Excellent post, Dr. Stover! I too have heard comments on the people "they" enroll and it makes me crazy.
Ugh. This is a good one. It makes me crazy when I hear someone say this. We are a team and if you work here, IT IS YOUR JOB!! Good post.
Everyone must buy into it to make it work. Good post.
An organizational goal for my campus would be "practice what you preach." It is all fine and dandy to spend money on classes and training for employees on how to handle our customers, but if we are not monitoring and holding them accountable to the vision of the organization, we will not be getting out of it what we should be.
Although it's sometimes a daunting task, I feel that challenging the students to keep trying more difficult projects, regardless of how confident they are of success, is a great way to keep their attention focused on the learning process. If a school becomes complacent and starts to "rubber stamp" passing grades for students, the end result is an institution that has devalued itself and it's students.
Attention-retention has taken a top priority at my school. Student enrollment has suffered along with the poor economy so each student has become more important to the welfare of the organization. We have redoubled our efforts to address concerns our students have through not only personal contact but a system of surveys , forums , and critiques .
MAKING SURE ALL FINANCIAL NEEDS ARE MET , TOOLS / LIVING EXPENSECES ... BEFORE THEY BEGINE THE PROGRAM AND THEY HAVE A PLAN OF HOW TO AND WIIFM
We recently completed a self-study that involved all campus employees including staff, faculty and administration. We rewrote the mission statement, vision statement and values and are focusing on creating a truly student-centered environment. Our motto is "Every student, Every Day, Every Time." The self-study is a wonderful opportunity to create a culture that encourages and celebrates everyone's contributions.
A shared vision is necessary in order to have a high quality team. Many administrators are afraid to have employees involved in the process. They feel they will lose control. It is important that all employees understand the vision and mission of our schools and buy into it or they could be on the wrong bus and do more harm than good.
Joe
I believe our school would benefit by focusing on implementing a shared vision. Currently, it seems each of the various departments within the school has it's own mission, which results in (well intended, but) disjointed efforts. It truly is crucial that employees play a role in establishing the vision (this creates buy-in or a vested interest) and then move forward toward implementing that vision as a team.
I know the importance to join with all goal of others department and the school, because if all make the goal we feel happy.
Actually I support the Integrated Service Department for the Institutional goal of make the tuition. I understand that this is my goal too.
Another excellent response Mary!!!
Hiring the proper type of staff is a great way to achive your goals for organizing your school. Regular staff meetings to keep everyone on track. It also gives us fresh ideas and lets us see everyone elses views that we may not have imagined.
We all know just one negative person can corrupt any class or any business.
I give the class live examples of work related objects that bring into play negative instances.
I also keep a negative person involved with VERY positive person.
I best that we can do is set a positvie and upbeat image for others. If a negative student ruins a class, just imagine what a negative teacher would do.
Hi Ida,
I think you are on the right track with the power of "one". One purpose, and one mission all for the students. Excellent response.
Thanks Richard...I think you make a good point. By focusing the attention of the entire institution on retention you will come much closer to a goal of higher retention. Those specific examples will be needed and constant and consistent communication key.
Our current motto: “The power of One†really identifies a goal that we are working toward. It is our goal to encourage every employee to start the process of student care and concern. It is when each of us makes it our business to demonstrate that we care to each student that we encounter…we will become one in our effort to provide the best possible service to our students.
I think you are on the right track here. Returning calls or better yet having the manpower to answer every call are just good customer service. When the calls are taken and the students are called back, they feel like someone actually cares about them. Thanks for your posting.
An organizational goal that I belioeve would work well for us is to make sure that all calls are answered or all messages are returned. A lot of the problem in many situations is that students are not contacted and by the time they have reached someone they have called (in there words) 15 people and have gotten no return calls. Most of the time the problem for which they called is not that big, but once they have gone through the process of calling 2 or 3 people they are irritated and frustruted and now it is a major issue whae one call could have fixed the problem to begin with. Even if you just call and say we are working on your problem every day.
