They appreciate text messages from the college as a quick way to remind them about course registration deadlines and the need to complete their financial aid application. Many high school graduates who have expressed an interest in community college, especially if they would be the first in their family to consider college, are likely to spend their summer working long hours, Enright says. She points to two factors for the decline: a robust labor market and a declining high school population. Outreach is more critical than ever – both to recruit new students and hang on to existing ones – as CCRI has seen declines in enrollment for the past six years, Enright says. And for young adults, that is online,” Enright says. “We have to meet students where they are. Using text messagesĬCRI has shifted its summer outreach efforts away from traditional methods – such as relying on high school guidance counselors and paper mailings – and, like a growing number of community colleges, toward text messages and social media. Another study found that offering high school graduates who intend to go to college two or three hours of additional summer support increased enrollment by 3 percent to 4 percent – and 8 percentage points among low-income students.Ĭolleges have fought back against summer melt by bringing potential students to campus for small-group workshops, engaging students through personal contacts and sending automatic reminders throughout the summer. “Summer melt is a perennial issue in the community college environment,” says Sara Enright, vice president of student affairs at the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI).Īccording to Education Northwest, some community colleges have attrition rates as high as 40 percent. Current students who take the summer off, often fail to come back, too. For community colleges trying to retain every student, summer is a precarious season when many high school graduates who plan to enroll in the fall don’t follow through.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |