A college culture for retention
One thing I believe always helps with retention is being able to provide students with a sense of belonging in their chosen school.
In High School, students have a strong sense of ownership and belonging. The schools have school colors. There are school sports teams. Clubs and other organizations provide students with a way to represent their school, and feel that they are represented by their school. Most public or "land-grant" universities have fraternities and sororities. They have sports teams which compete nationwide and provide the students with an opportunity to show pride in their school at sporting events, or fraternity/sorority meetings.
Unfortunately, with most private colleges it is very difficult to take advantage of these types of opportunities. Private colleges don't have dormatories or fraternities/sororities. These types of schools don't have the ability to sponsor sports teams on the scale that public universities do.
Private colleges are typically focused solely on the education they provide. This is not a bad thing, as these schools understand that the students who attend private colleges are typically there for that very reason. These students are not usually there for sports or fraternities. They are there to get through school, graduate, get the degree, and begin their careers.
However, if a private college can determine a way to create a similar sense of pride, and a sense of belonging in the culture of the college, then this could go a long way in improving the retention of the school's students.
Stephen Lee Campbell
Amilya, are decisions about extra-curricular activities for your institution made at the local or corporate level? If locally, how would you go about getting something started?
I also agree with these ideas. Unfortunately, most private colleges don't promote these opportunities as much as they should so that it is something familiar to the student. Because of that, some students feel like they are missing out on a true social/college life.
I agree with these ideas. I was not one to participate in activities in school, but I made up for it when I grew up and realized the importance of it.
It is not just important to to have these things available, but equally important for everyone to recognize that they are in existence, for someone to be in charge of each activity, and for faculty to know who the go to people are for each resource.
I hope this posting generates a lot of entries from other participants because there a many ways career colleges work to create a sense of community.
Special interest clubs, perhaps related to a specific field of study,offer an opportunity to explore topics beyond the curriculum, get to know students from other sections and interact with staff, faculty and professionals from the field in a more casual setting.
Public service projects present an opportunity for students to demonstrate their skills and pride in the school.
Fund raising events also give them a chance to show off their skills and pride.
Busy family schedules don't necessarily preclude social events for the students. Some could include significant others or dependents.
Residential and Greek life do offer opportunities to develop community, but there are plenty of things we can do within our model.
