1. set clear expectations to prospective students of the schools rules, regulations,policy's and expectations to the industry they are choosing. sometimes it seems from this perspective its more about front loading the students with the wow of the school and leaving out our professionalism standards, accountability and expectations till later. that seems to set an urealistic idea in some students mind and leads to unsatisfied customers and misrepresentation of our school and ultimatly drops.
2. pretty much a couple words would really go along way in retention and all interdepartment relations. consistancy and honest communication
1 - Set clear expectations for the ALL staff first, then to ALL students who will be starting. Many times students are given inconsistent expectations from one person to another, and that is usually because the staff member that was addressing them was them selves unaware.
2 - Give them a model to go by as they get complete each course, a way they can visualize there path to success.
Do you have organizations on your campus that help relieve the loneliness and home sickness? How do you get students engaged with peers and support providers?
Being away from home, not having the resources available, all of this can add to the stress level that they already feel by being away from home. Students sometimes feel lonely and do not have the support they need in addition to what you stated above, they do not always get a free ride in life---------this is some times a very drastic wake up call for them.
I have read through some of the other replies and Jason has some good thoughts on this subject. School events is a good way, but a lot of the instructors and I am sure students to have lots of things that they need to take care of on the weekends. If we could come up with an event that took place on campus during the week I think that there would be a lot more responce.
Also the idea of a student going in to beginning student's classes. I think that we should find some students that have graduated and are here in the area. don't just pick the students that look the proper way. Find some that are a little unorthidox in the way they look and talk. even if you have to pay then to come in. students can relate to some one that is already out there and is not a poster boy student.
One way is to let the students know how hard it is going to be on their own from the begining when they are recruted. Be more consistant with them.
What do you do personally to avoid being seen as "just a uniform", Dean?
The student being aware there are people here to help them and we are here to help them and we as instructors should be accessible to them. For support, as posted "not just a uniform".
As a school, it is very important to show our students that we are not just "suits" or instructors. That we are people too, and have many of the same interests. (automobiles)
Funtions like car shows, races, and building of race vehicles. These are all great ways of interracting with students and keeping everyone tied together. Without these kind of personal interactions students can feel like we dont care.
Does your school have a committee that reviews entry criteria and works to provide students with adequate information before they enroll?
Any thoughts on how to fill the hole? Do you have any activities in your class that might work for the whole institution?
4:30 am! What time do you start now? Would you be able to find faculty to teach at that time?
Getting enough sleep is a classic student issue. How would such an early start relate to this problem?
On or off campus activities that show students we care about them and the community.
More surveys for the students to evaluate the stress of the student. Life problems occur at any time so we should keep asking questions.
I agree that a better student coming in to the program would improve the end result.General competancies:reading(with comprehension!)better basic math skills and logic skills would go a LONG way toward improving what the students could get from the program as a whole. If the student isn't up to parr,I think there should be a remedial program to improve these basic skills.I also agree with the 'life skills' idea as well.
I think the students should have access to more 'real world' hands on experiences.Not just a field trip,but more like work study.There are students who really have no idea what they are getting themselves into.I think having those students placed in a live shop environment for a day or so can give them a wakeup call of what is expected of them once they get to the field.
I believe that we need to have better espirit de corp. We do not have the spirit that a conventional school might and we should have our students should be proud to wear our logos and say that they are grads from our school. The next thing is staff that feels that same way it should not matter if we don’t have a football team or not it is how you feel about the entity and the staff and students around you that should show in what you do. We have a large hole in this area.
Give the students a longer vaction during the hoildays. Some can really use the rest and maybe more hours at work. Start classes at 4:30 A.M. that way classes would end earlier in the day would allow the students more time to work.
I also agree with Jason ,More activityies that the students can be involed in would bring up moral and give them more self wourth, a sence of being part of the big picture they expect.
I Think we could find more recources to accomidate our students.At one time I gave a student a source for goverment grants and he found one that would accomidate his needs. He is now back in school and doing very well. There are thousands of answers out there to help our students suceed. All it tackes is the right people behind these kids to make it happen.
Their have been some very good ideas written so far. I agree that jump start could be used much more effectively. It may help a few but MOST feel it is a waste of time!!! Use it to prepare them. Study skills and test taking skills. Most of these students have never been on their own before. Some practical steps taught for budgeting and real expectations of what it will take. Feel good education does not work in the real world.
I think we could improve our retention rate by showing our students the value of there education. They need to feel a sense of accomplishment when they pass a course. I think we need to teach more consepts and less teaching of the quizes and final exams. They need to show some sort of compentency when they leave a course. If we do this students that want to be here will feel a sense of pride in what they have accomplished in turn improving retention.
So I guess my answer is we could improve the way we evaluate our students.
I also think we could work on the students moral. I think we could boost moral by having more car shows, dyno runs, and events of that sort but require student involvemnt for a grade.
