I feel like we have to be mentors as well as shoulders to cry on sometimes. I enjoy getting to know my students as well as letting them get to know me.  They need to see that we are human too!  Sometimes they have obstacles that get in the way of life and their gettting to school.  We can sympathize with them because we have been there and done that.  It is very important for them to have all the moral support they can get.  We encourage study partners and exchanging of phone numbers from day one!

A student comes and says "I'm having a problem." We discuss it and solutions. The students selects the solution s/he decides the best, but never takes any steps toward action. Do you have suggestions on how to address this? It usually happens in gen ed classes, not core classes.

I think it is important to demonstrate empathy with all students no matter their situation.  Stress is subjective and many of us, as instructors can forget that not everyone has a strong sense of self worth.  Many times we get in the mind-set of "That's not THAT big of a deal."  or think "I've seen students conquer way more than that without stressing out."  But EVERY individual is different - with different support systems- different coping mechanisms- some are much stronger than others- Some have NEVER had anyone believe they can succeed therefore they are quick to give up on themselves.  Sometimes all… >>>

This course shows that while we may not think of retention as part of "our job" it really is everybody's job. Without students we would not be working. It is really more than a job those of us who work in education need to have a love for what we do. It gives me great joy to see students succeed. Many come with huge obstacles and with each step, each success we can see them transform. It is easy for educators to get bogged down with the day to day challenges this course was a good reminder of what is… >>>

This forum really made an impact on me as an Instructor... sometimes, it is easy for me to forget why I am here and forget the wonderful feelings I had when I first became an Instructor. Going through each section made me realize I need to get back to basics and connect with each and every student, each and every day. The students look to us for encouragement, insight, and wisdom, and it is our job as an educator, to be there for them. Knowing where our students came from and where they want to be int heir chosen career will… >>>

Its funny, I never thought my time in the industry working with customers would point me in the direction of instructor. Much of what I did in my industry was sale myself. Sometimes I was successful sometimes not. If I had confidence in the product I could sell it better. Having the same course material over and being the one delivering it, I am the product and salesman so to speak. So finding the value in the content I create and deliver, is not hard to find, and I can sell that idea and value to the student/customer.

Although I despise being trained by a computer, I enjoyed the content. Retention is a large part of my daily job responsiibilities and office function. I work in Student Services in a career college of over a 1,000 students. Although we may have a retention plan as well as a committee to discuss our current trends and how to improve, the forums provided me with additional ideas from other colleagues and what their thoughts are about improving retention.

This course provided me with a lot of insight.  At my school, instructors aren't really held responsible for retention nearly as much as the Student Services Coordinator.  It helps to see that it's the responsibility of the entire school and not just one person in order to keep students happily enrolled.  It also reinforced some of the ideas I already had such as instructor/student services communication, more activities in order to build a sense of community and better communication (newsletters, etc).  I also found it helpful to go to the forums and see that many others face the same struggles… >>>

I feel that this session helped me to see what I was doing right and not so right and to see other things that I can do as an instructor to assist students with issues. I know that I have felt responsible for students who have dropped courses due to issues outside of what I can control. I know now that I can redirect the student to the appropriate resources. I also fell that by doing so, I am acting in the best interest of the student and not failing in my role.

We sometimes lose sight of student problems with our own but this course helps with figuring out your problems and show insight with connecting with your students that we all have hurdles to over come and we can support and help with issues at hand

Retention starts at the admissions process. If you fit the student in the best program for the level of life experience and education they possess they will be less likely to drop.

This course on Best Practices to Enhance Student Retention was very informative. I've read and studied these areas before but it is always good to refresh what works. A few new ideas were presented that I will put in place immediately and once I am finished writing up my view points from this course I will be sharing it with the rest of the employees.

This module was very helpful in defining emotional intellegence and intelligent hearts. I also appreciated how it identifies how each of us make an  impact on student retention. I printed several pages from this module to inservice my instructors and encorporate activities to assist our students to set goals to overcome any HABEs they may bring with them.

Retention is a part of any successful business today and starts from the very beginning. As educators we have the responsibility of teaching course material and life lessons but also having a passion for what we are doing and that will include caring for students. If we believe in the core values for UTI retention is not something we have to work very hard at.

I always have a breakdown of the events of the day with my class,at the end of the day we talk about the good the bad and the ugly. Good being things they did very well and how that would relate to the industry. Bad would be a time when the students are allowed to explain any mistakes that they may have made while performing the tasks that were taught, I explain that we can't possibly make all the mistakes by ourselves so if we can learn from other peoples mistakes so that we don't make them we all win,… >>>

I often share my work experiences with the class so they can see the relevance of what we are learning.  I try to learn what interests the students about their particular careeer choice and incorporate it in the lesson. 

The information in this module was very helpful.  I had not been provided this type of information before.  Knowing the cause of the stressors and how they can effect a students motivation will allow me to be more supportive.  It would also be useful to have a list of resources for students such as a peer-to-peer group for students with similar issues to talk about them, support each other and help each other to develop solutions. 

Retention starts the first day the student walks through your classroom door! I always try to be there the first day and every day to meet and greet with the student when they first walk in. this makes them feel more at home and seems to comfort them so that they can talk to you, should they have any questions or concerns.

I have just started RT101 and realized that it would be beneficial to have a discussion group forum during the course and not reserved for comments after completion.  I think the interaction would create more engaging opportunities for participants. The sames rules for retention could be applied to faculty who are seeking continuing ed credits.

It's great for the faculty to share ideas regarding what they have used in the past to make the students experience much better in regards to the school and the instructor. I use this frequently.

Thank you!