Thanks, Michael. It is great that you keep the conversation going during attendance.
What are some things you do after that to show your students you are paying attention?
Our program is set up the same way. We stand at the door before class welcoming each student into class. It is amazing how much you can learn about the class by listening to them before they walk in. I will usually keep the conversation going as they are signing in for the day. I feel this lets them know you are truly interested in whats going on with them outside of the classroom.
Thank you, Eric.
It is good to see that you reward more than just "perfect" attendance.
We advise students when time is missed, we have awards for perfect attendance and excellant attendance, we have deans list and when we have students miss to much time we have or SSI contact them to see what we could do to help and make their experience better.
These are good things to do, David. How do you demonstrate that you are paying attention to your students as individuals?
i use check points and quizes to evaluate students progress, also starting and ending the day with a q&a session. the session is open to any related topics.
Thanks for this post, Linda. You are right on target when you stress the importance of Admissions on early stage retention.
Thank you for this post, Alonzo.
The actions you describe are great advise for anyone who serves in the role of Campus Director. Too often, the demands of the position keep folks in their offices and away from what is really important. Keep doing this no matter what.
As an instructor, I make it a point to learn something about each of my students the first day through having them write an academic autobiography. As I read each one, I make notes about interesting facts they told about themselves and bring these up in conversations. I also make it a point to learn their names the first day so that when I see them in the halls, I can call them by name and ask how they're doing. When students are absent, I call them or if I see them another time in the hall, I'll call them aside and chat, just to get an idea of what's going on. Each student has my phone number and I stress the importance of communicating with your boss once employed, so that while they are in class, communicating with me about an absence is equally important. I also hand out letters of reference to students who exhibit perfect attendance on the last day of the class, along with a certificate of attendance.
As the Academic Dean at our school, I try to meet with all new students at orientation and just let them know who I am and where I can be found in case of any problems. I also let the new students know that we have a peer mentoring program in place for them, for which they complete an application and we pair the new student with a veteran student during the first week. I also call and meet with each re-entry student to assess the issues that caused them to leave school and to see if those issues have been rectified for their return. When I meet with them, I let them know what support services we offer - tutoring, mentoring, success workshops, etc. - so that they know we want them to be successful and that we have the tools in place to help them finish what they started.
Our campus also recognizes publicly those students who make the Dean's List, have perfect attendance, and those that have been gainfully employed through our Wall of Success photo display. We also highlight student achievements in our campus newsletter and sponsor several activities each year for students to attend - dances, cookouts, museum visits, etc.
I could not agree more about the daily smiles. Once they know someone has taken an interest they do more to "impress". Many of the students need this type of support and acknowledgement. Also on our campus, it is a campus wide task. We all have to have our ears open to any "at risk". Too much time passes and it is difficult to reverse. Admissions has to remain active in the early stages, this is what attributes to good retention.
as the Director, I make it my goal to learn every students name - as I see them in the hallways, i will stop them and if i do not know their name, I ask them and shake their hands and ask how they are doing
I have my instructors greet the students at the door of the class room
I visit each class room and talk with the students
i also sit with each new student as the come into our program
Thanks, Davey. What you described is what every career college needs to do!
At our school all of our instructors are tasked with keeping tabs on our students. By this I mean looking for changed attitudes, attendence rates and general well being of the students. We have also created several positions that are called "Student Success Instructors." These guys have had training on the various resources that are availabe to help the students with life issues. They can help the students reach out to food banks, additional funding, car pools, room mates and mental health resourses. We also have our own licensed mental health professional on campus. We realize that our students have a lot of "life" coming at them. By trying to help with these life problems we have maintained and improved our retention.
we call our students when they are not in class to make sure they are Ok. We learn their names within the 1st couple of days. We offer extra tutoring and help them with skill sets out side of our normal tutoring schedule to show them that we are there to help them succeed.
Wow, thanks for sharing this, Frances.
We communicate via email to encourage and remind studdents to submit their work. We send mid term counseling letters to students with a certain grade percentage.
Promptly answering emails is key as well. I always use my student's names in emails and other communications and add a personal approach, comment, etc. to connect more with each one.
Ginger Little
The Library's Enrichment Center provides an excellent peer tutoring service that the students make great use of at our college. .
The library staff makes every effort to recognize their need and encourage them as they seek assistance that they are fulfilling their goals by not letting anything stand in their way of success. At the same time, they are expected to meet certain standards. As an example, they are expected to call in and indicate if they would be delayed or unable to make an appointment in advance of the scheduled appointment time. This instills in them a sense of responsibility and professionalism in handling situations appropriately.
We are extremely aware that we need to greet and recognize them as people, getting to know a little about them so that they feel appreciated, valued, and part of the whole.
But they are held accountable by dressing appropriately for their programs, arriving on time and staying the full class period, being prepared for class presentations, discussions, etc.
There are quarterly award ceremonies which recognize various grade levels, attendance levels, contributions as outstanding students, and peer tutor appreciation awards.
The faculty, Program Directors, Registrar, and DOE all make concerted efforts to contact each student after the first absence, following up calls with emails, second contacts if needed. They make every effort to work with students that have legitimate situations within the limits that have to be adhered to in each case.
Students are welcomed by an Orientatin group of team leaders representing all the services on campus. They meet with their Program Directors in a group and then go into a general session where we attempt to answer any questions, let them know that we have an "open door" policy and that they should know that we are always there to answer any questions or issues they may have arise.
They are provided a flash drive with the Student Catalog and other information regarding course work, curriculum expectations, rules and regulations, among other things they need for future reference.
As they tour the campus for the first time with their admissions rep, they are greeted and many faculty and staff take a few minutes to talk with each them about their plans.
There are many other things we do, but these are just a few.
Thanks, William.
There is typically a positive impact on retention when students have a "go to" staff member that works with them throughout their programs.
How do you handle these relationships when you have staff changes?
We have a detailed "advisee" program set in place. Each instructor is assigned a number of students from their first day and follows them through out the program.
Thanks, John.
All of these are tried and true strategies that you should keep doing and keep improving.
A great idea I came accross at a school in Florida was a program that allowed students to recognize the contributions of other students as well as the contributions of faculty members. The school held an awards luncheon / dinner with a guest speaker each term. It really went over well.
