The following is what I believe is the most important part of this session so far: "In analyzing over 20 years of research, Tinto repeatedly found one factor to be the single most important predictor of student retention: the frequency and quality of interactions between students and staff. This was a strong predictor of student retention, even after taking account of variables such as personality, background, and academic performance."
In my past life as a supervisor, manager and trainer in the mfg. business field, it is one on one relationships that students seem to respond to the best when training them on new things. If a student is having a good time, an enjoyable time, an eye opening experience time during your lecture, lab or demonstration then that student will bond with the instructor, institution and the program. They will return time and time again to gain more knowledge. In addition, they will probably tell 2 other potential students who then tell 2 other potential students and so on. It is then the cycle of "word of mouth" advertising begins. In all cases this takes time and must be ingrained into culture of the school and program.
