Retention and graduation

I wonder what the retention and graduation rates are for students who register at 3:00 a.m. for the SnoCones and hugs. What happens when kids like that must attend class regularly (not in the middle of the night) and surrender work for review? This looks like a way to get tuition dollars in, not to attract serious students looking to secure essential intellectual training.

JBM, at 7:30 am EDT on August 16, 2006

When the Party’s Over

I completely agree with the previous commenter. Unless classes are offered in the middle of the night to serve the same students who were available in the middle of the night, how are the students going to succeed? Also, isn’t it a bit of trickery to create a party atmosphere when education, although it can be fun, is serious business.

Also, the article included the word “orientated” I believe the correct word is “oriented.” Come on!!!

Steve Schwarz, Assistant Professor at Raritan Valley Community College, at 8:40 am EDT on August 16, 2006

Rave Reviews for the Pres

The CC president, Brent Knight, now will certainly be wooed by other colleges and head hunters. This rave registration is a brilliant strategy by administration standards. Whether or not the rave students are motivated to study as well as party, as long as they pay their fees the administration gets much of what it needs. Like it or not, making money (or at the very least, losing less money) is a critical factor in the success or failure of every college and university.Brent is to be applauded for doing his job well, and with creativity and enthusiasm.

Mary McKinney, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist & Academic Coach at http://www.SuccessfulAcademic.com, at 9:30 am EDT on August 16, 2006

Simmer Down Now

First, ‘Oriented’ is the preferred use in the US while ‘Orientated’ is the preferred use in general British use. This should not detract from the article.

Also, I completely agree there needs to be programming in place to support these students, but let’s not assume there isn’t. After all, these students who now registered were able to also receive advising and choose courses that would fit her/his schedule.

This was a remarkable persistence effort that you might find in for-profit education. If traditional educational institutions want to compete in this growing market, sometimes students need to be treated with the respect of a consumer.

Jerry, at 9:50 am EDT on August 16, 2006

I think JBM’s comments exemplify the gulf between the attitudes encountered at more traditional institutions and the reality facing many adult learners in higher education today. By the time most people hit their mid-20’s, the window opening to a traditional four-year undergraduate experience has closed, and returning to school means overcoming the logistical hurdles of full-time jobs, young children, location, transfer-credit, and financing. These problems are so stressing that most adult learners don’t have the time or energy to develop expectations of an intellectual experience or academic quality prior to enrollment; they are thrilled simply to find a school that can help solve these simple logistical problems that most conventional institutions take for granted.

At NLU, we find that our adult learners are often thrilled by the intellectual engagement and academic experience that awaits them once these logistical issues have been addressed. While our faculty are still learning to accept the notion that our “front end” marketing and enrollment practices need to emphasize accessibility and convenience for working adults, there is plenty of opportunity for faculty and student to have an enriching academic experience, regardless of how the relationship with the institution is conceived. This article illustrates how more adult student-centered institutions might have their cake, and eat it too.

Bela Barner, Cat Herder at National-Louis University, at 11:45 am EDT on August 16, 2006

It’s all about the students isn’t it?........

In so many ways, students, both traditional and non-traditional, residential and commuter, want choice in their learning experiences and choice in how services are offered and delivered. It seems to me that Morton College (and at least two others)found an innovative, creative and successful method of offering a different choice to enrollment and advising services not typically offered in a non-prime time format. Read non-prime time as in timeframes not usually associated with a typical staff/faculty workday.

The fact that 500 students participated over the course of the 24-hour event seems to support the interest and need by students who wanted to get all registration processes taken care of at a time that was convenient for them. And if the environment was engaging so be it. Education is serious, but we can also make it enjoyable. I too, would debate why the assumption that retention and graduation rates would be any different for students based on their choice of registration hour. In fact, I would argue that the students who chose to participate in this service event, demonstrate a commitment to their education that is admirable. The student demographic of community colleges is so diverse that the people who showed up for Rave likely included career changers, recent high schools grads, and even people with earned bachelor’s degrees. To presume that only one ‘type’ of student population was served is presumptuous as is the assumption that these students would not do well in classes offered during the typical school day, or that classes must be offered during non-typical hours in order for the students to succeed. Have we forgotten about on-line educational course delivery as an option?

Maybe we should be asking the inviduals who participated in Rave how they benefited now that they’re ready to begin their classes this fall. It is all about the students isn’t it?

EBurdick, VP Enrollment and Student Services at Concordia University, at 2:15 pm EDT on August 16, 2006

More...

To follow up on Lisa’s comment, this “rave” offered placement tests. That is often the worst bottleneck in the new student’s progress toward complete registration.

Andrew Purvis, at 8:20 am EDT on August 17, 2006