Thanks for sharing your experience, John. I love stories with a happy ending.
John, who is responsible for taking the next step? Does the weekly meeting also include a discussion of the effectiveness of these actions?
Hmmmm.....Expectations & Satisfaction and what does my institution do to assure the students expectations are being met.....I have already answered this question, however,upon reflection of what I have read and learned this morning while taking this course I came to the realization that this course in itself has exceeded my expectations and I am left with a great feeling of satisfaction.....Why? you may ask,...Usually when required to take an online course a person may view this task as another chore...or perhaps how boring this is going to be (The same way a student may feel when attending a class)However after completing each module I realized that although I feel that I am a good instructor, I had learned a great deal more and to top that off I actually had a situation come up with a student who had mislaid their Iphone and felt that she could not finish her class this morning and wanted to go home because she was "stressed" & could not finish her lesson because she needed her phone to access internet content for her project. In the past I may have let her go home (why would I want to keep a stressed student in class??) Instead, in a flash I thought about my learning experience this morning and let her know that I empathized with her and her situation and that if gave her 15 minutes she could use a school computer to access the information she needed for her project & borrow a phone to call her number and track down where she left it. She took advantage of the "time out" given her and was actually back in class in 8 minutes. The end of this story is that I was able to reinforce my teacher/student bond, save her from losing attendance and professionalism points and most of all help in alleviating her "Stress".
On a weekly basis the faculty members meet with department leads to discuss student grades and to identify those students who are having challenges thereby being able to determines what other resources are available to better assist the student with their particular need/challenge.
Interesting way to get feedback, Thomas. It also seems to answer the eternal student question of "why do I need to know this".
Who does the subjective observations and for what purpose, Nathan?
Instructors communicate thru reiterating the goals of the course and how the student "fits" into the path for achievement by completion of projects. Then, the student and instructor complete a discussion of "how did you feel the project flow moved? Why?" Feedback is important for the instructor to understand how the student interprets the results.
They do subjective observations that find what they want to see. This is not an effective method of sampling. More work needs to be done in this area to find the answer.
Great practice, Paul. A real win/win. The reps gain a better understanding of course content and develop positive professional relationships with the faculty. In many cases, that translates into wanting to get students who will not disappoint their colleagues. Conversely, if instructors get involved with the admissions process they gain valuable insight into the uncertainties encountered by the reps.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Michaela. Your opening question is an important one. It's quite reasonable to engage a professional to create surveys to improve the quality and quantity of responses. A poorly crafted survey is a waste of everyone's time - GIGO.
We try to integrate admissions people into our educational process. Whether it be tours or hands on team building, the reps are required to be part of the process, and they enjoy it. I believe this makes the reps more connected to what happens in the classroom, and thus the student's expectations are more clearly delivered and understood.
What type of questions are you asking to help curb retention? We do surveys at the end of the program which is six months.We get very few constructive comments. They usually comment on how they liked the instructor or not. We ask for feedback on the school and if they felt the visual aids helped with their program. They students usually don't comment in this area.The negative comments we get are usually from students who the instructors have had to correct regarding dress code or cell phone usage.The younger students we are getting don't believe they have to follow the rules. This has become an issue for us. As a result if these student feel they are being picked on have a tendency to drop from the program. Another type of student we see drop from the programs are student whose parents are making them do this program. This type of student is difficult to engage and keep their interest.
Luke, how long do you have with each group? What information do you share with them? Class related or more personal background? Has this been successful?
Ronald, that's probably true for a lot of things in life. How often do you re-evaluate your expectations?
Melvin, how have the surveys impacted you personally? Have you found it useful?
Donald, how have these student observations impacted you personally?
Nelson, how have the surveys impacted you personally? Have you made any changes in how you interact with students>
We start our students out with a meet and greet session during orientation, the instructors are assigned a 'quadrant' in the rooms and we try to establish a rapport with rotating groups. This does help alleviate some of the stress of the first day of the class, as they have at least met us and hopefully dispelled the the premonition of the 'mean instructor'.
I have found that letting the student know what to expect during their educational experience sets them up for success.
In class student surveys by program director. Instructor not present in class.
