Retention Basics | Origin: RT101
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Improving Retention through Timely Intervention --> Retention Basics
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
I learned that retention must be a focus of school culture that way responsibility is distributed among all people and departments. Tracking students by cohorts or programs and creating a culture of support will help increase unnecesary attrition. Attrition is, "a by-product of doing the right thing the right way". So, a University can't look at retention as a number, but as a process and campus culture that supports students so that retention is a by-product of University actions.
Retention is the responsibility of each staff member. By understanding the dynamics of the student population, we could better address issues and improve retention.
I have learned that stuent retention is not just about keeping a student but creating a school culture of respect. The students also need to know where they can go for support.
I learned that it takes everyone on campus to support students and in turn help retention rates. Students are driven by human nature and often times don't come to staff with the problem proactively, but rather reactively when they are already in crisis mode. It is our responsibilitiy to be observant and present to best help prevent crisis like situations from occurring or being in the right place, right time to overcome the obstacle early on.
I have learned several ways to help retain students and better ways to assist students.
The importance of monitoring student expectations and satisfaction. Emphassis on all student services necessary as ameasure of these two key elements.
Stident Rentention is everybody's business on campus.
The systems set up to identify 'at risk student', bored student versus the over-achiever is composed of the attention that is given to Attrition and an intention goal when grasping for students not to leave the educatonal institution.
I have learned that retention has different definitions for different parts of the school and what makes it important for financial aid, or teachers, etc.
All the staff and instructors play a role in retention
A lot of the elements from this retention module are situations and observations I have made over many years of working with college students. No surprises but I truly appreciated the well thought out and well written introduction to these concepts.
I learned that retention is a campus-wide effort. And while students sign up to be successful, that may not always be the case. It is important to create an individualized experience for each student in order to build rapport, so they are comfortable discussing issues while they are manageable.
The importance of regular progress tracking and student communication to identify issues early.
I think that the information that I have learned will help me look at our retention statistics and surveys critically think about what changes to implement.
I learned that retention is a complex issue for a campus and requires consistency from every department in how students reflect their experience with an institution. I learned that gimmicks and activities don't matter if students do not truly feel that we are here to help and support them.
Retention is everyones responsibility and we must take into account the student needs overall. We must be accessible to students and create systems and resources that help students navigagte their college experience from admission to graduation.
I've found adult learners want to know "why" they are taking my class. The class is called College and Career Readiness, so quite a few students start with a negative opinion of the course. The majority end up appreciating the class, so I have to figure out other ways to describe the course and why it's important.
If the student does not feel they are capable of passing, a suggestion from the instructor would be to drop the course and pick it back up next term Keeping students informed of their grades and meeting each student right where they are helps in retaining the students and helps you continue to be engaged with the students. It is significant to know the needs of your students so you can help them be successful in their academic career and prepare them for success.
Retention is everyone's responsibility. We all need to come together to help ensure students feel supported all the way to graduation
Retention is everyone's responsibility. Attrition can be curtailed with analysis and discussion with the student body.
