Teamwork is the keyto rententin
"It takes a village" comes to mind when I think of retention.
I am on the admissions team but at our school each department works together as a team.We all help each other out in anyway so the process runs smoothly for each student.
Who is on your team? Is it cross-disciplinary or composed of people withing the same department?
I definately agree that working as a team makes such a difference, especially when its done with a positive attitude. Everything runs so much smoother when everyone is involved and helps. I always liked the saying "There is no I in Team"
Why is that? Everyone should have a role in retention. How can you start a dialog about their role?
In my school, the admission department doesn't seem to have any role in retention. I think that this is one of our major problems.
You mean like the child who asks the other parent the same thing? Yes but I think they ask because they want to be sure and reinforced in their answer. Sometimes though it does take a few times to comprehend or it may just be presented in a more understandable way.
I agree . It is the responsibility of all employees for retention. Whether it is helping to solve the problem or recognizing the problem and referring to the proper person for help.
Are you suggesting a team of instructors working with students at the same time? If not, how would the student receive the alternate explanation?
With having other instructors around, the subject could possibly be explained in a different manner to the student. My way is not always the most clear and consice.
It takes a village and all who care. Parents should do the most work, but when they can not, teachers and other family members, as well as friends should do their best to set examples and help with problems. Every one shold set examples every where they go. You are always being watched.What you say,and do is always observed.
Oh my goodness, YES. We certainly have come across students who will go from person to person asking the same question. However, I think the key to that is to ensure ALL staff and faculty are well trained on policies and procedures so that the same information is given each time. We tell our staff and faculty to think of our catalog as the "bible" of our institution and to ALWAYS refer to that when asked about policies or procedures by students. We also try to make sure that we have certain people, for instance, the DOE who is the only one to answer academic questions etc.
While you are correct that different staff or faculty may be saying different things, students also have an uncanny knack of hearing things the way they want to. That makes it even more important that the message be concise and uniform.
Any one ever encounter a student who keeps asking the same question of different people until he/she gets the desired answer?
Yes, I certainly agree that it takes teamwork when it comes to retention. I also believe that it is important that all people on that team are on the same page and are giving the same information to the students. It has been my experience that students hear different things from different staff or faculty. This certainly can lead to a student being unsure of the institution and they don't trust the school will give them what they need. This,in turn, leads to withdrawal.
it takes many people to raise a child. It also takes many people to educate a child. It takes team work to get most jobs done. And keeping a student from dropping or quitting also can take many people. It sometimes takes the right person o get threw to them. that is why it takes many people in order to assure you involve the right person.
I agree. Each person in an educational institution contributes uniquely to retaining students. It is important to have interaction between them also. For example, for admissions and teaching faculty to interact and work together. This can contribute to students having that realistic expectation of what the classroom and job entails.
