subject: How Communciation Impacts Student Retention [print this page] How Communciation Impacts Student Retention
Almost all colleges and universities have experienced problems regarding student retention. Administrators have continuously looked for ways to effectively manage the schools they are running because of the fact that each year, a decreasing number of students enroll in their respective schools. Of course, there can be many personal factors involved in why a student would want to drop their degrees. But whether it's about financial or social factors, fact is, the institution itself can do much in making increasing the likelihood that students stay despite their own personal challenges.
An academic institution is made up of educators and students and a relationship exists between the two. This fact alone is enough proof that there are still many unexplored avenues to make their relationship even better. Just like any kind of relationship, to make this one work, communication is key.
In any organization, just like academic institutions, the importance of communication can't be stressed enough. As a matter of fact, even the most basic situation where in a student has a plan to leave a school can illustrate this clearly. Perhaps this student is having financial difficulties making it impossible for him to continue his education. If an open channel of communication exists between the two, the student does not have to quit school. He can continue studying and the school will make appropriate arrangements to make it work. So the student does not have to quit school because a compromise has been reached between him and the school altogether. This compromise allows the student to stay in school and pay his fees on a mutually agreeable manner. Of course, this can delay the schools profit but this is better than having only a few number of students in their enrollee list.
For this communication channel to be effective, it is important for administrators to see to it that those running the channel behave in an appropriate manner. This is because everything will just fail even if the system has been made almost perfectly if the people invovled aren't behaving correctly. Humans are emotional beings which means that we have the desire to be heard and to be respected with our opinions and our own thoughts while understanding the fact that the one welcoming that also has his own needs. All human relationships rely on this substantially.
After all, education is not just about increasing people's knowledge on the various disciplines. It is also about providing them a fertile ground for wisdom to grow on both educators' and students' sides. When it comes to making people stay, relationships have to stay healthy, for this to be possible, effective communication provides the secret.
