It has been said many times that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I feel that this also could apply to retention. If there is a plan of action for each student from the time of arrival, and clear roles have been established for each person involved in the plan, adhering to that plan should make the student feel at ease with discussing anything.

I think that being realistic and straightforward with students will help them respect and trust you. I have been fortunate to deal with people in different situations, (teaching, athletic coaching, corporate industry), and each time the common link to trust and respect is honesty and realism. The answers may not be what you hope they would be, but having an understanding of behaviors and thinking patterns may lead to changes and better outcomes.

At our school, we have a student mentoring program. I feel that this program is the first step in keeping the students we have and improving current retention rates. All others involved in the education experience should also play a part in this effort, so we all need to step up our efforts to make sure that we understand the students' problems. How do we stress the importance of retention to the student mentors? Any thoughts?

I find that it is essential to develop relationships with the students before any problems arise. If you have a good rapor with all students and show a genuine concern about each individual, he/she will feel comfortable coming to you if the need arises. Also, the student will not feel that you are prying into his/her personal affairs but that you are truly concerned.

Why do students attend school? I thought to learn and better themselves. While this is true among a certain population, it seems that more and more young students are looking for a handout and not a challenge. What do we do? Do we hold their hand and coddle them, or do we get tough. It seems that if we get tough, these students leave and don't come back. But what do they expect from the "real world", and aren't we supposed to prepare them for this environment? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I think the responsibility for student retention falls on all administration of a school. Students should be screen before placement, all pre-requisits should be met and student concerns about time and projects need to be addressed. As a college student I can remember feeling very overwhelmed by the sheer mass of reading material and projects due on the same day. There were many nights that I went without sleep, not due to poor planning, but due to simply not enough hours in the day. I listen to my students when they express concerns about projects or material and if the concern is valid, I will adjust the timeline for the course to reflect their concerns. We might spend less time on a topic and more time on another, but we should be teaching what they don't know instead of covering the material they do know in order to be successful.

As a first time instructor on a college level basis I found some results after our first exam that were opposite of what I thought the scores would be. The students who I worried about the most, who were always asking questions, or asking for clarification did the absolute best on all of the tests. When developing the next exam, I asked each student to write 2-3 test questions that they thought were important and should be on our next exam. Because the students had to develop some questions, they read each chapter more in depth and came to class better prepared. They also scored much higher as a whole on the next exam. I think that because they felt some ownership of their education, they worked a little harder when reading and studied even harder for the tests.

How do you deal with a student who is disruptive every class when they show up? The reason they are disruptive is because they have not read the material and have not prepared for the class. I've talked with the student on a one-on-one basis and have made myself available to her outside of class to answer any questions and bring her up to speed. Now what?

Based on many years of teaching experience, I find that the first obstacle most students must overcome is a lack of self-confidence. In many instances, I found that once I convinced the student that he/she was capable of comprehending the subject matter, he/she was able to approach learning with a more positive attitude. The results in most cases were remarkable.

I feel that for a retention program to be successful all departments must work together for the betterment of the student. There should be interaction between admissions, faculty, and placement to follow a student's progress from orientation to graduation.

A good item to remember as an instructor is to trust your own judgement. Do not accept what you have heard about the student; form your own opinions based on what you have observe and experience.

As an instructor what insight can I provide the student to eliminate or to escape the stressors to remain in school?

I believe the responsibility should be a "team effort". I sometimes find people like to pass the blame solely on the instructors, and this just isn't the case.

I don't believe that all student attrition can be predicted or prevented. Recentlly, I had a very capable student suddenly withdraw. After talking with some of her close friends, her reasons for leaving school seem to be excuses. None of them, at least to me, were necessary or predictable. How do you identify with possible student withdrawal, if there are no evident signs? V-.

;-) Don't you think that even with a mentoring program, some students find it difficult to "fit into the main stream' of the academic envirnonment?

I'd like to hear some comments on dealing with someone at the highest levels in an academic institution that refuses to work on setting the tone for a positive culture for students.

How as instructors do we uncover the paradigm from which individual students operate? Obviously most of us are not trained in psychology, but are there tools available to help us look for certain behaviors that reveal a person's outlook on life? Are schools conducting training in this area for faculty?

I read about Grad Max in the online "lectures" here and have it heard it mentioned before. Can anyone tell me a little more about how it works? Does student input actually get a "human" response? Thanks, Teri

First, let me preface this question by stating that I work as an academic advisor. Tracking all of the interactions I have with students, I have been disturbed to find that the ones I deal with are primarily either in the academic erosion or stagnation phases. This concerns me....I think it is so important that we also stay in close contact with the students who don't show up on our radars as being at-risk because this will definitely help to prevent future problems and build relationships with them; however, I find that the majority of my time and energy is spent on the students exhibiting problems. Does anyone have some ideas for how I can stay in contact with those students who are doing well, too? Thanks! Teri

we have an attendance policy that mimics a progressive discipline approach. 6 days probation, then 12 days termination. Yet we still have retention problems. Any suggestions?