My initial reaction to any kind of overload would be divide the information up into more managable pieces. Along with dividing it up, categorize it and prioritize it based on previous student needs. In an effort to minimize the overload, I would stick to an outline approach instead of miniscule details.
For example, start off with student services and what they can do relative to helping with scheduling. If a student goes to a class and is not on the roster, presumably is in the wrong class, where does he need to go to resolve the question of what class is he really scheduled to be in. If a student knows help lies in the student services department, there are receptionists there to guide them to the correct person. No need to burden them with trying to remember the name of who does what. If they make it to the desk, we can help from there.
Then perhaps talk about financial aid. Once again, FA has internal departments, but there is no downside to allowing those to be invisible to the student during the orientation process. Once again, give the student the information that any finance related question can be answered through the FA department. Once he gets there, they will put him in touch with the specialist for the area he has concerns in.
I base my observations on my own experiences that I had as I came to work here as a new employee. Give me an over view of the departments, which is not extensive, and a general idea of what each department's services can provide for me. Then I have some direction to go to seek help for whatever is bothering me.
By utilizing the observations and experience of instructors, they can help identify student needs then offer suggestions as to who and where they can go to get assistance through the resources the school provides for them. This becomes more of an as needed basis for distribution of information. It can also assist the student by having a single point of contact to ask where he might need to go to get further help on any given topic. In many cases, the students feel more comfortable asking instructors questions because of the rapport established during the time they are together in a class room environement. Suffice to say they have more one on one contact on a daily basis with an instructor than they do the various aids and administrators on campus.
This is a common topic of discussion at our school among instructors.
We do a survey every 3 weeks and a good portion of the survey has to do with how the student feels and if their needs and expectations were met by the class he just completed.
From an instructors stand point, the survey could not be directed towards a less qualified group than the students that completed the course. Unless a student has worked in the environement we are training them for, they have no concrete experience to compare the class they just completed to the real world.
The instructors do have real world experience and base the curriculum in the course on that real world experience. The intent is to prepare them for what they are going to experience after they graduate and secure a job in the industry. Sometimes, the real world is not what the student had hoped or dreamed for, therefore his expectations failed to be met. One classic example of this is that a lot of the students had no idea how involved or complicated it is to be a working professional in this industry and when they are exposed to that in a simulated work place environment, suddenly it isn't as much fun as they were expecting. Expectations were not met.
Does this mean that at some point during the recruitment/enrollment process the ball is being dropped by not introducing a fair representation of what the real world is after graduation? Maybe. Is there trepidation that by painting a real world scenario too many potential students would be turned off and chose to go elsewhere or chose a different profession? Possibly.
I am not the most qualified to answer those questions either. :) It is frustrating to be evaluated by a group that has little basis for making those evaluations.
There has been some good information and feedback that has come out of the surveys, but asking students to compare what they just experienced to anything relating to what it is going to be like after they graduate is gemerally of little value.
Overall Student retention is the responsibility of the Program Director and the Instrutors. The process by which this happens tend to be differnt for ech depatrment, however my views is that if you work in the best intrest of the student then everything else will fall into its place.
We check with new students on a daily basis to see how they are adjusting. Every student is scheduled advisement every 3 weeks to keep the students on track and interested in their program.
Tammy , how and/or why are retention efforts different for each department? Doesn't it make sense to have a uniform set of procedures?
Debi, what do you mean by check with students daily? Is someone assigned responsibility to talk to each student? Sounds like a big job.
We administer Student Satisfaction Surveys to each student every term. The results are compiled and analyzed to see in what areas we have met student expectations and in what areas we need to improve. Program Directors and the Director of Student Services follow up with individual students who have indicated in the survey they would like to meet to discuss issues or concerns they have. The comments are reported/written in CampusVue. These can be accessed by Administration and follow-up is done.
Delia, how often do students ask to meet with the Program Director and/or Director of Student Services? If the issue is so pressing, why wouldn't they request a meeting through another means?
As far as I'm aware, surveys and student organizations are the only means used to solicit that data.
Mid term counseling. Available tutoring times. Exit interviews. Referrals.
Erica, does that give you enough information to continuously improve what you do? If not, any thoughts on how to get that type of feedback?
Cathy, which of these practices are most effective/useful for you?
I meet with the students and discuss with them their situation. We see what is yhe best way to fix it so they can come back to school and stay in school.
I feel that we state the objective and work with the students to reach the common goal. I like to get feedback from my students to make sure I am giving them information and or providing examples that they need so they know what to expect. I want everyone to be succesful in the field, And with my knowledge and expertise I hope that I can challenge them and set them apart from the rest of the competition.
This starts from the 1st time that students have interaction with a school rep. The admissions staff works with the instructors to make sure what they are telling perspective students is what they will be seeing and doing in classes. As instructors we do our best to make sure that the standards we set are being followed on a daily basis in class. Student surveys at the end of each term are reviewed and evaluated to improve teaching techniques and constant growth. The process gives a set of checks and balances to make sure we are doing the best job as a campus we can to balance the expectations of the students and the requirements of state standards.
Ours starts with educating the admissions representatives with valuable information about each program that we offer so that they will be able to help the students make a wise decision on their career choice. Then the student gets to meet with the program chair for any further elaboration on their career choice. Our instructors also provide tutoring time for any student that needs extra help understanding the material.
I teach the clinical portion of my department and on a daily basis before and after clinic I ask the students if they have any questions about what they are doing for the day. And also at the end of the day if any questions about what was done throughout the clincal day. And I also ask if they felt they benefited from the days activities. The feedback I get on the technique is positive.
I teach the clinical portion of my department and on a daily basis before and after clinic I meet with the students and ask if they have any questions about what they are doing for the day. And also at the end of the day if there are any questions about what was done throughout the clincal day. And I also ask if they felt they benefited from the days activities.
I am happy to say that my institution does an excellent job at making sure the initial expectations outlined by the Admissions are met by all other departments, with Academics being at the forefront. Solid customer service and the commitment to such, is a mantra that is constantly preached by our upper management.
Bob,
I also found the issue of overwhelming students during orientation to be spot on. I've worked at other institutions that made the experience "painful" for lack of a better term. My current institution makes it light and entertaining at the onset, with break downs segregated by programs for more in depth overviews that are essentially tailored for that particular group.
We have recently started to ask faculty to become more involved with warm connections. We are trying to show students that we care and are available to help them succeed.
