The biggest barrier is going to be time. The instructors at our school are in class everyday 7:00 am - 4:30 pm. Adding mentoring to their already busy day will be tough.
We currently offer peer mentoring and it does work well for some instances. However, there are situations where a paid staff member would be more appropriate.
What are the barriers to establishing a faculty mentoring program? Have you considered using students in a mentor program?
In the next thirty days, I hope to have a listing or directory available for the students and faculty with specific information on department services.
Another aspect is to divise an action plan for the faculty to implement continuing education.
Even though I do not foresee a faculty mentoring program established in 30 days, it is my hope that a program will be in the beginning stages. Faculty members hold the key to student success and in many ways already mentor students.
We are fortunate to have a very progressive, supportive campus president. Student success is promoted and supported through all levels of management within our organization.
This has been a great course!
What an impressive action list, James!
Hopefully, you will be able to get others within the organization- particularly the campus president - to become involved and take the lead on some of these initiatives.
Of course, maintaining this focus over the long haul will be a challenge. The outcome of these actions will probably be some significant change in daily life at your school. It is natural for people to resist change si it will take a lot of energy and focus to maintain this momentum.
Good luck; you're off to a good start.
Three specific steps we can take in the next 30 days will include instructor training on the importance of early intervention and referral for personal and academic issues that have become obstacles in class.
We can also ask our student council to propose an event that will bring students and staff members together in an effort to create a student staff bond.
Lastly, in the next 30 days, key individuals will go out to the classrooms, and introduce ourselves, as well as extend an open invitation to the students for assistance in the area of each person's expertise.
Good plan, Doug. Making sure students are aware of, and using, the services at your school is great way to keep everyone engaged and show the students how much support your institution provides. That's an impressive list of services.
These are not in priority order:
1. Recommend that other members of staff take this course.
2. Stress attendance during class sessions.
3. Mention more of the student services. Non classroom staff do an intense three day orientation that covers student services and responsibilities. I will mention these more during classroom sessions. Our institution does a good job by offering a variety of student services ie nurse twice a week, financial help and paperwork help, helping students locate a part-time job, matching roommates, furnishing loaner bicycles, food pantry and encouraging carpooling among students.
While it's true that everyone enjoys fresh fruit occasionally, I'm not sure that an apple will be a sufficient motivator to get a student out of bed on Monday morning. Have you asked students why attendance is low on Mondays? You may not get truthful answers if the question is posed directly to offenders behind closed doors, but you may get the information you seek if done in the context of a class discussion?
Since the way to a student's heart is not unlike that of the way to a man's heart--food--I am thinking about fruit in the student lounge once a week on Mondays. That is always our worst day for early attendees for some reason.
The electronic newsletter may be a great way for us to go. We found that printing a newsletter got pretty expensive. We can send one to all of our campuses or only to the students on our campus. That might be a neat way to interact between departments and even give students a new forum for whatever they want to share.
I can see some of the faculty training beginning to be put into a handbook that would help new and part time faculty know what is expected. I suspect that some of them are just as overwhelmed as our students when they are told what they will be doing and with whom. A written handbook of schedules, classroom rules, and attendance policies might be very beneficial to everyone.
Great list, Denise! Please let me know how things work for you.
During the next 30 days, I plan to:
1. Develop a cross-functional retention committee with the specific goal of increased communication between departments regarding students who are potentially at risk.
2. Train instructors and program chairs in the use of surveying and vertical probing to get to the heart of student issues.
3. Set up a schedule to visit each class at least once each week.
Great comments, James. You raise some interesting concerns about carpooling and babysitting. What responsibility does the school take if it merely facilitates a posting of interested parties? How much background checking is prudent? What about rights to privacy?
Kathryn,
You present some great ideas and they should work well for you. I had/have implemented all three of your ideas to our school quite some time ago (3 - 4 years) and have learned some tricks to make them successful. If you don't mind I would like to share them with our classmates.
Bulletin Board: At first your students will notice your board and review its contents learning about each instructor and/or staff member: BUT if you do not change it at least once or twice a week, you will lose your audience. My suggestion is to post a piece of paper on the board that states, "If you read this come to SS to answer a question about the board and you will win a prize... This will keep them coming back. Everyone likes cheap, but FREE candy is better.
Suggestion Box: Our suggestion box was extremely popular at the beginning and then became a place for chewed gum, trash, and other items not worth mentioning. To make the suggestion box work, you need to post the suggestions you receive to the public and continue to report the status of the suggestions. Even if their suggestions were denied, they will be pleased to see action. Also, if the reason of denial can be posted, then do it.... If it is not TOP SECRET, then do not treat it as such.
Carpool and Babysitting Pool: The only thing I can say is that before you implement this, do your research on those that you recommend to drive and those whom you recommend to baby-sit. Make sure that all of the proper documentation is there before putting your school's name to it.
Kathryn, thank you for focusing on next steps. This is a good list that should bring positive results. Good luck!
I hired a retention coordinator. I am going to have her work on the following:
1. On a bulletin board in each building we will post a picture of each staff member and list there title and their main area of responsibility.
2. Suggestion Box. We have one that rarely gets checked, therefore; it rarely gets any suggestions.
3. Carpool and Babysitting Pool. With gas prices the way they are and so many students begin single parents, it is something we may be able to provide help with.
Sounds like you have a healthy budget for activities! What is the participation level for these events? Are family members invited? Do the students wear clothes that identify your school? This may be a good way to "tell" the community about your school and how you treat your students.
As we enter the summer months, our focus turns toward activities. The three specific steps include: 1) outdoor barbecues at each of our campuses; 2) family day at an area amusement park; and 3) intramural sports between the campuses. Because our classes are scheduled for Monday through Thursday, it allows us to offer these activities on Fridays and/or Saturdays.
Great ideas!! Are they helping?
These seem like well focused, achievable goals, Abigail. As you meet with students each day you undoubtedly will learn a lot about how your school actually works. You will also create expectations that you will take action. This can be a double edged sword, particularly if students begin to use these meetings a mini-grip sessions.
I also urge you to be vigilant to identify students who are disenfranchised and don't participate in the appreciation activities.
Good luck; let us know how these actions work.
