There are several reasons that students leave before competition of the course. Family emergencies, student’s expectation, stress, lack of time to study, lack of interest and much more…. We should find the areas to prevent students from withdrawing, with possible solutions for each student . When a student finds that he or she it’s not a number but a person that we care for, I believe that we can lower this rates at the school.
I see that most students withdraw from school before graduating beause:
1. the economy, students need to work more than come to school.
2. life it self, they get caught up in personal issues that they can't separate from school.
Chris,
The students that career schools serve are generally those that need their help the most. Many times these students have difficulty managing life's challenges due to limited funds or poor decisions. Career schools have always been a front runner in providing a network of services that assist the students in overcoming challenges.
Cindy Bryant
some people cannot cannot what happenes throughout the course of their lives, other are able to manage it yet maintain obligations to education. others may get discouraged or caught up and no want to continue.
In my experience, students withdraw from programs for a combination of financial and personal reasons that make continuing education impossible at that particular time in their life. We try to offer assistance and advice to the best of our capabilities to try to help students continue enrollment.
Most students withdraw from schools because of two major factors. The first being that their expectations are not met, whether they didn't do enough research or Admissions didn't give them a clear picture. The second reason is that something unexpected changed.
Lisa,
You mentioned a very important factor in a students success, study and life skills. You also offer possible solutions to overcome these types of problems. As part of a retention plan many schools include a study and life skills course as a prerequisite.
Cindy Bryant
There are a number of reasons why students leave. Some may be academic; they thought they might like the program but don't, they aren't used to being in school, they have poor study skills, etc. Others may be financial; they had no prior savings, the savings/funding they were relying on didn't pan out. Some students lack life skills or maturity.
Now some of these reasons for withdrawal can be helped with some support programs at the institution. We can provide students with study skill sessions, we can ask them in the admissions interview if they know anyone in the field and in the financial interview we can ask them about their resources.
I agree with the replys, most students lack the life skills to manage the time for family and education which leads to poor attendance and therefore failure to engage. Once the interest and desire has been diminshed, it is much harder to re-engage.
James,
Welcome to the forum. While I do not disagree that the majority of withdrawals are the result of personal issues as an institution how can you assist the students that will help them better cope with these issues?
Cindy Bryant
Most students withdraw for personal reasons like employment or family related.
Lindsey,
When a person chooses to further their education they are aware that they will have to make sacrifices that include coursework. Some students feel as if they will not need to study as much as the admissions person has indicated. Sometimes it is difficult to accomplish more than one goal at a time, whether it be nursing school or caring for your family.
Cindy Bryant
The reasons behind a students choice to withdraw from my institution are varied on paper. It could be due to financial reasons, medical reasons, family issues, etc.
However, in most cases these are just obstacles that a student could overcome. Furthermore, if a student really wanted to stay in school it is always for the same reason, because they like their instructor or their classes.
In my opinion, I believe that any student issue could be resolved if the student is learning and enjoying their time in the classroom. So the real reason a student would choose to withdraw from my institution is always related something that happened in the classroom that the student did not like.
I believe there are many reasons why a student leaves. First and most often, the student is overwhelmed by the material being presented in the program. Many students have not had the educational background and when they enter the program they become overwhelmed. In some cases, it has to do with circumstances that arise within the student's life (i.e., child care issues, having a child, homelessness, transportation, family issues and the list continues). In other circumstances, the student may not be able to relate to the instructor. In these circumstances, the student will leave.
I feel that in all circumstances, an institution should have resources to assist with any concerns that will present a student from withdrawing. In the case of being overwhelmed, the instructor and student can sit down together and find ways to help understand the material. In the student's life, information on resources to assist the child can be provided in an attemp to alleviate the stress of the issue (i.e., child care, homelessness and etc). Finally, much like the first, the student should inform the instructor so the instructor can work with the student.
Students withdraw from our program due to many reasons. Some of those reasons are beyond our control. Like for example medical issues, family illness, or financial issues. Others might withdraw due to lack interest which is something we can prevent. We are trying everything to stop those who might drop before they come to school by providing tours.
I think that a lot of students withdraw from our institution because of not being prepared for the courseload. Our program is a very intense nursing school that requires almost all of your time. There is a lot of studying involved and I think it may be hard for student's to try to balance life and school, especially if they have children. We try to make student's as aware as possible as to the class load during our different programs so they can plan accordingly and prepare, but I think sometimes it is still hard to balance everything.
Unfortunately, there are several factors that come into play from childcare, not having family support, a course that is difficult for them to an instructor not being what they expected. Just like everything else, there are obstacles you need to overcome to be successful, and some of those obstacles are too tough to handle with school. We do are best in Student Services to help with some of these issues, but it doesn't always help keep the student in school.
Just from what i have seen a number of students withdraw becuase they have personal situations with family, or they have found work that conflicts with their school schedule which causes the student a hardship.
This varies per student, some loose interest, others are not followed up with, some get buyers remorse, other cases are their families do not support them. There are many of different reasons.
Theresa,
Thank you for joining the forum! How can you be a positive influence on your students and help them overcome some of these obstacles?
Cindy Bryant
