Here's How You Can Improve Your Retention Game
It isn’t easy being a student in this fast-paced, everything-costs-an-arm-and-a-leg age. Today’s students don’t have to contend with academic challenges only. There are finances to be managed, family-school-work life balance to be achieved. You sure don’t want to further complicate their already complex student journey. Besides, with the increasing costs of higher education, students’ expectations have also risen, and similarly, student retention required. If they aren’t pleased with your services, they will shift to some other institution where they will be. Or worse, they will be discouraged to give up completely.
Only 46 percent of the Americans finish college once they start!
That’s why Student Retention Services should be your institution’s top priority.
Proactive engagement for Student Retention:
Your students don’t want to be kept waiting. They don’t want to feel clueless about where they should go in case they need help. They expect immediate answers. So, if you have a laid-back approach towards their problems, they are more at risk of attrition. As an educational organization, you should be actively engaging with your students, taking cognizance of their issues, making efforts to resolve them immediately. For instance, you should be making use of text messaging instead of sending emails since most students prefer texting. You should have 24×7 help desk support so that your students don’t feel abandoned after-hours.
Predictive Analytics for Student Retention:
By analyzing data-driven patterns procured from predictive analytics, instructors can identify students most at risk of dropping out, the learning areas where they are facing problems, or are losing interest, and can design the courseware that helps them learn best. This timely intervention by the instructors helps increase student retention rates considerably and has significant implications for an institution’s fiscal position.
Adaptive Learning for Student Retention:
Anyone who has ever been in a class whether as a student or as an instructor knows that all students don’t learn at the same pace yet our courseware has been designed to do just that. In such an educational curriculum, there is no space to accommodate the wide skill/interest sets that different students bring to the classroom. Making use of data-driven findings, adaptive learning methods do away with the one-size-fits-all approach because one size doesn’t fit all. Adaptive learning facilitates deeper student engagement which is synonymous with better retention support.
The bottom line is that making use of data, analytics, technology to increase student retention is great but it alone won’t suffice. An institution has to have a holistic approach and really care if it wants to increase its retention rates. If you want professional experts to aid you in increasing your retention rates, speak to one of our representatives today!
Anthony Banford is an esteemed executive with 19 years of experience in technology, consulting, and education. He begins his latest chapter as Chief Revenue Officer at BlackBeltHelp, aiming to innovate in the higher education support industry. His move follows a successful stint as Head of Revenue at StudentBridge since March 2023, where he significantly contributed to the company’s merger with Full Measure Education, enhancing its service offerings.
Todd Hollrah joins BlackBeltHelp bringing 25+ years of experience managing service delivery operations for several Fortune 500 clients around the globe. After a distinguished career as an executive in the BPO industry, Todd will provide critical insight into building an exceptional customer experience combining both live voice and automated solutions.
Inspired by a family computer that always needed fixing, Chris Uthe has submerged himself in business and technology for the last 20 years. His first company, a PC repair and networking business, was started at just 16 and successfully fueled a deep interest in solving problems as he helped business customers throughout his hometown adopt technology into their business. He would go on to successfully run a media & managed IT company before joining the Ed Tech industry with a successful 13-year tenure within an ERP/SIS company leading the Student Portal & Learning Management division. His last startup, EdSolio, helped to fuel the winds of competency-based education by providing a comprehensive view of a student’s work and achievements. Chris is now focused on creating successful learners by ensuring the highest quality help and support through the use of AI backed toolsets spending the last 3 years in the student engagement and support markets.
Quaiser Absar is the Chief Technology Officer and Director of Institutional Computing at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia.
Bringing in over 2 decades of experience with him, Manish has ensured seamless operations in terms of client delivery, reporting & analytics, quality, training, and transitions with a special focus on technical integrations to help reduce costs and improve the bottom-line.
Anthony has served higher education in diverse, leadership roles for over 30 years and has helped organizations thrive through his expertise in developing, analyzing, and executing growth strategies. Prior to joining BlackBeltHelp, he served in College Administration as well as in leadership roles within Blackboard Student Services and Ellucian, Inc.
Accomplished IT Specialist and Manager with extensive experience in a higher education setting and demonstrated abilities to effectively manage both student and professional staff. Self-motivated problem solver, who is skilled in managing many issues and prioritizing their importance to find resolutions in a timely and effective manner. Possesses strong abilities to adapt to new technologies by extrapolating from existing experience. Possess first-rate communication and collaboration skills to work with diverse groups effectively.
Lila Buytendorp has been serving as the Director of User Services at Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC) since 2000. In this role she is responsible for staff & lab desktop computing and end user support. She guides and supports technology based on the curriculum needs and ensures technology is implemented to support the emerging needs of the college. She builds and supports integrated systems to improve efficiencies and uses technologies to support data-driven decision making. Lila is a member of the Capital Projects Planning and Design Committee to ensure new or remodeled facilities have appropriate technology.