Yes...this is very helpful....my DCS has an MVP club whereas students become involved and help the community at the same time...some activites occur on campus such as bake sales or pizza sales....others include community walks, etc for causes that also allow staff and faculty to participate and see students out of the classroom. We also plan on forming a graduation committe of current students
At our school we have a Flyer that runs as a power point on the hall monitors and is printed out and presended on cork boards behnd glass.
This along with other material really keeps our students informed and involved.
Awesome. You will find that a number of students need to be engaged at the campus. This is one strategy for improving retention.
Dr. B
We have a lot of current activities that get our students involved in the school, but I would like to see us do more events around the holidays like a drawing for a 4th of July themed gift basket for anyone who had perfect attendance. At a previous college I worked for, we would do fun events around recognizing Dean’s List, Honor Roll and Perfect Attendance. We all had a great time and even made fools out of ourselves when we did “SCHOOL NAME has Talent!”
With my current school, they do student appreciation once a quarter, but quite often the students get their food and run back to their classrooms. It would be nice to see more interaction between the programs and some of our student organizations.
- Computer game lounge
- Inexpensive Computer Flight Simulator Software
- Interactive game similar to Jeopardy for course study.
Well, are school is a technical school mainly focused on motorcycle repair but we do have a student council which organizes student activities and events. I find that the students actually do real well at organizing there own activities such as group rides and sporting events. We also have a yearly motorcycle show which the students are incouraged to participate in.
Should we allsway reward compliance? That is giving a reward to the person who does the least things possiable to get by? It is like giving the dog a treat for sitting, or doing a trick. The reward should go to the ones who go above and beyond. Just getting by, your reward is reflected in the grade you earn and not being prepared upon graduation. Going above and beyond your reward is a higher grade and a better prepared student upon graduation.By all means when a student asks or is in need of help give all you can this shows a student that is willing to further improve themselves and one who recognized their own limitations.
Currently my school has a motorcycle show once a year where students and faculty alike can display their accomplishments. I could see some involvement in local racing, custom bike building, stunt riding etc. that may create more excitment with the student body motivating them to finish what they have started.
So much of our attention has been focused on the 'problem' students that those individuals who perform successfully may not be recognized. Mentoring/tutoring those who need to improve on their success is important, however rewarding compliance and success more often should improve the students feeling of worth. We recognize these accomplishments, but sometimes students who are not successful get the most attention.
I teach for a working-adult insitution that offers all of its program online in an accelerated format. One of its best involvement tactics is the offering of career and personal-interest-based webinars. Topics cover everything from job prepearation to effective use of library resources.
There are several different activities that can be implemented to increase student retention, such as: Clubs, student field trips, group study sessions, etc.
Awesome. Sounds like you are connecting with your students.
Dr. B
We have a student council that works as a go between to help the students get their concerns out. With a management person sitting in on their meetings the word gets out that they have a voice and we try everything we can to keep the students in the seats. Tutoring, food pantry, local employment etc, we all work to keep the students.
There are alot of activities that can be done to get students more involved in their schooling and add more value to their education experience than just coming to class. Students can join clubs, participate or assist in campus events, and utilize the available resources on campus rather than going elsewhere (ie. study, use computer, use library materials, etc.) Students can also be innovative and provide ideas to their school in what they would like to see or have at their campus.
Our school fires instructors for having social involvement outside of the class room. It's hard to use that for retention.
Currently we hold student appreciation events four times a year (pizza and pop), a Halloween event, and other student organization events. I feel like we hold enough events for our students, but the student turn-out is sometimes lacking. We have non-traditional students with jobs, kids, etc. that prevent them from wanting to come to the events as it is more time away from other things. Do you have any suggestions that might help encourage students to attend these events?
The students love to bring in desserts and food for break. This seems to assist with team and relationship building.
1. Admission Reps to bring the customer to our classroom and meet us.
2. Have student join in on class cook-ins.
I love that you take excursions. Guest speakers and tours helps students to link their education to their future careers. Nice.
Dr. B
For my program, we produce a Fashion Show and my students also get very involved in Fashion Week. In addition, we take excursions to museums and Market Week. Guest speakers are also invited into our classroom.
