I have no idea honestly, the only info that I am aware that I can access is their age, the day they entered and taht is all that I have been able to access. This would be intersting to look into and find out more information on.
One piece of information could be previous experience in their field - nursing students who do not have previous experience often feel isolated, and at a disadvantage. It would be nice if these students could be informed of the other students in their group who also do not have prior experience - this would help them feel less alone!
I agree Felicia - I think that the Admissions Reps gets information that would be good for faculty to know. For example: a student may be the first one in their family to try to get a degree, and may not have much support at home as a result. Or, they may have been unsuccessful at another school, and are trying to maintain a positive attitude this time around. How could that information be passed on to faculty? What about this....instead of giving faculty just a list of names at the start of class, how about also giving them a little "report" on each student - any prior experience in school or the field they're seeking a degree in, how much support they have at home, how much they have to work, what home responsibilities they are dealing with, etc. - of course, FERPA guidelines would have to be followed, but it would be nice for all faculty to know this information about their students, so they can tailor their mentoring.
Robert--
Absolutely true. Using this inforamtion appropriately to coach, mentor, motivate is very helpful.
Susan
It is traditional to collect data regarding the past and current situations for student documentation; why not ask some future based questions? What will you be doing in five years? What hobbies will you take-up when you have the time or money? A focus on their future may create a new level of personal interaction.
We also use assement on student goals and Ex pectations etc.
Charlie--
I like that idea! Asking them the future-related questions gets them focused on their goal.
Susan
It is unfortuneate that very little personal information about the student is available to the instructor. When asked, the response from middle management is "right to privacy." However, when the instructor passes out a questionaire that inquires about the student's goals and experience they are usually well-received and honest.
I do not work in admissions. I know that they collect information on individual students learning styles.
One example of information collected in admissions that faculty could utilize to personalize interactions with studentsat orientation is:
A. Become acquainted with the cultural nuances that are present in various parts of the country as well as cities in California in order to relate to the students.
To be honest, I am not 100% sure what our admissions team asks incoming students, but after this module it has actually prompted me to seek out the information they acquire that may help me be a better instructor.
As for as in class goes, I try to give them a small glimpse of who I am as an individual and that not too long ago, I was sitting where they were...with much fear and trembling. This has helped relax at least some of the students in the class and allowed them to participate more freely.
Steve--
That's a wonderful idea and certainly the million dollar challenge. There are significant culture differences that make a huge difference in how we interact.
Susan
Being a faculty member Im not sure what personal information is collected in admissions but once in the classroom I ask students what career path are they interested in. Im sure that admissions has them fill out a personal information sheet but I do not know what type of questions are on it.
Because of privacy issues, there is not a lot of shared information from admissions. The staff is introduced at orientation and the students are toured during the first day so there is quite a bit of interaction with them. The new students will always ask questions and dialogue gets started that way. All of the departments are very involved up front and throughout the students stay at our school.
You could use their e mail address to contact them if they miss class.
For the most part, I would rather gather personal information from students myself. Asking the questions and spending a few minutes with the students provides the students with a sense that I care. One piece of information that I do appreciate getting from Admissions is if the student is nervous about taking classes so I can work on putting the student at ease.
Well, just general notes from the conversations we have from them. This way, when they start showing signs of backing out or if we can tell they need motivation, the initial Admissions Rep already noted their hot buttons which maybe a Financial Rep can touch upon to remind them of why they need this career change, or whatever their situation is.
This is a great example of teamwork and good inter-communication between departments.
During the student's first visit to our campus, faculty members stop to talk to them about the academic life here. We also do this during Orientation and the Admissions reps identify learning challenges that are passed on to faculty.
By getting information about student’s city or country of origin and prior work experience, we can personalize our initial interactions with students at orientation.
