David--
That sounds like a fun as well as useful situation. Another participant indicated their institution had students write themselves a letter about their fears, obstacles, etc. in their first class--then gave it back to them at graduation. That sounded like a great idea as well.
Susan
with a technical school, the students are usually there for the same passion, so the interactions we provide relate to what they're going to be doing on a daily basis. Other ideas involve sharing their experiences in the field prior to coming to school.
As a instuctor what I would like admission to collect from students would be a list of-hobbies-any previous experiences that has anything in common with coures they have chosen. What they plan to do after graduation What there goals and expectations are. I would like to know why they chose a paticular field to go in.
Bruce--
These are all great questions! Perhaps that could be part of an admissions 'essay' the student competes. Some previous posts here include collecting this type of information either in orientation or the first day.
Susan
In our online environment, faculty do not interact with students during the orientation process. This type of interaction does take place, however, once the student becomes enrolled & active in the virtual classroom.
While I am not directly involved with the Admissions Department, I do receive some information that I revise (format) to assist me with the students in my classes.
The student roster contains the student's state of residence & time zone information which I use when assigning students to Groups. I try to setup groups with members from the same time zone in order to avoid scheduling conflicts when they hold Group Live Chat meetings during the week of their Group Project.
While the Admissions Dept. no doubt collects some background information on students, they do not share it with the faculty. To circumvent the lack of sharing such information, I setup a Cyber Cafe thread on the Main Class Discussion Board so they students can voluntarily share as much or as little information about themselves (program of study, job experience, etc.) with their fellow classmates.
I have on occasion used this information to ensure at least 1 student in each Group has some programming or networking experience. I have found this to be very beneficial to all of the Group members when they have a leader with experience in thier Group.
We do not directly receive information from admissions dept. on our students,but as an instuctor I make it a point to listen to students in order to become aware of some of the challanges that they are facing which allows me to adjust my interactions with them and ultimately try to help them stay focused and keep on the right path.
Karl--
Good for you! It is often what students say 'in between the lines' that give you a great deal of insight.
Susan
Matthew, orientation is something that I want to be a part of even more so than the graduation exercise. Maybe every instructor cannot be at every orientation (if there are multiple sessions during the year in which they are conducted), but representative from the disciplines of course should be on board. Students remember instructors from the orientation and that is a “prize” for the instructor ad student as they begin a course with a shared experience.
Our students come form all around the US. Having them associate themselves with their home state brings a sense of pride to them, and helps to associate with other students, many whome are alone for the first time in their lives.
Michael--
That is very cool! It makes the students proud of where they are from, but builds community in their new environment.
Susan
We try to see what their dream is and talk about their short and long term goals.
We try to use the first week of class time to really get to know the students outside of class. This gives us a great insight to things that might casue them potential trouble like not having a job, being a single parent, ect.
Admissions does not sync information to the faculty but depending on the student, Admissions may relate specific information to Student Services and/or the ADA/504 Coordinator if a student self-identifies with having a disability. Right to Privacy Act may infringe upon the information related from one department to the other.
How would FERPA laws play into this support system? We as instructors cannot pass out personal information by law. I think this is a gread idea. Usually, by the time I get students, they have already connected with the ones they will connect with outside of class.
Ginny--
FERPA refers to very specific information that should only be shared with permission and/or a 'need to know' basis. The information we are referring to here is information that students share with other staff members that may help point to barriers to completion (e.g. transportation, child care, etc.) These are sometimes asked during the admissions interview.
Susan
Instructors would need information should as email, phone numbers to contact students in regards to classroom work and to keep in contact in regards to any issues they might come across
It is not good to share student information with another instructor except in specife cases. We all react to each other differently.
In most cases it is not good to share student information with another instructor as people we all respound to people different and people react to us differently.
We have the students write down why they have chosen to go back to school, as well as, what they want their life to look like when they are graduating from school. At the end of the general orientation to rules of the road, have the students break into their class group with their respective instructor so that they can begin to get to know each other before the official first day of class.I find that works very well.
Hank
Hank--
This is a great idea! Having students commit to paper their goals and motivations helps them to better understand why they are there.
Susan
students' background diversity.
