In Tough Times – Make Connections

On the QT Newsletter, In Tough Times – Make Connections
January 27, 2009

Did You Know? A college education is probably the soundest investment one can make in today’s tough economy, because it pays dividends for a lifetime. Yet, six in ten students who enter the California Community College system as freshmen drop out or lower their academic sights after just one semester, because they fail to get the help they need. To keep our students coming back, we must encourage them to take advantage of the student support services available to them. Whether they need academic counseling, tutoring, financial aid, or a job, many students don’t realize they can get the help they need right on campus. If you take a few minutes of class time to do the activity below, and Add the Experience, you’ll increase student success and your course retention rate. Besides helping students stay in school, these exercises allow students to experience the advantages of networking — an essential workplace skill.

Try This:

Ask students to stand, listen, and respond to your instructions.

1. If you have spent time studying in the campus library, remain standing.
2. If you can explain to another student 2 reasons to visit the financial services office on campus, do not sit down.
3. If you have visited the campus career center, keep on standing.
4. If you can direct another student to the college job board, stay on your feet.
5. If you know where to go to get help in math or English, remain standing.
6. If you can write down the directions to the college transfer center, do not take your seat.
7. If you can share one campus resource to use to find an internship, remain vertical.
8. If you belong to a campus club or have participated in a campus volunteer activity, stay standing.
9. If you can identify a campus event that will take place this month, continue standing.
10. If you can tell a person already seated why a student would join Alpha Gamma Sigma, you really are a winner!

Explain that you did this exercise to find out how many students know about the great student support services on campus.
Emphasize that these services are no cost or low cost and readily available to all students.
Ask students to describe services they have found helpful.
Share success stories of former students.

Add an Experience: This “Campus Connections” activity calls on students to go out on campus and identify specific services and people who can support them in their academic and career journeys. This “on the move” exercise is a great way to expose students to the array of campus support services. Print and distribute this assignment. Discuss the activity with your students and ask them to share some examples of the questions they would like to ask. To generate more enthusiasm, consider giving a few extra credit points for completing this exercise.

Quik Quote: Students may be reluctant to ask for help … faculty and staff members need to be responsible for knowing what resources are available, promoting students to use resources, and directing individual students appropriately. Inside Higher Education