have instituted a system of student surveys, counselling sessions, an open door policy, and tutoring hours to help with students who need help along the way. It is important to be in constant communication with each student and these methods have helped.
How often are the showcases and displays changed? How is student work selected?
Do you include information about the assignment and the competencies being developed? This information can be useful for admissions people as they are taking prospects on a tour. It also insures that they are providing the proper information versus making it up.
I like this idea very good to keep track of our students that has an attendance issue. So I plan a field trip for my students.
The school is largely decorated with student showcases and displays, which show the school's admiration of their students' talents.
Karen, do you have a mechanism to ensure that students actually make use of the resources? Simply making the referral usually isn't enough.
I'm glad to hear that you found some new ideas. Any that you plan to implement right away? How will you do that?
Great practice. Are these meetings required for all instructors, including adjuncts? How often do you have them and who runs them? Do your colleagues participate enthusiastically or are they indifferent or hostile to the subject?
I don't understand your comment about B2B clientele and free placement service. Is there a time that you charge for placement services? If so, who pays?
On a daily basis, absent students are contacted by their instructor via telephone and the results of the conversation are recorded. This enables the instructor to recognize patterns for each student and possible problems and concerns are discovered. Students can then be directed to the various student services available to help resolve issues, including tutoring. Also, each new module, students are given their instructors email and voicemail to leave messages for their instructor, including tardiness. Email is an excellent forum as students who are absent are able to receive and send assignments.
I would have to say enforcement of continuing education for all staff and faculty. This is a win win for everyone especially our customer the students!
First of all, I read through the comments and was glad to see so many bright ideas from so many educators who care about our students.
Just when I thought I've seen or heard it all, I find more great ideas. I have printed some of them so I can take it to our faculty meeting and share all of them with our faculties.
We need to let our students know that we truly care about them, that we will do what ever it takes to help them be successful not only in school but in life. Some of them feel that school is their last hope to make a change in their life style, and we can't let them down.
We have regular faculty meetings to discuss what we are doing for retention and discuss possible methods for improving it. We share methods we employ individually that have been proven to be effective.
We make every instructor available to all students regardless of whether they are in their class or not.
We have several different solutions in place as noted below:
1. We have a dedicated team that works on placement for all of our students, once they enter our programs. We actually work with our established B2B clientel, and offer our placement service for free, as long as they are willing to work with us to help our students gain experience and opportunities.
2. We offer the opportunity for our trainers and instructors to " donate " time to student issues and needs, allowing them to contribute to the culture of commitment through action that directly impacts students
I know this post is from a few years ago. I wish every institution adapted this culture. It is the Nordstrom approach to customer service which understands the customer is #1.
What we do at the Chefs academy is to have all of our students write an essay as to why they feel we should except them as a student and what are thier goals for the future. Education and admission work together to make sure that the students understand that we are here to make them successful but they will have to play a part in their education to do what it takes to make it through to the end.
Our Student Services Director makes a point o fspeaking with as many students as possible AND remembering what he spoke with the student about. I make a point of seeking out students outside of my classes to say hello and see if there is anything I can do to help, ie point the student to the right person/department.
Are you pleased with the results you are getting for your commitment to student achievement? What are some of the resources you are using?
