retention is our life blood
If we do not retain students we could go put of bussiness or have a reduced number of students. this would lead to a reduction of staff which could lead to less services to the few students.
You must try to retain as many student as possible, so they can reach their goals.
I too have been in this situation. My student was very talented, and had a great personality that could take him far. However, it really doesn't matter how much you like a person, when you need a job done, you need to have someone you can rely on. Therefore, you would do your student a dis-service by passing him. This student needs to understand where his priorities lie and until he does this, he will be unemployable.
Hi James,
You are right about our needing to maintain the standards of the field that we are training students to enter. We cannot turn out inferior products (meaning graduates) that will reflect poorly on the college.
Gary
Yes, retention is our lifeblood, but if we pass the student just for the sake of retention, the results could be more harmful. Putting a student out in the field who is not qualified could damage the reputation of the school, which would be more damaging in the long term. Also, it would be setting the student up for failure.
You bring up some really good points. I had a moment today when a student told me that if he did not pass my class he would not be able to return next semester. I feel very responsible for losing him, especially since he has a lot of potential, but he missed quite a few classes and did not turn in work. Grades are due for the term at noon tomorrow and there is really nothing I can do without making some sort of adjustment and compromising the quality of the education. Retention is important, but you're right about where to draw the line between providing quality education and retaining students for the sake of retaining them.
Hi Eric,
Quality of instruction has to be number one or the career college is doing a disservice to the students and itself. Retention is critical for students in terms of their being able to achieve their career goals but they have be a part of a quality institution that offers quality instruction.
Gary
But when do we realize that we have crossed the line making retention more important than the quality of instruction? Is the quality of instruction not ultimately more important?
