Jacqueline,
You are absolutely correct. Ultimately it is the student's performance that makes for their success. The students that choose the appeal process are working the system and feel entitled. That will always happen to some extent.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
Our admissions processes were updated a year ago to include an admissions interview for students at all levels and not just at the doctoral level. Based on experience, we noticed that especially undergraduate students and some master's degree students were underestimating the time commitment required to be successful in the individual courses and programs overall. This led to the implementation of interviews for all degree programs. In the last year, we have noticed a significant increase in student course completion rates. We have also noticed that the extra step in the admissions process allows us as a school to identify areas of misunderstanding on the part of the student and allowed the student sufficient time to ask additional questions.
Susan,
Setting proper expectations with the students from the beginning sets everyone on the proper path. Glad to read about the results of implementing interviews for all prospective students. I am willing to bet student satisfaction has increased as well.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
Assess your current admissions processes. Look at how clearly the prospect is helped to learn about your training programs and the job opportunities. Do you feel your admission processes can be improved to increase student retention? How?
Heather,
I think that our Admissions Department does a great job, however, I like the idea of having our Career Services Department be a part of admissions process, but can honestly say that I don't think they have the time. While I think it is important for the student to have this information to determine if this is the best course of action to take, I would hope that the student would have already done their research on their new profession prior to spending their money. What might be a better solution, is having Career Services develop listing of all students who have been placed in externships/jobs within that field. Another piece that our Admissions Department continues to do and increases retention to a degree, is they will f/u with the student, once they start, either in the classroom or by phone or email and ask how everything is going. There can never be too much attention given to the student to make them feel support by the entire school department.
Suzanne,
A great reply and so right on. Thank you for this post.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
yes, our process can be improved by enrolling students who may have experience already into the field and have a great understanding for the requirements of the field. this will help with graduate employments in the end.
For those students who never been in the field of study, provide a check list and provide them a true real life of what the field entails and type of jobs they can get. Also, make the students speak to instructors and graduates to get real sense of what they are going to enter into
Mary,
Your admissions department should welcome instructor participation easily. Nothing helps "sell" the school more than making a connection to the instructor. Aids in retention too.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
I believe our admissions team has improved immensely over the last two years. In the past they did not ask the proper questions, therefore students were enrolled in programs that did not fit their goals. It is true that retention starts when they enroll, students must be set up for success from the beginning. The education process is a circle, everyone must be on the same page in order for the student to succeed.
Audrey,
What changed in the last two years to make such a difference with the Admissions team?
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
I think admissions does a wonderful job here at UTI. They have a well thought out program. I think they could benifit from looking at how to streamline the process and get the students here quicker
Early contact with the student resources center would be one way to improve our current admissions process. Students have questions about how our programs will prepare them for the workplace. I think that we could include a short video orientation to our resources center. Here student learn to prepare a resume and put together a portfolio for future employers. If they know how these programs work from the first day, they will be more motivated to finish the programs. We are a new school. Once we have more graduates from the program, then we could include feedback from graduates and their employers.
Ron,
That is a rare comment here. What do you see as the delays in getting the students in quicker? Have you shared this sentiment with others at your campus?
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
Catherine,
Better yet, Include the resource center in a tour and have them talk to students as early and as often as possible.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
I agree that would work for a "brick and mortar" institution. With our online institution, we need to connect with students through an orientation video and through email messages. We realize that the important thing is to make the students aware of the services available.
I think we could improve our admission process. We are an online school, so tracking whether students visit our classrooms is not possible. However, we could include a sample class with assignments for our students to watch during the admission process. This would give them a better idea of the workload. Until now, we have told students what the time commitment was; however, actually watching a class and seeing assignments will give students a better idea of the workload. Since many of our students drop out because they cannot handle the workload, I think this would increase retention.
I would also like to implement a checklist in to our admission process. However, it will take some time to determine what to include in the checklist since we are a new college and have not had any graduating students yet.
Catherine,
Does your online orientation have a discussion forum? I think that would be a "common area" for students, faculty, and staff to discuss orientation related topics.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
Chana,
Yes, after all these years many students still equate online classes with easy as opposed to convenient. A vast difference exists.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
Chana,
Yet, you probably have many people that worked at other schools. AND you all were a student once. Plus this course provides some guidance. There should be nothing to keep you from waiting for graduates to refine the admissions process.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
