What does one suppose to do during economic crisis to create student activities to reduce retention? Most of us have problem faced extremely tight budgets because of our country's economic crisis. Give me some ideas, please to assist with this acute problem.

Identify 3 specific steps you will take within the next 30 days to improve retention at your institution. Step 1: Contact each learner in one’s classroom in at least three different ways each week. This might include an email, an Announcement, and a response to a discussion posting. Other options include assignment feedback or emailing an Adviser if a student has stopped participating and responding. The key here is to either know that all students are participating, or to alert the student’s Adviser that the student may need special attention. Step 2: At the start of each term, send out a welcome email that answer common questions, offers clarity about the class expectations, and encourages questions and comfort. Make sure to receive a response from each learner. Step 3: During the first week of class, personally email any leaner that is not active. If that learner cannot be contacted, alert the Adviser to pursue the student further.

Academic Erosion (AE) and Academic Stagnation (AS) Instructors can offer significant assistance to help students to avoid AE and AS. When I look back at my PhD program, I can remember moments of struggle, of frustration, of stagnation, and of apathy and erosion. Achieving and adhering to a long-term academic program, completing each progress, adapting to new requirements, avoiding GAS, and maintaining confidence and determination can prove to be one of the largest struggles a person might face. Yet, students face these struggles every day. They wonder, “am I doing the right thing?”, “am I not spending enough time with my family?”, “do I really need to do this right now?”, and so on. These doubts, combined with the pressures of learning and making time in an already full life, can often lead to depression, erosion, stagnation, and then if not addressed, attrition. How can teachers prevent attrition? We can understand, sympathize, empathize, and assist. We can offer guidance and can let learners know that they are not alone. Constant communication and positive feedback and great starting points; when students know that they have someone who understands and someone they can count on, they feel less inclined to give up. I often email my students to check on how they are doing and feeling. Manny Academic Institutions offer support groups, learning labs, student services, and counselors and advisers who are also there to help.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) So often, we find that low retention and GAS can coincide, and can create strain. The first step is to recognize that GAS can occur at any time and to any learner. While we cannot always stop GAS, we can certainly offer methods to lessen its affects both on the learner and on others. It must be realized that GAS can not only affect a single learner, but can create a cascading effect that can result in lower spirits. For example, many courses contain teams or groups. If even one learner in a group is suffering from GAS, the remaining group members can immediately feel uncomfortable. A fellow instructor posted, “The same thing that affects new student also effect new hires within the career filed. We call GAS reality shock in the nursing field. Most grads burn out the first year. We build in our curriculum achievable mile markers to encourage the students to continue to work hard and learn. We also discuss reality shock, as a normal process to growing and learning and coping strategies to manage it; such as, our new students are taught skill by our mature students in our program (since they can enter anywhere in the wheel). The mentoring helps the new students develop camaraderie.” This excellent example notes that any area of study, especially those that require a significant or new effort, can easily cause GAS in learners. How can we avoid GAS or help to mitigate it? From an Instructor Viewpoint, GAS is always a possibility from any learners, whether new to the program, or a veteran. As such, our best line of defense is “shock reduction”. If learners understand and can relate to a program that they are entering, through kindness, communication, and discussion, perhaps in many cases, GAS can be avoided.

A Commitment to the Students Academic Institutions generally offer wonderful resources and services for students. These include Student Services Offices, Student Learning Labs, Student centers, Student Teams and Clubs, Student Outreach groups, Student Financial Aid programs, Student tutoring, and more. Most Academic Institutions spend a considerable amount of resources on creating a student-centered learning environment with mutual respect, flexibility, clarity, special programs, and a multitude of majors and learning options. Similarly, students often have the choice to attend school traditional, online, or a combination of both – depending on the program. Many schools offer short term lengths and accelerated programs. Schools have additional programs or flexibility for military learners, challenged learners, and special needs learners. In short, the entire focus of most Academic Institutions is the learner and the learner success.

Customer Service is a phrase that is used to describe the process of taking care of our customers in a positive manner. I believe customer service is a number one priority that brings more students to our institution.

What does your institution do to assure that student expectations are being met and that they are satisfied? First, it is important to define student expectations. In most cases, students have realistic, important, and progressive expectations. They expect clarity, communication, honesty, integrity, flexibility, and availability. As such, many Academic Institutions take special care to talk to each student personally and help them enter the program. Next, most Academic Institutions offer or require a student orientation; an area in which a student can learn about the platform, the expectations, the requirements, the navigation, etc. Students are general told that they can expect frequent and variable form communication from their instructor, email responses within 24 hours or less, interaction in the classrooms and discussion areas, grading feedback, and clarity of policy. Similarly, students are told what cannot be expected. For example, students cannot expect to earn a grade without completing the required course elements at a certain level of requirement, even if that student has paid for the class. Each Academic Institution explains not only what can be expected but also what it expects. This wonderful balance maintains a high degree of integrity and success.

What are some strategies to manage retention of adults in higher education and adult learning? Our problems with many students are what was discussed in the course RT 101: socio economics, first college students of their generation, unpreparedness for college.... What can we do when the student fall into these categories of stress?

I began my career as an instructor in a traditional classroom. I greeted my students with a smile at the door the first day of class, called when they were absent, and used break time to get to know individuals on a personal level. Once they completed my course, I would regularly run into students in the hall or library and check in with how things were going. Since moving off campus and online, it has been a struggle to create and maintain these same connections with students. I respond to each student's introduction, send welcome messages/emails, make contact if so many days pass between their participation posts in discussion, and post encouraging responses in discussion as well as quality feedback for assignments. However, if a student has chosen to not contribute to discussion or sign in, I have limited means with which to get a hold of the student and no ability to "run into" them. How might we translate the role of model, mentor, and monitor more effectively in the online setting? To what extent does an asynchronous environment allow these techniques to be employed effectively?

I always try to make a good connection with our students, either from a shared experience (our median age for students is very close to mine), similar background, taste in music or more importantly my time as a student in the same school. I've found that one conversation at the right moment can be monumental in motivating a student to achieve more.

As an educator, I personally believe that administration needs to make sure we "know why" they are implementing policies or procedures. More often than not, business partners or admin will come out with a new initiative and, for whatever reason, fail to explain why it is needed (or their explanation is insufficient). If you keep us informed, give us an opportunity to be heard about what we think of these changes (heck, make us think we have some say in it even if we don't!), then new goals, policies, etc., will be easier to accept and transition to.

One of my problems is recognizing when I push a student too hard. I like to believe that I am pushing them to succeed, but there are times that I feel I am pushing certain students too hard and they just shut down. I realize then that I can't stop pushing (though the urge is there) but I need to push in a different way. My question is how can I "see" this shut down coming and head it off?

the problem with orientation sometimes is you have to cover so many rules that the student to detatch them selfs the first day

I work at an auto trade school sometimes the sales people tell students things that are not always 100% true this is sometimes hard to meet their expectations

According to what we found to be true about what is necessary for a student to obtain an education. That is, study very hard, follow instructions, ask questions in class etc... What are the needs of a student before he/she can think about attending college? Primary goals are important however; without having basic needs before students attend higher education will result in failure. What can be done about this situation before students attend college?

Retention is a very complicated subject & there are no easy solutions. If we are honest to ourselves & relate retention to our circumstances then we can find answers to this problem. Unfortunately there are so many situations we may have a solution to theoretically but practically it is not going to happen. Statements like that everything is possible with hard work is good & encouraging but is very hollow & does not mean anything. Therefore we need to be honest to ourselves & to the students & tell them there is very little chance of success upfront if there are situations which cannot be resolved or student is not a fit for a course

I make a point to email each of my students after thed first day of attendance in order to welcome them to my class and to start that "Trust Factor" for my class.

It is vital that the expectations are set from the monent the student sets foot in the classroom. Relationship building starts with the introduction of the instructor and getting to know the student.

I believe that student needs to be challenged especially when it deal with healthcare issues. I can only think in terms of a student caring for one of my small children. They have to work at accomplishing all task assigned. They must be driven to be successful in order to provide life saving healthcare to all desiring family memember. So how do I motivate this student population to be disciplined and discard all of the past negative situation that builds on there stressors. As the lesson states it starts with the instructor, school and other faculty staff. But we have to have a willingness to speak to the heart of students. That is my new goal to appeal to the soul. Henry

The same thing that effects new student also effect new hires within the career filed. We call GAS reality shock in the nursing field. Most grads burn out the first year. We build in our curriculum achievable milemarkers to encourage the students to continue to work hard and learn. We also discuss reality shock, as a normal process to growing and learning and coping strategies to manage it; such as, our new students are taught skill by our mature students in our program (since they can enter anywhere in the wheel). The mentoring helps the new students develop comaradarie. What have you done to help overcome reality shock for your students?