Intervention
During the past few years it has been a learning curve for me on how to interven with students and thier problems. I wished I had some type of class on how to get through to students with problems, it would have been very usefull as a guide. I know each student is differant and so are thier problems as well as dealing with them and who to send them to if it is beyound the scope in which I can able to help them with thier problem.
Being proactive on a timely basis can bring very positive results. What are the Student Success Mentors looking for to help identify problems early? How are the SSMs selected?
At our location in Houston , we are piloting a Retention program with SSM's ( Student Success Mentors )We work with the students in a lot of different ways and also with the instructors. Identifing problems before or at least at the begging can head off a lot of withdrawals because of things that could have been avoided or repaired before they got bad.This is working great !
What is the "chain of command" and who is responsible for tracking the end result? What's the instructor's trailing responsibility?
It does go up the chain, however, I feel that as the instructor, you are the approachable one. You must assess and send the problem up and follow through. The student trusts you.
Is it available? If so, how do they get it? If not, why not?
You are correct.We have many students that desperately need professional help.
Sometimes there are problems that I want to help with. But I need to recognize when I may be over my head and the student needs to see a trained counselor.
We sort of have a chain of command as to who gets to deal with a students problem.It starts with the instructor and then goes the chain.
Wer generally try to help the students while in class. If we cannot find a resolution we can them send them on to a higher authority who can spend more time discussing solutions and help with their problems.
Helping faculty deal with student problems should be part of the orientation program. People frequently are hired to teach because of their professional expertise, not their personal advising skills.
Is there a mentor program in place at your school that would allow you an opportunity to share your knowledge to new faculty members? Do you ever have departmental meetings that focus on student issues?
