Your point about letting the students know that "we care about them" is so important! We have said this many times, but it is important to understand how difficult it can be to connect with students if we wait until delinquency or only contact them at officially mandated points, e.g. exit interviews. That sort of strategy tells the student that we don’t really care… students should feel empowered and valued, and our interactions should not just be the minimum our jobs require.
Karolina,
It is a very good idea to have forms available to students and reminders to keep contact information updated. Students can move or change phone numbers more than once during the course of enrollment so it's important to keep up to date on it rather than try and hunt the information down later. I like the idea of check-in calls to help you verify what you have is good information and letting the students know that you care will create good relationships that will help you in the future.
Cheryl Kesson
It is important to collect current information about our students throughout their time with us because they often move or get new phones and without the information we will not be able to get in touch with them when we need to.
To make improvements on collecting this information we should have forms available in the main lobby for students to fill out and then file in their folder.
Have regular check in calls to make sure their number is correct and let them know we care about them.
Rebecca,
You make an excellent point about passing on helpful information through references. This is key, since many students unfortunately associate references with collections. FA is not the only department that should be communicating with references and building positive relationships. In addition to career services, I like the suggestion that sudden drops in attendance can also be addressed across departments, since the academic success of students directly affects successful loan repayment.
Kellee Gunderson
We have used reference contact information when the student has disappeared from classes, but also when the career services department has leads on jobs and the student cannot be located. Sometimes the students seem to forget that they need to update their contact info with the school as it changes, and when we don't have the current information, we can't pass along valuable information to the student!
Eunice,
It is excellent that you are able to conduct one-on-one sessions! This is certainly the best way to ensure attention and comprehension.
It is also an excellent opportunity when we can meet with students about their professional license and career plans; unlike generic communications or delinquency calls, students are forthcoming and engaged in career-specific conversations.
Kellee Gunderson
We up date the information during the exit interview (one to one session), and when filling out the students professional license application.
Todd,
Registration is an excellent time to obtain information. Once students leave, many are reluctant to maintain an active relationship with their schools, especially if they dropped out and are facing personal challenges. After collection calls begin, these students and their families are especially unwilling to give out personal information.
We find that integrating our efforts to gather student and reference data into routine milestones (enrollment, registration, job placement or career advisement, and even tutoring) leads to greater success.
Kellee Gunderson
Some of the suggestions on gathering student information within this section were real eye openers. I especially liked the Graduation Invitations or Announcements. Currently we attempt to obtain updated contact information during our registration periods.
Samantha,
I think that increasing the number of references you request is a great idea! Schools that used to rely only on the references required on the Promissory Note were setting themselves up for failure.
Where possible, it is also helpful to make gathering references a part of the enrollment or registration process. That way, students are less likely to associate references with debt collection, which is frankly what many students assume if you only speak about references in relation to loan applications or exit interviews.
Kellee Gunderson
It all comes back to if the student cannot be located, they cannot be helped. Reference verification is a strategy that we will now implement and I will suggest that we increase the number of references that we collect. We will also be implementing the confirming of contact information upon graduation.
Daniela,
You set a good example with your commitment to keeping information up-to-date. Monthly attempts to obtain new student data is a great idea; if schools rely solely on entrance and exit paperwork, they will definitely miss valid phone numbers and references.
Kellee Gunderson
These are some of the things we do to gather student information:
one a month a student is given a " Change of address form" this allows the student to update their information.
We setup a booth where we give out prices to those students who update their refernces.
We created an Exit Seminar where we educate our students on students loans and paying them back. We then ask them to provide us with ther personal demographics and references.
You've be surprise on how many times a person's phone can change in a short period of time.
As with any job application and school application, references should be gathered to verify the student's qualifications, even with smaller schools or tech/trade schools, where there doesn't seem to be many requirements to be accepted. In this case, the student is encouraged to leave references of people they trust and that know them well.
With that said, school reps should ensure they are in fact valid references by calling.
This not only provides you with the information you might need later when attempting to contact the student, but it also makes the school appear much more exclusive by actually assuring students qualify to get in based on those references. In addition, this type of verifying could potentially prevent enrolling students who are most at risk for leaving prematurely.
Gina,
We can't overstress the importance of good references.Verifying references in the beginning may take some time but can prove to be a vaulable investment in the long run.
Cheryl Kesson
I like the idea of contacting references and verifying them early. Students with GOOD references have the best chance of being contacted and helped if needed.
Students are like sharks, always moving. During their academic career, contact information is important for counseling, especially for at risk students, registration, financial aid documents, etc. And of course, once out of school for placement, loan repayment, out-of-school balances, skip tracing and potential defaulters. We require information during enrollment, to pick up quarterly schedules and upon exiting. What we can improve upon is the verification process to confim the validity of contact information the student has provided. Sending out postcards and/or calling should be our focus of improvement.
Veronica,
I appreciate that you mentioned encouraging students to complete their program or degree. Throughout this course, we focus heavily on loan repayment and maintaining contact with borrowers. However, ensuring that everyone at the school is committed to helping students successfully complete their education is equally important. Students who stay in school get more value for their loan money, and are in a better position to find good jobs.
I like your suggestion to rally references to encourage students to graduate. Knowing that family, faculty, and school staff are all interested in their progress may encourage students not to give up when academic or financial stress threatens their education.
Kellee Gunderson
It is very beneficial to have contact reference also for end of the year report. Encourages students to stay in scool and graduate.
Kimberly,
I often have schools remark on how difficult it is to collect references from students but you make a great point. Students will need to be ready to be prepared to provide this information in the future for many different situations.
Cheryl Kesson
