Good for you. Building a relationship early helps to establish trust. And, trust equates to retention. Do you try to link all departments early in the process?
Dr. B
We start orientation of the student from the very beginning, even before they set foot on the campus.
It continues during there first visit, and becomes more involved as they get closer to starting.
Our support for students is getting better all the time, but could still be improved.
An orientation program that allows students to see all the resources the school has to offer would help students know where to go if they have problems. Also having the staff know where to send students when they have questions. Programs that also offer ice breakers and smaller groups for students to feel comfortable in is important.
Hi Juliette,
Just checking on you. Have you given any more thought about how you can improve orientation?
Dr. B
Good catch. Too many orientations are administrative in nature. The key is to keep the vision alive. Get them excited... let them visualize and become fascinated with what they are about to learn. The video sounds interesting... So, how can you keep it alive? Remember, they are in school to learn the skills needed to get "the" job. Center the orientation on career themes. Does this make sense?
Too often orientation turns into: go here, do this, don't do that, don't go there, be nice to you room mate, study etc. Ad nauseam.
Its not and orientation its a "laundry List" of do's and don'ts
So typically business, there has to be an MBA somewhere behind this? yup there he/she is.
So in spite of the MBA'ssss, we actually do our own orientation.
We prefer excitement.
So we have developed a brief video, incorporating a little history, a a few professionals sharing insights, with messages and we on occasion can bring in a local professional to and describe their professional lives and work, in some detail. students seem to like this!
Yes. Many schools implement academic advisement... a form of continuing the orientaion. Consider advising centered on career themes.
Dr. Banks
Juliette, new students love to hear from current students and graduates. Also, new students tend to "believe" instructors ... It is not that admissions is not liked... it is that students want to hear from subject matter experts. Rentention will improve... why? A relationship equals trust.
Dr. Banks
We've talked about improving orientation by incorporating instructors and current students into the orientation program. We only have orientation on one day, so the idea of an ongoing orientation is interesting. It may be difficult to implement due to the way we schedule classes and the students' other commitments, like work and family.
Great comment. Many student success books have a chapter on how to budget and manage money. The key is to remind them of the importance of learning to earn more money. Remind students of why the entered school in the first place. Moreover, talk to them about the return on educational investment. Sometimes they forgot that education will enhance their earning potential.
Dr. B
I think one of the greatest challenges that our students face today is strictly financial. Many of them have not had any guidance or training on creating and maintaining a budget. Having a financial seminar during orientation I feel would be very effective in student retention. Many of the drops that have been occurring over the past year or so have been due to financial hardships. They have financial aid, but are having trouble paying utilities at their apartments, public transportation costs, and even for meals. With the economy the way it is, hours at their work places are being cut, which means less income from a job that is only part time to begin with. Helping them budget their money through a workshop that is given at orientation and then monitored through our instructor mentor system would help keep them on track financially.
Our orientation seems to be rushed, as well. I think that if our school structures a better orientation program for our new students it will have an effective outcome for our school's retention. We have to start them off on the right foot to take them through the program properly.
I believe that there should be an ongoing orientation program in place. We do a great job on orientation but it is only really a day event...it can just be too much for the student to take in and they are bound to forget some of the important information that we all take for granted. I think there should be a follow-up orientation about 3-4 days after classes start, this would be helpful since the students would be somewhat in tune to what's going on at this point and we would be able to evaluate their needs more efficently.
William,
Many schools have formal orientation programs.
To your point, suggest you consider "advising" as students progress through their educational program. In fact, advising should be centered on career themes. This helps to keep the student's vision alive. Does this make sense?
Dr. B
We can institute a more formal orientation program that follows the students through the entire program at intervals coinciding with the beginning of each new module. This can help the student feel like they are getting caught up with what they have just experienced, what the next module will include and an explanation can be provided as to why this organizational pattern is a logical one. A quick review of what was covered, a brief description of what is next can add to the confidence level of the students which greatly affects comfort levels.
Cheri,
I think you are right. Meeting instructors and other key associates sets the stage for student success. We make it a point to have our program admin, FT faculty, and where possible... adjunct faculty meet with students before class. The key is to establish a relationship. A relationship equals trust. And trust, equals retention.
Dr. B
I think that there is a lot done at our orientation program that is good. I feel that some people that the students need to meet are left out, like myself. Also, they do not meet instructor. The problem is that our orientation program is done on the first day of class, which means they need to attend their kitchen class because of compliance reasons or accredidation. I am not exactly sure which one. In the past we used to do orientation on the weekend before school started. I think we should go back to that and plan some time for the studnets to be able to meet with different people in a relaxed setting and even have a meal in our cafeteria with them.
At our campus , we have student that have finished there projects , to help other student who are behind,guilding the bond between them
orientation program can get to be very boring and in somecases death by powerpoint. There needs to be an ice breaker, fun introductions, and keep the events moving. you have to carefully gage the time you spend in each activity or the students will lose interest. I like to keep the student payments away from orientation, talking about payments can become a "downer" very rapidly if not handled carefully. We are always looking for activities that will engage the students and get them thinking and talking on how they are going to successfully complete their chosen programs of study.
I believe that bringing in computers for the orientation process could make the the modern student uderstand the rule and regulations better. You could have different tables competing against each other in computer based quizes and games.
