Our university campus recently opened in this area. We are in the process of identifying the interests of our students in order to develop activities and improve our programs and services. This course has provided me with useful information in improving retention. We could implement the following: · Improve the tutoring services by assigning qualified senior students to freshman students. · A mentoring program. · On site career fairs including inviting professional organizations and professionals who have demonstrated success in the field to share their experiences. · Recognition awards including academic excellence, individual academic achievement, and perfect attendance. · Formal recognition for students who volunteer to bring students to school.

Please describe an example of an organizational goal that would work well for the school you are at.

Discuss examples of how to motivate students. What are some ways you could encourage them to succeed even if they don't think they can?

Drawing from your own background and experiences, please give practical examples of how the EduPreneurial Spirit can benefit the students, the employees, and the school.

Please discuss some traits you think would be valuable to Model, Mentor and Monitor to the students.

One aspect of good retention is student interest and satisfaction. Students persist because they see value in the material they are learning. The challenge of an educational manager is how to get the faculty to make their courses or presentations interesting. What can be done in the classes that will make a student want to come to school the next day?

I support the report of Tinto about the greater students' involvement or integration in the life of the college, the greater the likelihood that they will persist. Every institution should develop multiple and creative activities that motivate the students to get involved in the academic and sociocultural activities provided. In my opinion, the ability of an institution to fulfill the social integration of the students is a powerful factor in persistence. Nevertheless this is not an easy task due to the multicultural diversity of the students.

In my opinion, when an overwhelmed student walks into your office looking for support, the key intervention is to listen, listen, and listen. Listening is important because it is the best way to understand the situation that is provoking stress in the student. However, while listening is extremely important, also remember to be emphatic and work with the student to create options. The student should be referred to helpful resources either outside or inside the school. For this reason it is important to be familiar with every service available in the institution or in the community. Networking is also a great resource as a means of getting the student connected.

I think that every school should have in their educative objectives a commitment for the student success. The high percentege of drop outs in the educational system is an indicator of this lack of support. Most of the students are trying to cope with different stressful situations outside and inside of the school which triggers their decision to drop out. I have noticed that students receiving the support and interest of the staff and faculty persist in their commitment to education.

On our institution we use to place a meeting in every part of term. Student enroll in each course designates a student which will represent the group and will bring to the meeting the issues presented by the the group. Usually the student presents the issues (teacher, academic, administrative etc.)that cause their insatisfaction. After the meeting all issues are revised and whenver possible actions are taken. For the next meeting we present information about the issues and what actions were taken. This a way to deal with the insatisfaction of student and they feel very pleased :-)because not only has a forum but claims are attended.

Vincent Tinto also said, “Here the evidence of effective programs is clear, namely that the route to successful retention lies in those programs that ensure, from the very outset of student contact with the institution, that entering students are integrated into the academic community and acquire the skills and knowledge needed to become successful learners in those communities. In short, improvements in the quality of student life and learning, not retention, should be the goal of all retention initiatives.” I was impressed with the emphasis that Topic #4 placed upon "everyone" in our institutions understanding the importance of student success. What else can we point to that justifies our existence as educators? It makes you wonder why we find so much resistence to and avoidance of this basic principle? Everyone should be willing to review their role to determine how it impacts student success and if appropriate to the objective, make adjustments accordingly.

This section highlights the importance of advisors and faculty taking interest in students throughout their enrollment with the institution. Relationships mean everything and if a student doesn't have a relationship with faculty or staff then it will be so easy for them to fall through the cracks and determine to leave before anyone can do something to positively impact their thinking processes. The intervention process chronicled here is good and can be helpful; however, the reader should be reminded that this is not rocket science. This is people taking a caring and thoughful approach toward other people's problems. As stated in this section, the act of listening and being a sounding board can mean all the difference in helping the student work through the problem.

The topic of how stress influences student attrition lays a tremendous foundation for institutions to consider the support and advising mechanisms that are in place to assist students. Looking for indicators of stress and responding appropriately could make the difference for a student. I've seen students who have felt disconnected from the institution and its community and how hard it is for them to maintain commitment. Substantive interaction with an advisor on an ongoing basis can help with this. Integrating and connecting students to the campus community can also create a circumstance whereby a student has more to lose than gain from dropping out.

I oversee faculty at my institution and I'm trying to overcome a cultural problem whereby many faculty have a negative view of the retention discussion. The perception is that there are many students that we just can't do anything about and we shouldn't spend time and resources trying to salvage them. They believe the time and resources are better served focusing on the students who are likely to succeed. Subsequently, the institution hasn't developed any support structures to help under-prepared or under-performing students. It is a sink or swim culture. I'm moving to create some of these support structures irrespective of past perspectives, but I don't doubt that it is going to be difficult to change long-established faculty views. Thoughts?

What are some ideas that I can use when there is only one student starting? We have open enrollment. We do not work with groups starting class at the same time.

The RT101 was very informational for me. It has inspired me to do more training and to learn more to help the instructors and students.

Comment, Module 3 was very helpful for me, because there were some strategies that I was not aware about.

I welcome ideas to keep my students and instructors motivated.

Our college is organizing an informal gathering that students can invite their friends or family to come see their work. I think it will boost morale to let them show their work without being graded or critiqued.

The lesson in topic 3 is right. LISTEN, then get to the bottom of the problem. Some of our students go to many people before they get a clear answer to their questions. The problem is people think they are too busy to listen or, even worse, don't want to be bothered. Some people say I'm "too soft" with students or "giving in" to them. I don't feel that way at all. A student wants a voice, even if they don't get the answer they were looking for. I want students to come to me with their concerns. How else is one to know how students feel?