Retention
I have found that many students drop out because "it's not the place for them." Students often choose career schools because they are not only searching for the best lectures and education, they are searching for an experience. They are their because the admissions person made them comfortable, the instructor allowed them to share their experiences and encouraged them to keep attending.
Michael,
While some of the students who drop out may not have ever worked, there are a great many, especially the adult students, who leave school because they have many outside factors that compete with their time and resources in completing their educational goal. As discussed, the ideal situation is to identify and resolve as many as possible prior to the start of classes.
Susan Backofen
It seems to me that the student in danger of deopping out has never worked a day in his/her life, directly out of high school (even those that didn't finish). For some reason I do not understand, those are the students who usually do not attend the first day of class, only to find out on the second (or third) day that they just missed out on the whole foundation. Now they have a huge deficit that seems to have no way out.
I do agree. Many students have the issues with feeling accepted or the ability to fit in with others. They are sometimes uncertain about their abilities. This is why I believe it is so important to set a comfortable classroom environment.
Shayla,
That can all be true--but I am curious to learn more about what's not 'right' about it. Often this is an acceptable response that really is a symptom of other things going on that effect their education.
Susan Backofen
