Get Your Students Hired
One thing our admissions department does is have prospective students contact someone employed in the field. They are given names and numbers of local agencies and are encouraged to research for themselves the actual need for workers in the profession, as well as realistic salaries. Because we offer training in a field that produces high salaries, it is important for the enrolees to hear this information from someone other than us.
Our admissions department does not reel them in and then leave the students to sink or swim. Each day they are in the hallways and checking by in the rooms to make sure all is well. I am very proud of our admissions representatives because they know each student by name. Everyone loves to know that they are respected as an individual. When someone has been absent, I agree with the person who stated that follow up to prevent possible drops are essential. This is overseen by our registrar as well as instructors. However, it is the admissions personnell who made the initial contact with the student that will also make the call and usually gets a response. This has helped to decrease the drops in our school
The admissions process at our school is a multi-step process that has the prospective student meeting a variety of staff that work together as a support mechanism that can be accessed by the student whenever needed; be it day 1 or day 365.
Overall, I feel our admissions team evaluates each student thoroughly. A perspective student is sent a catalog, and questionnaire. After a short time for review, the admissions rep calls the perspective student to cover responses to questionnaire, and address questions the future student may have. The next step in many cases is the admissions rep talks to the perspective students “influencersâ€. What we mean by that is the people in their lives that effect, and are effected by their decision to attend school. In many cases, students that are supported, and influencers that feel included promote better student success. At this point if the student feels this is still the career of choice, and we can provide training that meets their expectations, they are enrolled and matriculate to a future student services coordinator.
I feel, after reviewing some of the posts in this forum, an opportunity for our school lies in the handoff from admissions / future student services to the education team. This is addressed to some extent during orientation; however there seems to be an element of personal contact missing.
Our admissions team works well with our Student Services department by communicating special needs to our team. The Directors work closely to ensure that the students are fully informed on the front end of what the education expectations are as well as the employment skills necessary to be succssful when they graduate.
Hi Jack, We know that first quarter students are the highest risk for dropping and your correct in that partnering with the Admission Department is a very important part of a successful retention program. Unfortunately, in many cases, this does not happen because the ownership on the front end sometimes disappers after the term starts and admissions moves on to the next start. I believe that a shared responsibility between Academics and Admissions for the first quarter would result in better retention because it would make the transition more personal to the student.
We have implemented a process where the admissions teams reveiw the incoming students with our academic advisors. We highlight any special needs like, student needs a job immediately, housing, and of course any dissabilty needs.
WE also identify if the student is a first time college student in their family, level of support from family and their previous academic record.
The advsiors are ready for thier meetings with the students and have a view on potential early interventions to help the students.
WE DO HAVE THE CHECKLIST FOR OUR ADMISSIONS TO UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS OF THE PROSPECT AND ALSO ALL THE OBSTACLES THAT CAN STOP THE PROSPECT FROM COMING TO SCHOOL. EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR THE PROSPECTIVE STUDENT TO VISIT THE CLASSROOM, TO MEET THE INSTRUCTORS, TO AVE THE FEELING OF THE SCHOOL.
IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT FOR THE ADMISSIONS TO COMMUNICATE WITH STUDENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT IF THE PROSPECTIVE STUDENT MIGHT HAVE PROBLEMS WITH HOUSING, CHILDCARE, TRANSPORTATION ETC. STUDENTS SERVICES HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT AGENCIES TO ACCOMODATE THE NEEDS OF THE STUDENTS.
WE ALSO HAVE TRAINING SESSION FOR THE ADMISSIONS ON THE PROGRAMS THAT WE OFFER. GREAT KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROGRAM IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
I truly do think we can increase with retention in this process. Currently I think when we have someone who has knowledge in the field, we kind of brush over some key points in that field. We are skipping stips with those familiar with the field of study thinking they already know. We can take that time to reassure they know they are getting into a good field of student. Also, we are not inviting them to come in and see what is going on in class, seeing lab time, ect..
Kevin A
It is my opinion that during the admissions process at our schools the prospective student is "told" what the program and outcomes are about. Instead of being told, I would rather have them be "asked," so that their concepts and conclusions can be taken into consideration and misconceptions put to rest.
Providing our students with a real look at what happens when the doors open and it is time to find a job, about the bumps and hurdles that they will have to navigate could provide a necessary dose of reality for them, and help keep their nose to the grindstone.
Hi Scott
You have made many efforts to help students succeed on your campus. I think other schools might benefit from the steps you have made as well as the recommendations in this topic.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.
It is absolutely correct that retention starts in admissions. We've probably all heard the phrase that "the admissions department is not the whole school, the whole school is the admissions department." It is also true that the whole school is the retention department and early intervention is the key to maximizing our success!
Our admissions process is also quite comprehensive. Prospective students are interviewed by a program information specialist. During this interview, the specialist addresses potential roadblocks and the individual's plan for overcoming them through a standardized interview form. Prospects then view an extensive Powerpoint presentation which contains detailed information about the school and their program of interest. (The Powerpoint is customized for each program we offer). The prospect then fills out an application form which also addresses roadblocks and contains an essay section to answer this question: "Why do you want to pursue a career in the ___________ field and how do you think this will benefit you in the future." During the school tour, the prospect meets with the Director of Admissions and the School Director. If the representative or the prospect are uncertain about the appropriateness of the program for the particular applicant, a time is scheduled for the applicant to attend a hands-on class in that program area. Instructors participate in the admissions screening process by discussing the student's level of interest in the course material with the program information specialist. Upon starting classes, our Director of Admissions is responsible for monitoring new student attendance for the first two weeks of classes.
We have learned that even though students often have great plans for overcoming obstacles set out during the admissions process, they often abandon these plans when the real pressure of school begins to mount. Therefore, I am excited about identifying commonalities shared by successful students and using these traits to create prospect self-checks. This should be of great help in identifying students with potential persistence problems and setting up appropriate intervention with those individuals. We also are in the process of completely re-inventing our orientation program to include a detailed Powerpoint presentation about what to expect in college and how to be successful. While there is no "magic wand," I do believe these additional strategies can improve our admissions processes to increase student retention.
I believe admissions would be receptive to any and all initiatives that bring success to our students and school.
Hi Fiona
Do you think Admissions will be receptive to possible restrictions to entering students?
Thanks for your response.
Our Admissions Manager does an excellent job with our admissions process. Students entering our program go through similar processes, from touring the school, meeting with respective department heads and attending orientation. I believe adding the checklists for the admissions dept. to see if a prospective student is the right fit for the program and respectively a checklist for the student to see if they have what it takes to complete the program is an initiative we would like to add to our process.
Our admissions staff works as a team, actually we refer the admissions department as “Student Integrated Servicesâ€. When the prospect calls to request information about our programs, we make an appointment for an informative session. The informative session consists of a tour of the facility and a presentation of our innovative educative system and programs. The presentation consists of a PowerPoint, a video, and the staff answers the questions. They are scheduled to take the placement tests and submitting requested documents. Typically, they receive follow up calls from the admissions staff and are scheduled for orientation. They have the option to attend a group orientation before our term starts. If we make the group orientation mandatory then we could possibly improve our admissions process. The referral system for individual orientation should be improved in order to provide more specific information regarding the careers, the vocational interests, and goals. I feel that communication is the key to success; thus the more questions that can be answered and the more anxiety that can be reduced, the more opportunity to increase student retention.
I do believe our admissions process can improve and I've implemented recently that our Admissions reps track attendance for a minimum of two weeks after a start to ensure their students are on track and don't quit. If a student is absent they are calling the student that day to identify any problems. Although the bonds between Admissions reps and their students usually continue after this time period, the primary responsibility for retention then falls on the Education department. Many times though it is a joint effort with education and admissions saving students and keeping them focused on the end goal, which is to graduate and establish a career.
I have talked to our admissions department and have found out several techniques that they use to gain retention with new enrolled students. Our admissions program is broken down and run by four qualified employees. Each person has a job duty pretaining to the student cliental. We have one who works with High school juniors and seniors. This person has a diffent focus where he plans on having big enrollments in June and January depending on when a student graduates from high school. Another member takes on the single mother student population. This person spoke with me about working with student who are doing the same that she is. She graduated from a four year college and has the power, passion and motivation because she has walked in their footsteps. We have another member who works with older male population and gears these students to take on the technical and automotive trade. This member has had experiences as well. He spends time working with people in the community that have the same ideas he has. This member works with mostly non traditional older students. we have one other member who takes on working with female non traditional students and runs the operations of admissions department.
When I spoke to these members, they all have given me great advice on improvements. But they are also working building better and stronger relationships with students. I feel that communication is the key to success.
Hi Joshua
What do you think is the role for Admissions
to play in retention? How do you think this will
happen on your campus?