First Week and Late Enrollments | Origin: RT102
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Orientation and First Week Activities to Increase Retention --> First Week and Late Enrollments
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
The first week is a very important time! It can be very effective to reach out to students with a friendly "How's it going"?
The first days of class are important. This is the time to interest your students and grab their attention. Make class expectations clear, make the content clear and fun as well. Express to them the importance of a supportive classroom environment and encourage them to move forward by making the class fun and interactive. Some students will come to orientation and even the first day of classes but sometimes won't return after that, so make the time that you have with them count. They might come back at a later date when they're ready.
It is important to build a strong orientation process overall, but it is great to have that especially for late adds as well. Things don't always go as planned, so having an opportunity to catch students up is very important to their experience as well. Having a buddy system with one of their classmates can be a helpful tool to keep them up to date with what is happening, also meeting with them one on one can alleviated any questions or concerns they might have had, especially being a late add. Providing the best customer service is so important in every aspect of the student and orientation experience.
It's important to give late enrollments as good a welcome experience as the rest of their cohort!
What have I learned from this module?
- The first week is very important
- Late orientation may be higher at risk students and more likely to drop
How do I intend to apply it?
- Focus on making the student comfortable during the first week by following up with them and helping them feel comfortable in school/class/new environment
- Provide extra time to late orientation students because they may feel behind from the start.
The first week is the paramount time to set and uphold expectations. Additionally, pairing late enrollment students with a classmate for a buddy support system can alleviate some stress and confusion.
Continue to reinforce topics covered in orientation during the first week.
The first week of activities allows for more student bonding and the reinforcement of information that is important to the students' success. Faculty play a key roll in first-day, first impressions of how academics are going to be. Faculty can plan activities in class so students can get to know their classmates.
Make sure to call attendance right away and create a enviroment where the students within the classroom tha fosters grwoth adn support.
It is important to keep your students engaged. Some ways to improve your classroom is to set standards/expectations on the first day and be consistent. Pair up your students with an older student as a buddy system to help them gain their barings better/ have a mentor. Keep an eye out for late students/ poor quality assignments. these need to be addressed asap in order to help benefit the student and to try to set them on the course for success.
Staying engaged with the students, being nonjudgmental and having a open door policy conveyed in first week or last enrollment is key to help the students succeed.
It is important to reinforce the things we talk about and show support on the students' first week of school to help reassute them that they made the right choice. It's also important to place special attention to students that missed orientation or had late orientation as they can be at risk.
I know an area of improvement for me is not developing a preduice against students that miss the first day or two, but I will work on it.
The more you build the a report with the students the better their experience will be
Great strategies mentioned to better support late enrollment students
Practice empathy and relate to students while maintaining a safe, interacive learning environment. Always follow-up with late orientation and/or enrollments to ensure success of program, college or individual student.
The importance of instructors with late enrollees. "It is extremely important that instructors make the student feel welcome and not overwhelmed, while still providing realistic expectations. Students who start classes late are already at risk. Making them feel unduly overwhelmed or excluded will be sure to drive them out the door early."
To be there and be present
Students who enroll late should be paired with a senior student to guide them as a mentor. This ensures that they have the time needed to assimilate without causing the instructor to hold up class for the rest of the new students.
