At our campus have a resource guide for our students that covers challenges like child care, financial assistance, support groups, Shelters, anything that can come up as a challenge during the education. We also have a ride share list that can help with transportation to school. They are working well for us.
We offer a no charge (four hour) workshop for our prospects to experience what it's like to be in a hands on massage class. Concerns can be explored/addressed at the workshop; for example, how it will be physically to do the work and how it'll be to exchange a massage with someone they don't know. They also get to experience how we support our students in the classroom. So many people who have held concerns or have just been on the fence with their decision, have decided to enroll after the workshop. We've also had enrollments from family members who have attended the workshop with the prospect. Overall, it's been a very effective tool for us.
Great points Michelle. It sounds like you use the materials in a way that tailors the experience to the student. This will allow you to build rapport with them and ensure that you are putting them at the center of the conversation.
Dr. Jean Norris
I have a lot of tools. We have brochures, career services sheets, a list of employers throughout our state that hire or have hired our students, bls stats, website etc. Depending on the student that is in front of me determines what tools I use. Believe it or not for some of the students I have to use all of them to put their fears to rest. After going through module 3, I have come up with some ideas for additional tools that can be helpful as well.
Some of the tools that we use currently:
-industry fact sheets and articles, as well as other company produced literature. By knowing the content of these, I've been able to address certain concerns from students such as our school statistics, average earnings as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and career opportunities and projections - to name a few.
- complimentary workshop that offers prospective students a real classroom experience at our school
-our school's credentials such as national accreditation and what that means,reputation with employers and school history
-student/grad success stories - this is something I have available to me but haven't used extensively so will make the effort to have them at hand and categorize them as to how they may address prospective student's challenges/concerns.
Roberta, thanks for sharing this. Yes, the tour is a powerful tool especially for those that are visual learners. They like to see where they will be learning.
Dr. Jean Norris
The tour is our biggest tool. It allows interaction with faculty, being able to see other students and identifying with them as well as being able to see the job opportunities that are available and stats on placement, empolyment growth, etc. It gives the prospective student a great picture of who we are, how we genuinely care about their success and more importantly, how much we all love working with the students.
Pegah,
What I like best about your response is you know exactly which professional to point your prospective student to for more information. Excellent!
Dr. Jean Norris
If the student is concerned about money, I would have them meet with a financial aid rep so that they can be presented with options. If they are concerned about scheduling, I would offer them different scheduling options and let them know they are free to choose which ever best fits their schedule. If they are worried or scared about finding a job, I would have them meet with a job placement rep so they can hear about the networking and job opportunities available.
I usually ask the student about any challenges they may see with starting school. Once they have shared them with me, I look at ways to help them overcome the challenge. The biggest one is the financial aid and job placement. People don't want to spend the money without know what their job placement rate will be. I am very honest with the student and let them know what is out there and the resources we use.
Holli, that's a great idea. The more tools you have in your tool kit, the more resourceful you are to your students. Ultimately, the goal is to build relationships with your students and when you can offer some different and unique options, your students know that you care.
Dr. Jean Norris
I recently joined up with ReThinkYourCommute.com for a great resource for my students with transportsation issues. It is run by the florida dept of transportation and a FREE service they are really awesome to work with too.
Amber,
Great point. Brainstorming with your student about options that they can identify to address their challenges is a very powerful way to deal with those. When your students generate their own solutions, they're more likely to own the solution and make it happen!
Shannon Gormley
Brain Storm with them. If you have built a sufficient bond with them you should be able to use knowledge of their surroundings to assist them with resources.
Yolanda,
It sounds like you work very hard to be a reliable resource to your students. That's fantastic. It's not easy researching resources that are available within your community and sometimes beyond and keeping that information up to date. However, that attention to detail and level of support speaks volumes to prospective students, their families and friends, your institution and beyond. Keep it up - you make a difference!
Shannon Gormley
I research many community resourcs for the students and try to find those that are free. I find resources for transportation, day care, clothes and food. It has been very challenging yet rewarding.
I use a power point presentation whit information abouth program, financial aid, cost, convalidation and job oportunity.
Eigna, thanks for sharing this idea. It sounds like you have various ways to address challenges and so you are prepared for those students with different resources.
Shannon Gormley
We use an orientation process and provide the prospective student with a welcome package to provide information in detail. My experience has been that even though the information is provided, the student still prefers to address the officer.
That sounds awesome Jon! I love the blog idea. Yes, having technological tools like this can certainly help students see where they could be in the future and can help address challenges.
Shannon Gormley
