Student Retention
Student retention, can refer to holding the students' attention and interest during each class, as well as keeping students' in the class physically. Does not retaining students' attention and interest have a lot to do with the success of keeping students in the course and program? I would argue that it does. Course ED 102 leads me to believe that retention goes beyound a single day, and extends throughout each week during the course, each course and even the program . Would anyone disagree?
Clifton
Clifton,
Retention is an ongoing process of keeping students engaged in the learning process. Many student retention programs focus on the orientation phase of the program and forget to help students as they progress through their program and cope with the trials of life and outside pressures. This is what student retention should be about.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I cannot disagree. Retention is what we are focusing on every day in class. Whether or not we are greeting students when they arrive, talking to students as adults, or asking students for feedback, we are directly impacting our student retention.
Benjamin,
Good point and something we need to remember as we move about our campuses and communities and interact with students. Each contact point is a part of the retention process either positively or negatively.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Student retention can be summed up in a few words, (a strong faculty). Student retention and enrollments are alway good when the instructors and well versed in the subjects they teach.
Rudy,
Good point and one we need to remember as we prepare for our classes.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Course ED 102 leads me to believe that retention goes beyound a single day, and extends throughout each week during the course, each course and even the program . Would anyone disagree?
Maryna,
You have picked up a very good point. Retention is a constant effort that starts the first day and runs through the entire career of a student. We have to keep providing support if we are going to retain those students that are on the bubble of leaving us at any given time.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This subject is a big deal. If we cannot keep our students in class then some instructors will lose their positions. More important than that is that we have somehow failed the student. They quit our program for a reason. It may be that live struggles got in the way or something else. I try to keep in communication with them on a daily basis and that keeps me informed if they have an issue that will keep them out of class.
Regards
James
James,
Good point about retention. If they aren't there they aren't making progress toward their career goals. The more we can support them the more they will be able to see the value of the end results.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Of all the subjects that are discussed at our faculty meetings, 'Student Retention' is the only subject that is stressed constantly. The main reason is obvious. 'No Students, No Job, No Money,No Food, No Bills Paid,Homeless.'
Students must therefore be retained throughout each week during the course, each course and even throughout the program. I do not think that anyone would disagree with this statement. We as instructors must make every effort to ensure that our classes are interesting enough to motivate students to come to class everyday. As a clinical instructor, I divide my classes into two components: theory and clinical practice. After explaining the importance of a procedure during the first part of the lesson,I demonstrate the procedure and let the students perform it during the second part of the lesson. I try to keep my lessons interesting in order to retain my students.
HAROLD,
You have a good solid instructional plan that you are following to help your students be successful. You are right about the student retention component and it is an essential part of what we do in our colleges. We need to make our students aware that we are there to instruct and support them and in return they have to put forth the effort and energy to be successful.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Daily we need to show our students the value of the classes we are teaching. The students must see the value in the programs they are attending or they will stop attending. I think that a lot of "life's problems" we hear about when a student drops, are often excuses they have come up with to justify to themselfes why they are quitting. I they see the value, they won't let any of these issues stop them from completing.
Jeff,
If they an take an ROI away each time the class meets then we will have done our job.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
