Get Your Students Hired
There is always room for improvement. Admissions counselors need to understand that the more time spent with prospective students, the more likely they are to succeed. Many times, they try to hasten the process and this can lead to students' dissatisfaction with the program; they feel that they were not well-informed.
You got the right idea. The key is to share information as a team. That way, prospective students get the same story.
Dr. B
I think we can always improve in ways to qualify prospective students; however you will always be comprimised by the fact that in many admissions circles the rule of the day is solely based on numbers, regardless of what anyone says.
I think that the idea of a test is great and I believe that implementation of this and sharing that information with prospects would most certainly be effective.
I also believe that a type of admissions abstract should be designed to help identify to the institution the type of students they are getting and if they are on target with their goals.
I do feel that our admission processes could be improved to increase student retention. I feel that we have a couple of areas that we could improve on. One would be our flip chart of information about the school and just improving and updating that as well as incorporating that into the interview a little bit easier or smoother. The other aspect would be to have the student spend more time meeting others on campus.I also feel that it would be great for students to meet with career services when they come in for their initial interview to find out more about job opportunities. When students have better ideas about final outcomes I think they are more apt to not only enroll but to complete their degree program.
This is the reason that all departments need to be involved with students from day one. Things happen... However, if retention is important to all staff and admin, retention improves.
Dr. B
Our current admissions process is good but just like any other process it could use some revisions. Our advisors do a great job of informing students about local, regional and national job opportunities for my specific program. The one area I think that needs the most improvement is consistency between admission representatives. We have a checklist and as long as the checklist is completed, it is assumed that everyone is doing everything the same. What about what they say and how they say it? I have come across several students in my eight years of higher education who make comments like, “that’s not what my admissions rep told me” or “no one told me I couldn’t get hired in XYZ field if I had a felony.” I do not think it is the process that is failing; it is the individual representative who misinforms and misguides a student, which then causes the student to give up and leave once they find out the truth (usually mentioned by a professor in the first or second class period). How can something like that be fixed? Supervisors can monitor phone calls, follow advisors around or sit in on interviews all they want, but they can never catch everything. One of the things I request of all admissions advisors is to bring the students by my office as they are giving the tour. I put the student through a mini interview and ask them what they want to do, where they want to work, etc and try to fill them in on what to expect. The advisors are not usually persons who are experienced in the field they are selling…I am, and have no problem telling potential students what it will really be like. My intent is to make sure they are prepared for college and the career, not to scare them away.
I also think the U.S. DOE has shown everyone what the problem is in for-profit higher education admissions processes and they will fix it one way or another.
Yes, there are a few things that the admissions representatives don't explain very well. It leads to complaints later on, in the classroom.I have been communicating with an admissions director to help him tune up his reps.
To be candid, I know very little about our admissions process. What I do know, I have learned second hand through the students or observed in the students who've been admitted. It appears to me that a checklist or survey like the one described in your course would be an excellent instrument to gauge interest and aptitude. Prospective students are given a tour of the campus but seldom given access to instructors or students. I think perhaps, that's a missed opportunity.
The institution I work for serves mid-career vadults, and all of its programs are online. Admissions are nonselective, and my concern is that too many individuals enroll without realizing the time and emotional commitment needed to succeed in an accelerated (5-1/2 week) environment).
We follow an interview process when enrolling students which really helps us get to know our students first on the phone, and then more in-depth when we meet with them in person.
That may be hard. Sounds like your relationship with admissions is good. If not, do all you can to tell the same story to incoming students.
Dr. B
After looking at our admissions process the only thing that I could possibly recommend would be a
pretest to let the students know ahead of time some of the areas of education that they will be experiencing.
Improving Admissions; I really do not know much about the admission process here but from what I have read from the module, have check list and keeping in touch with the students should help retention. I do see one of our representatives quite often checking on her students. I think all reps should do the same.
I feel we do an excellent job of helping students learn about our programs. There will always be ways we can improve student retention.
Hi Steve,
We can only provide guide lines & limitations to appearence and who it will fit in the market place. It is not only a question of loss of revenue, but definately a question of possible opportunities. As most employers will put a stop to excess, some might welcome it we are in a changing society that will allow things that were almost an outrage a decade ago. However they should be aware of the limitaions they are creating to their potential.
I think our admissions process could absolutely be improved to increase retention.
Through the use of prospective student "self-checklists" I think our admissions staff could better understand what each prospective student needs to know in order to ensure they have all the necessary information before enrolling in our institution.
This approach would also impact my position in student services, as new students would have a more comprehensive understanding of the program and our policies. This would improve retention as these new students wouldn't be shocked or turned off by information throughout the course because they would (within reason) be aware of how things happen here.
I think our prospective students would also benefit from meeting student mentors during their admissions process. This is a procedure I look forward to implementing now that I have an understanding of how to structure a mentor program.
Yes, improvement can always happen. Ongoing product knowledge training with admissions reps and education can assist with current knowledge of required skills as well as involving placement to discuss job opportunities.
The key is to tell the same truthful story and do all you can to determine the probability of student success.
Dr. B
This training emphasizes that the longer and more involved the admissions process is, the higher the retention rate. Our admissions process is not usually very long at all, and students sometimes don't have time to get fully on board mentally before they are sitting in a classroom. I am fairly new here and not completely sure if our admissions staff currently uses checklists or not, but after going through this course, it seems that these checklist strategies are crucial. It is also crucial to keep the end goal in sight and make sure a student fully knows what college is about and what it takes to end up with a certain career. I know that our staff offers access to Choices Planner, but we could do a much better job of making sure a student uses it, and understands where to find the most pertinent information that will lead to greater retention.
I feel as though our retention policy can be improved starting with the admissions process. I think sometimes the students get so excited about starting school, that they don't really focus on the program that they are choosing. The student then gets started and realizes what the program actually entails, decides they don't want it and drop. I would like it for the students to get information on all of the programs before deciding on one. If the student is completely vested and interested in the program, they might be more likely to stay.