I'm not so sure everyone in the career college environment wants to be "involved" in the college experience. Many have already done that in traditional college - the parties, clubs, activities, camaraderie... Some just want to get in, get the degree and move on. That can sometimes hinder the retention activities listed.

We have a student currently who is in danger of failing out of an externship. The "survey" process of getting to the bottom of the situation is very helpful. The "8-step" process just puts it all into perspective.

I feel it's important to try and identify with the student's stressors. Or at least be able to refer them to a resource to help decipher what issues they may be experiencing. Sometimes it just helps them to know you experienced similar feelings when you were a student.

I find that many students who aren't sure of a career path are admitted to institutions and the responsibility of the faculty is then to help mold them into the chosen career path and thus "retain them" for the sake of numbers. I find this somewhat morally wrong to keep someone in the "wrong" profession and try and push them through. I feel there should be a strong assessment of students before they are admitted so they can be successful in a path they know is the right one from the start.

I thought it was interesting reading Many students have reported that it's easier to confide in a computer than to talk to someone they don't know well. Consequently, some schools are using a web-based retention intervention system that provides students with a confidential, non-confrontational, non-judgmental way to contact school personnel about what is going on in their lives. This system has been effective in demonstrating the school's commitment to student success and making it easier for students to connect with school services without "confronting a stranger." The problem I have with this statement from researched articles we discover individuals are actually taking fewer surveys. Also, I have a vast number of students who perceive that our university’s surveys are not anonymous. Does anyone else have this same problem/conflict with surveys from our students?

I really enjoyed reading poor service can send the same message. Professors who believe students can't or shouldn't make it through academically are just re-enforcing the lack of School Commitment. If ECPI shows a strong commitment to students, this will cause the students to question the accuracy of his/her perception that he/she is not influential and will like be retained

I particularly enjoyed learning that, "Student expectations are set by the school's marketing materials and admissions practices" (CEE: RT101: Improving Retention through Timely Intervention, 2014). I've always thought this; however, reading it, validates my original assumption.

We have a policy of calling every student if they miss a day of class. This builds a lot of relationship between student and the institution.

In a for-profit education environment it is sometimes hazy who the customer is; is it the student, the hiring industry, or business shareholder. Can be discouraging for faculty.

We pair up the "older" students with the "new" students in lab to help better integrate the new students with classroom flow, where to find equipment, etc. and it works wonderfully.

We do a faculty intro in our department orientation in which each instructor introduces themselves and tells the new students a little about their qualifications, education, and hobbies.

I agree that late registration students deserve the same quality of orientation as the students that were able to make it in for the formal orientation.

I really like the orientation program suggestions provided in this course. Especially liked that they made light of the fact that orientation should be fun but not 'corny'!

We had a few this last enrollment and they have been the ones to drop from classes. They struggle with starting late. We have some work to do to get them to complete

We have our faculty mentor the students that are struggling in classes. The ones with lower attendance and grades get paired up and spend 10 weeks supporting their experience.

We have our students write themselves a letter in the future. Something to give them on their last day of class to remind them what they want to do in their future and remind them of where they've been.

This can be good & bad!

The best support/resource for students is each other

Making students comfortable is key

I assign "Study Partners" on day one as a project grade. The students email me names, #s, and email addresses of their new support system. This helps!