One of our most common way at our campus we show that we are committed to students is through our Instructors. We not only have great instructors but these intructors go out of their way to reach out to students each and every day. These instructors come in contact with our students everyday- they are their friend, their mentor, their "Go to" person, their advisor and counselors. If you don't have the right person in this role your retention and attrition can hit rock bottom.
There are many approaches to demonstrating school commitment and there isn't just one perfect way. However at our institution we have career services and career development courses that encourage the student immediately following their enrollment. On a consistant basis there is a quote of the day to inspire them, also the faculty and the administrative staff work together with each student to make sure that their educational needs are met. We provide them with the same level of service and committment that we expect from them. There is daily affirmation and encouragement to our students.
Justin, this is an interesting idea! Do you mean that these are evaluations of the instructor/class during the middle of the term made by the students?
I have always been familiar with end-of-course surveys, but not with mid-term surveys. It seems like it would be a good way for the instructor to address any concerns while the course is still going on.
Have you found these eval's useful? Do you proceed to make changes based on the information that you receive from them, and what are some insightful comments from students (if you happen to remember)?
I would be interested in learning your thoughts and comments on the above.
Thanks!
Jeremy Bolton
A school commitment practice at my institution is the use of early intervention methods for non-participating students.
Specifically, faculty members fill out forms for students who are performing below expectations and these forms are then sent to counselors who personally contact the students.
One of the common problems that might arise with the online learning platform is that students may feel isolated and not part of the learning community. In such a case, they feel less motivated to do any of the assignments. I have heard from students that just a single phone call from an academic counselor has been an effective “push†in the right direction and they have gotten back on the right track, rather than dropping or failing the class.
I do think that it is possible to go too far in the opposite direction, however - when students could be unnecessarily guided to the point where they are having their hand held at every step, which I think is an ineffective method.
In the end, there is a balance between encouraging students and helping them to feel welcome and involved, while also clearly communicating to them that they are responsible adults and must practice making rational and effective decisions.
Jeremy Bolton
A practice used in our institution (as well as many others)is midterm evaluations for the instructor to use. These are totally confidential, but allows students to voice there opinion to the professor at the present time. This allows the professor to see what he is doing well, as well as things that can be improved upon. This type of school commitment ensures the student that they have a voice, in contrast to just being a number.
Willingness of instructors to give of their own means to provide things the students need
Having a student services department demonstrates school commitment. this department works with, and intervenes on behalf of the student, those students who face a variety of challenges while pursuing their education. Some of our students face overwhelming challenges, ranging from homelessness, serious medical problems and serious problems at home. The work that student services does often not only results in the students staying in school as opposed to dropping out, but has worked to get them off the streets, into rehab or connected them to medical services. Running this department takes money, so it demonstrates commitment by the school to genuinely assist students facing serious obstacles.
We just got a new Director of Education and he is beginning to implement a number of positive changes.
One of which is a faculty dress code. He asks, and rightly so, how can we be expected to be viewed as professionals if we don't look like professionals?
When I have a new class and we get together for the first time and introduce ourselves to each other I first congratulate all of the students for making a decision to enter college. I then tell them I have done exactly what they are now doing. Finally I tell them that I am a facilitator of their organization and my job is to help them with their success. There is a good feeling with the students when they leave the classroom for the first time. The professor isn't some mythical beast whose job is only to aggravate the students.
We have a few, the first that I know of is a student pantry. This helps out students the don't even have enough money to feed themselves, but they still have a commitment to themselves to come to school. Another is the student emergence fund, students that are having a hard time paying bills can ask for asstiance. Even had one student that would not ask for help, he did not have enough money to replace the rear tire on his motorcycle(this was his only transportation) so the school dipped into that fund and bought him a tire.
Our school goes to great lengths to show students that they are important in the decisions we make. Students are asked to sit on committees along with faculty members (Retention Committee, Disciplinary Board, etc.) , partake in panel discussions at our Faculty In-Service, plus we have a constant open-door policy from our Campus Director on down. We’re eager to hear their input, and their suggestions are welcome. Oftentimes, they offer a perspective that faculty would have missed.
Our institutions commitment is demonstrated by how we contact our students if they dont come to class and how we follow up with them if they call or have difficulties with class, how we tutor and have an open door policy and have immediate contact with the students in our programs.
We have weekly retention meetings to discuss students at risk (at risk list) and we have an additional category with follow students of concern (SOC list). We consider it all of our responsibility to do everything within our power to retain students. We go a step further and discuss who we can bring back. I personally think that it has been really helpful in intervening earlier, and getting feedback from a team of program directors early on.
Our institution keeps the lines of communication open throughout the term and using an online grading system to allow students to track their grade on any day during the term. This allows students to take ownership and also affords them an opportunity to see how they are doing throughout the term
We have a system in place to track attendance and academics, and students who are struggling in any of these areas are contacted immediately to discuss and offer assistance.
I am concerned, however, with the statement that school commitment always decreases the likelihood of students dropping out. I realize that maybe some of what I am seeing is the students that are "neccessary drops" from the previous module, but if the individuals that work with the students are reaching out to those students and showing their commitment, how do we account for the students who drop?
Our school makes strong committments to our students. Requiring faculty to gain continuous learning credits is a good example. As facilitators we need continuous learning just like our students to keep us relevant on topics such as retention, motivation, REFOCUS, etc.
Many of our programs have programmatic certifications or state license they must pass to be able to work in their field of choice. Ofcourse we include many things in their tuition to assure success, like extra testing from a third party to capture their understanding of a subject but there is something we as an institution pay for above and beyond their tuition. It is a Virtual experience where they work with a third party vendor to recap every course they have taken in their program of study and can not move forward throught the virtual environment until they have reached a level of proficiency. Once they have masted every level of proficiency, they receive a green light from their virtual instructor to take their licensure exam. This is a school commitment above and beyond the norm
Our school uses career development seminars as a motivational tool and to help students understand real world aspects of the career fields they are pursuing. This commitment has led several students to update their resumes, work harder in classes and act in a more professional way.
We have several practices that are interrelated to the approach that we take to demonstrate, and celebrate success, and our commitment to them.
1. We celebrate a student of the month every month in our newsletter; that student is nominated by other students and is recognized for their achievements.
2. We have a " Success Board " in each of our campuses; we post a picture of all of the students that have taken and passed any exam associated with their training, as well as putting up the student of the month's picture.
3. We have monthly feedback sessions with our students to discuss any issues or concerns that they feel we need to be aware of. We then summarize the notes of those sessions and publish them in our newsletter with a committed plan of action to address the items taht we have agreed to focus on.
Instructors an encouraged to identify at-risk students and to talk to them one-on-one. it is then possible to identify the student's stressors in an attempt to provide coping skills to avaoid Academic Erosion and Academic Stagnation. Both of which I have a better understanding of now.
