Improving Outcomes
Every staff and faculty member has a responsibility to help students succeed. What are some of your thoughts on how to improve student outcomes?
I think it is a part of every staff and faculty member's role to help students succeed. It entails having an understanding it's not simply what goes on in the classroom or what goes on outside of the classroom, but all of this together to support students toward successful outcomes. Staff should find ways to understand the context of the classroom and educational experience to help support student involvement in this process. Faculty should understand the importance of providing exceptional student services to encourage student support through the educational process. Working hand-in-hand in this way builds a culture of support for student that helps lead to successful outcomes and experiences.
Tony,
Hi! We all know that we are judged on our outcomes. You are correct that it takes everyone to achieve acceptable outcomes. Many times we think that if we work harder and have more staff we can effect the outcomes in a positive way and it is a more intricate system that is interwoven into the fabric of a school's mission and value system. The most common complaint in career services is that the students are not cooperative, this is affected from the moment they enter the school. If they are provided with a solid education and customer service that indicates they are valued they will be more cooperative. if this does not occur from the onset then you run the risk of having students who fail to cooperate or are unresponsive because their expectations are low.
Cindy Bryant
Every staff and faculty member has a responsibility to help students succeeed by providing full disclosures and honesty. This will help student's feel that they are in a positive trustworthy environment and will help them be more successful.
Toni,
Hi! We have to remember that the Students success is our success. If students understand the program they are enrolling in and receive a quality education they will remain in school which will improve outcomes naturally.
Cindy Bryant
This is very important because staff should always put their students frist. If a student needs your support you should let them know they have your support. Always encourage your students to keep up their hard work it always pay off in the long run
The support to our students and involvement with our students is the key to improve the outcome. Providing the education that they are paying for and going beyond to servicing the student should improve student attitude and make their experience more positive.
Nestor,
Hi! At the end of the day it comes down to customer service and delivering what was promised.
Cindy Bryant
Make sure there is transparancy and full disclosure to build trust while also giving the prospective student a clear idea of the challenges ahead of him/her, as well as reasonable support available to help meet those challanges.
To improve student outcomes, I think it's important to make sure that students have at least a tentative career plan. This will enable our placement people to get our new graduates started in the right direction to actually end up with the career and job that will give them the life they want. Peoples' goals and desires do change over time so these plans would need to be flexible.
Edward,
Hi! What a great idea-having students build a career plan. This type of plan allows them to map out the necessary steps to be successful. Seeing the steps on paper would give the student an overview and allow the It could be along the same lines of a professional development plan.
Cindy Bryant
You have to be in tune with your students, I look over my students face all the way down to their toes every morning as I take roll. When I can see something is not right, I will observe the student closer as I lecture or walk around the class. At break time I will ask to speak with the student and ask them is everything OK ? That is usually when they break down and tell me how awful their morning was or whatever situation they are struggling with. If I learned anything about teaching is you have to be a good listener . Once the student gets what they need off their chest I find that the classroom atmosphere has less tension and the student at least knows someone cares.
Lucila,
Your approach is that of a master teacher. Understanding that your students are going to experience bad days is important.
Cindy Bryant
Maintain good communication with students, build their trust. When you see a student who is not doing well discuss what the issues might be. Offer help to the student.
Melody,
A great method to improve outcomes is to have a procedure in place to share information about students who are in jeopardy of dropping out or failure. This is an easy process to put in place. It can be as simple as creating a form with the students information and a brief summary of their situation. This form can be turned into the DOE or Student Services for intervention.
Cindy Bryant
Find out about their expectation.
Listening to the students needs.
Provide realistic solutions based on obtained information
I believe that if we want to improve student outcomes and help the student succeed, then we need to talk to the student. Find out what the student needs to be successful, whether it be a tutor, a computer to use after class, or extra time with the instuctor then we should try our best to provide that student with their needs.
I do not have a background in instructing students, but as a student I can remember the instructors who took the extra time before and after class to help you with the subject. Instructors can tell when a student looks confused during class and that instructor should ask the student if they need help. On Fridays, we do not have class and that is time set aside for students to speak with their instructors for help.
Josh,
Improving outcomes begin with a long-term focus on a few selected outcomes and the educational activities needed to improve them. Which goals and strategies are worth pursuing for the first year to five years that are needed to make large, visible improvements? Here are a few candidates: skills of inquiry and research; the ability to apply learning more successfully in the real world; skills of working in teams, communities, and organizations; international and intercultural understanding; skills of designing, composing, and creative work. These outcomes can be relevant in almost any field. Other, equally valid goals are specific to particular fields or types of students. If a program succeeds in dramatically improving even one such outcome, the rewards of enrollment and financial support could be great.
Cindy Bryant
Danielle,
Communicating with the students is critical to improving outcomes. We must always remember who our consumers are if we do not pay attention to them-we lose them.
Cindy Bryant
