That the improvements that I would implement into our processes; is giving the student the tools that are needed to be a success. Study skills, counseling, mentoring Program and tutoring can be essential tools that can be used for retention purposes. That’s the states in this model there is no silver bullet. The other improvement that I would make would be in our communication to the student, it seems in several cases that not all involved parties are on the same page, therefore students are not hearing the same time which makes it very frustrating for the student.
John
I feel it goes back to students feeling at the end of the day that they got what they paid for and had an overall good experience as well. I feel we need to focus on our course material and our methods of delivery. Sometimes we may need to see things from the students point of view to better understand what they are experiencing. If they are having a good experience, and our support staff is in place, they are more likely to work through struggles and stay in class.
keep student interested, keep learning fun,keep class moving forward,keep all students involved, and praise often.change the climate of class often, let the students ask questions of each other.
I think that students need to have a voice. Student concils do a great job a news letter works. A student paper could help get more interaction with students and staff at the begine of the classes. it can be a good thing with students and staff to explane what student life is about and what do do in the area not a sheet of paper with were to go but pictures and input from staff or students that been there could help with being home sick.
Well one of the improvements mention in the previous posts has been “to improve the quality of the students who start here at our campus ... some basics like the ability to read and comprehend written information, basic math skills, and some sort of mechanical reasoning skills would give students a much bigger chance of success.”
I agree with this statement but the students are misled by the recruiting reps who state that the student will not have to take any Math or English courses while attending this school. This is true, but the student then thinks math skills, and being able to read and comprehend written information is not important in the career jobs they are training for, which is deficiently not true, and this is where the student gets discouraged.
When they are asked to solve simple math problems or read simple procedures on how to diagnosis a problem or perform a procedure listed in a service manual they are astonished that they have to do math or read on their own.
They prefer to have someone read the procedure to them along with a visual demonstration of the procedure. Who’s going to do this for them once they leave our campus? I think we should spend more time with those students who have certain challenges (wither it be improving basic math skills, reading, or comprehending written information, etc.) and make sure when they leave us we are giving them the necessary skills to succeed in obtaining their goals and dreams. Let’s focus on the finish product by improving the quality of students who graduate from here. Maybe we need to raise the bar a little.
The reps also state that there is no homework assignment’s which is true but if you want to be the “Best of the Best” in your future career you need to spend time reviewing your studies. We are asking the student to come to school for 30 hours each week and suggest they work part time no more than 20 hours while attending school. Most of the students are working a full time job of 40 hours on top of their 30 hours of schooling just to get by. No wonder they fall asleep in class. We need to teach them basic Financial and Life Skills so they can reduce their work hours and still have time for school and rest.
Some students are set up for failure as soon as they get here due to their academic abilities. Unfortunitly some of these students have no buisiness being here. They just have the common sense it takes to be a technician. We have to realise that this is a buisness and it is hard to turn down people who want to come here. We also have to be aware that not everyone is not going to pass and become a technician. We as Instructors can only do so much with was we have to work with.
I think may help is to make it mandatory that students show up the first day of a new class. This is when the instructor lays out all his expectations to the class and policies and procedures.
This is first time most of these students are away from home and many can’t even balance a check book. They don’t know how to do math WITH a calculator. They don’t know how to properly look for (and keep) a job……..They need successful part time employment while they are here, not just success after they graduate. I think we need to provide more “Life Skills” training. Maybe we could use an evaluation that identifies areas that need work. Then we could provide that training to them BEFORE they start core classes.
The instructor is the first processes to help overall retention by helping them to sucessfull indentiying early that they are in trouble and giving them the tools necassary to succeedd. More student and staff functions can lead to students being more comfortable with staff and staying in school
Make the student services and the financial aid processes smoother with less red tape this would really help the student experience
We must be dedicated to student success while holding the student accountable. Make learning a fun evviorment where students and instructors are treated as equals.
Does your school have cars available or are you thinking of cars that belong to students or staff? Would this be voluntary or part of a course? Who bears the costs?
What can you do to make this happen? What sort of things are you thinking of?
We should explore the opportunities for some extra curricular activities, like race teams, i.e. drag car, or stock car pit crews.
Training on diverse awareness by instructors and staff, so they will know how to recognize different learning styles and personalities and what is effective and how to deal with each style.
I think we need more things outside the school for them to do and some can be at no charge or very little. Let students that we care and we are thare to help them.
Does your school have a department or group that can take the lead in developing these activities? It seems like a good opportunity to develop student leadership.
Sounds like a great idea. Good luck in getting it started, Bob.
Some type of off campus function where students and instructors could be involved in a project, a race car, paint balling again as planned project.
More upfront in finances? Do better checks on students prior to their start dates for paperwork? Basic skills testing? I really don't know from my perspective, all I have is a limited view from the cheap seats. I can only make suggestions based on the few things I've heard from the students. Someone from student services or the other dept.s who get more feedback might be better asked this poser.
No real activities in mind but in listening to the students they feel that the activities are geared toward a select few and not a larger audience. This could be that they do not get involved to let thier voice be heard.
