Several retention strategies have been developed at Miramar College in San Diego, California, to reduce attrition and enhance institutional effectiveness. One of these, the PLACe tutorial center, is dedicated to empowering students to attain educational success. In spring 1992, developmental English students who did not use the PLACe Center had a success rate (received an A, B, or C) of 36.56%, compared to PLACe students who had a success rate of 57.16%. Similarly, developmental math students who used PLACe service’s had a higher success rate (51.75%) than those who did not (40.05%). Student attrition has also been addressed in the campus-wide collaborative development of a “Student Retention Strategies Handbook,” which contains: (1) 23 general campus-wide strategies focusing on efforts to increase students’ awareness of procedures, services, and programs; facilitate student access to college services; and plan new events and innovative programs; (2) 24 strategies to be used by the instructor during the first few days of class to provide information regarding class expectations, college services, and facilities; and to create a supportive classroom environment through successful instructor-student interaction; (3) 21 strategies for instructors to implement throughout the semester designee. to direct students to proper counseling and academic support and get them involved in campus event through class projects; (4) 28 teaching techniques that may help students attain their academic goals; (5) 15 ideas for improving teachers’ interaction with disabled students, and preparing them and other students for tests; (6) 11 suggestions for ways in which administrators can support student retention; and (7) a list of resources at Miramar College where students can get help. The handbook is provided. (KP) Reproductions supplied by EARS are the best that can be made * from the original document.
Managing Student Retention in the Community College U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION pnce of Educauont Reseaich and Improvernern EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER IERICI es document has teen reproduced as [,received from the perscn or Organization originating .1 C Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points 01 view or opinions stated in this docu sent do not necessarily represent othcial JERI position or pohCY Diana Fink Carmen Carrasquillo PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY D. Fink TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC).” Paper presented at “Leadership 2000,” the Annual International Conference of the League for Innovation in the Community College and the Community College Leadership Program (6th, San Diego, CA, July 17-20, 1994) 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Proposal to Present Program Leadership 2000 July 17–20, 1994 Presenters: Diana Fink, Assistant Professor of English Carmen Carrasquillo, Assistant Professor of English Colleges are often perceived as non-intrusive; that is, they make available courses and programs, service and opportunities, and it is the student’s responsibility to take advantage of them. Does the college have some obligation to share the responsibility for the student’s involvement? Miramar College, one of the three colleges in the San Diego Community College District, has committed itself to promoting the most positive educational experiences for our students. In the words of President Louis Murillo, “Students are the essence of our mission. It is essential to provide students with every possible opportunity to succeed and accomplish their educational goals.” Since attrition is expensive in loss of revenue and human potential and since Miramar desires to maximize usage of its resources in order to enhance institutional effectiveness, we have developed strategies to address retention. Two of these, the focus of our presentation, are the establishment of the PLACe, a tutorial center dedicated to empowering students to attain educational success and the development of a Student Retention Strategies Handbook, a collaborative campus-wide effort addressing enrollment process review, faculty techniques, customer service issues, etc. cur presentation will include a video summary of our unique services and data showing the success of the PLACe in retention and grade performance. In addition, we will present the results of the cross-campus effort to enhance institutional effectiveness in
