Student success stories are a big help. Our school has a great blog about our graduates and what they are doing now. We also have a newsletter with the success stories that I give to every potential student that comes in.
Brian,
Glad you found the suggestion helpful. It's great for students to see their solution working for them. Not only does it increase the student's ownership of the challenge and overcoming it, it also demonstrates to the student that they have the internal resources to perservere through challenges that arise.
Shannon Gormley
You make a good point. Challenge them to come up with solutions as well teaches them the problem solving skills so they won't have to erly on every one else every time. Make them turn into a leader and not a follower. Thanks for the thought!
Brian,
It sounds like you are also a valuable resource for your students given the approach you take with them to address challenges. Truly hearing what a students challenges are and validating that they're not alone is a great way to start. I also am hearing that you have additional resources to offer the student based on the challenge that has been presented. Another idea to consider, having your students discuss ways in which they think they might be able to address their challenges before giving additional options. This can help their problem solving capabilities and create more ownership on the studen'ts part. Continued success to you and your work with students in the future.
Shannon Gormley
The proof is in the pudding. I typically make sure that I understand the students challenge first before providing resources. Sometimes, they need proof, sometimes they just need someone to bounce some ideas. I usually will let them know that their concerns are valid, that these concerns have been shared by others going through them and provide them with different ways to potentially fix the issue. When you give the students plenty of options, sometimes they will pick one and feel empowered with other ways to resovle in the future. Two, it will form a more trust bond between the two to be proactive and ask for help in the future when they don't have the answer.
Julio,
Yes, those can be helpful so that if the student has questions after leaving, they can reference their sheets. The fact sheets can also help those visual learners be able to see the information and therefore understand it better. Are there any other tools that you may use to discuss challenges the come up with the financial aid process?
Shannon Gormley
Visuals
Fact sheets
Question and Answer (Recap)
It helps the student understand the financial aid process and are clear of the information.
Magdali,
It sounds like you and your colleagues work hard to ensure that you have services and resources at hand based on what you've learned in past experiences. That's great! It would be very difficult to anticipate all the potential challenges that your prospective students will experience. Being prepared is key. Another thing to consider, is having a conversation with the student to discuss some of the options they've considered for addressing the challenges that they bring to light.
As anything in life, we cannot foresee nor address all potential challenges our propective students may encounter. We do compile in a "lessons learned" binder those recurring issues, that we can curtail to assist in the forefront, that we share with students. They include a list of potential child care providers approved by the local red cross; bus routes and times; local book stores, libraries and external resources they can use in the progession of their studies for starters.
Thank you for sharing your practices, Rosa. It sounds to me that you are a very visual person and like to use imagery to help your students see their future success and what it might look like for them to achieve it. That picture may serve as motivation for them throughout their program at your school.
You are right Shannon; Every person that come asking questions about our programs have a dream, a goal they want to achieve, and a taste for what they can become with a college degree. It is easy to work with a student right after they can picture of what success is and they get a taste of it. I need to paint the mental picture so they can walk on clouds and see their dreams come true.
It sounds like you work with your student to paint a picture of what it might look like once they've achieved their goal and the advantages that go along with it. Do I have that right?
Thanks for sharing, Malenie. It sounds like you have a number of resources available to address challenges with your students. I imagine you are able to personalize your approach based on the resources and what the student has presented as their challenge. Keep up the good work!
I picture them the advantage of become bilingual professionals and the advantage of obtaining a degree in the job market.
The tools I use are: academic oientation/counseling, description of the specialty or program they are seeking, labor stadistics that show where the program stands in the competitive life, their benefits in completion of their program, the economic aspect of completing their program, among many others that always end in helping the student to better their life starting at a great university.
We provide them with our website, questionnare, technology and resource guide.
Thanks for sharing your approach, Karla. Using data to support the information you share can be a very powerful tool. How do you ensure you're giving the most up to date data to your students?
I am using statistis to anwer and support the most commun challenges such as what is the most popular carrer field...
Great practice, Diana. Transparency is key in today's environment. I also happen to agree with you that it's essential that prospective students have the resources to make the best and most informed decision for them. It sounds like your organization is committed to helping your students do just that! Keep up the good work.
Our organization has really made an effort to be transparent to our prospective students. We want them to make the best and most informed decision, which doesn't always mean attending one of our schools. One of the most recent things that we are piloting at our schools is a trial course where if the student does not do well, they have an opportunity to retake the pre-class or if they withdraw or are withdrawn, any tuition they have paid is refunded. It's a win-win.
