STUDENT PLACEMENTS: CONVERTING THE CHALLENGE INTO AN OPPORTUNITY
STUDENT PLACEMENTS: CONVERTING THE CHALLENGE INTO AN OPPORTUNITY
* Dr.Ramesh .R.Naik
1.1 Introduction
Education is undoubtedly a process of living. It cherishes and inculcates morale values, disseminates knowledge, spreads information relevant to its institutions and keeps alive the creative and sustaining spirit. Education today is the most important investments that government of different states and countries make. Developed as well as developing countries of the modern era need to stress on building the creative and productive capacities of their workforce. In this increasingly globalised economy, knowledge and the skills are key differentiators of nations as well as individuals. It is globalisation which determines the university education and research trends emerging today.
An educated society is vital for growth and development. This should not be confused with literacy. The issues relating to faculty, research and quality education constitute the core of an educational process. The competence and dedication of teachers, their constant up gradation, the pedagogy, the level and quality of inputs, performance levels are some of the basic determinants of education. Knowledge either imported or home spun has signaled new challenges and improved the quality of life. Education is a process of human development and empowerment, a process that enlarges the boundaries of the self from self centered ego to the universal consciousness, a process that raises the levels of consciousness from physical to emotional to vital to intellectual to spiritual.
Education in its limited sense is “schooling” and in its widest sense relates to accumulation of experiences to enrich and ennoble life. In its limited sense it is influenced by market forces, in its widest sense it relates to generation self knowledge, self understanding self analysis, self realization. Education and learning are widely recognized as essential to processes of development and poverty reduction. In many developing countries, issues of educational access, equity, and quality have been identified as prerequisites to the achievement of development goals. The global education is not merely confined to where students go to learn and the methods of teaching but it is also about what they learn and how equipped they are at the end of their degrees. Only academic knowledge of the students may not serve the purpose today. Educationists and faculty members have also to think seriously about developing their employability and to equip them with skills they need to succeed. We definitely need a new global knowledge infrastructure to encourage research, development and education.
1.2 Teachers as Powerful Change Agents :
A true teacher makes a silent revolution. He/she does not know when and where the impact is made. During school days, students listen to the teacher, and even appreciate the way the teacher teaches; when they become adults they admire at the teachers who taught them and when they become grown-up they get inspiration from those teachers who made a difference in their lives. The appreciation becomes admiration which results in inspiration with the growth and maturity of the learner and therefore, teacher impact is a long-term phenomenon.
The true teacher can be described as one who is efficient tool. The teachers who are capable of making long-term impact in the students are those who are technically sound. The teachers should be dynamic like running streams and not static like stagnant pools. Cool headedness is something to do with the humanness of the teacher. Students in fact look for caring, kind hearted, and soft spoken teachers to guide them. Yet another function of the teacher is to energize the students. The coaches in the sports field not only provide technical tips to the players but also provide confidence in order to bring out the best in them. A teacher should become an energizing coach in the playfield of learning. Such teachers certainly make a silent revolution in the lives of the learners. Over the past decade, there has been a resurgence of international interest in distance learning and distance education as potentially useful strategies for addressing human development issues. This resurgence has been rooted in part in the evolution of new information and communications technologies, and in part in the improvement of pedagogical and administrative models for facilitating learning at a distance.
1.3 Role of teacher in student’s development:
Students’ engagement in learning and schooling depends to a large extent upon how teachers can relate to the students, their communities and their worlds. The focus and direction of teacher has been upon competency and skills, registration and accreditation. In contrast to the external requirements of student’s retention, learning achievement and engagement lie within the contexts of their varying learning communities within and beyond their schools. Universities and teacher educators have begun to realize their own need to engage more with their varying communities if institutions and staff are to gain the confidence of students, parents and community members. The influence of service learning and the ways it has been incorporated into many education programs, at times, as a core unit. Indian teachers are normally preferred worldwide for three reasons. Firstly, most of them are strong in content areas of teaching, and secondly they are multilingual, which is an added advantage to handle children from different ethnic groups, and thirdly, they hail from a multi-cultural society, which also contributes to skills in handling children of different cultures. Though these are the attributes of the Indian teachers, it is equally true that not all teachers get selected when it comes to recruitment. The existing colleges of education in the country may ensure quality in two ways in order to create such a market for the Indian teachers. Following are some possible ways: The curriculum of teacher education being followed in most colleges of education in the country is not tuned to prepare global teachers. Adequate curriculum input on communication skills, information and communication technology, multi-cultural issues, skills in adapting to small as well as large classrooms, etc., should be incorporated so that the present teachers are adequately prepared for the world market too. The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) may revise its curriculum framework taking into account the growing international trends and also ensure that necessary curriculum changes are effected at the University level in order to enable it percolate right into the classroom.
The impact will then be sustained to bring about a transformation towards better living and greater awareness of issues. It will, at the same time, bring mutual benefit to the volunteer and the community he or she serves. It would be better still if such a concerted effort is linked with the academic curriculum: projects, surveys, histories, folk art and other studies pursued in the context may add up for academic credit and certification. Research is integral to teaching and it is the vital channel to ensure academic soundness. Hence teachers may be encouraged to write proposals for sponsored projects. Teacher development through research may be considered as top priority, even in a teaching institution such as this upon whose academic soundness the success of the college rests.
1.4 Student placement
Designated agencies need to prepare for student placements by taking into account their capacity to provide an appropriate learning environment. This involves assessing the availability of resources needed to provide the input and structure necessary to sustain student placement. Such support structures would include an identified supervisor, allocating time to a student on a regular basis, defining their tasks and identifying other staff members who are available to provide input when required. It is necessary to develop a learning contract between the agency and the student. This clearly determines the responsibilities of both parties during the placement.
An essential component of any student placement is the supervision and support provided by staff within the organisation. While a number of staff may be involved with the student, there should be one designated person who has overall responsibility for the student. Designated agencies need to manage and use their resources in effective and efficient ways. This helps to provide children and young persons needing or in out-of-home care with the best possible standard of care. Using students and volunteers can enable designated agencies to expand and explore options which may otherwise not be available to them. The contribution of students and volunteers has the potential to enrich service provision. However, including students and volunteers does bring with it additional responsibilities and risks that designated agencies account for and manage. The selection of suitable students and volunteers must be as rigorous as the process through which permanent, temporary and casual staff are recruited and employed. Designated agencies should have selection practices to recruit committed and appropriately skilled volunteers and students who will enhance the well-being of children and young persons under their supervisory care.
Designated agencies also need to provide students and volunteers with orientation and induction to their organisation. This should include key organisational goals, policies and procedures. Mechanisms to get student and volunteer feedback should also be set up. Volunteers have diverse skills, expectations and backgrounds. When considering engaging volunteers, agencies need to consider their capacity to provide a role that will use the volunteer’s particular skills. In addition to this, agencies need to take into account the level of supervision that will be required and provided for any volunteers. Such structures should be in place before engaging volunteers. Designated agencies need to allocate resources to the training of volunteers. Induction and orientation training is essential as well as further updates of information at relevant times. Effective management strategies need to be set up if the use of volunteers is to be maximised. It is also necessary to ensure that volunteers feel supported, valued and recognised.
1.5 Student support activities:
Teaching, learning and evaluation are conventional but they are informally monitored to leave the routine unaffected, without any serious disruption of work. Admissions are made on the basis of past academic record. The higher learning institutes facilitates routine teaching-learning programme by regulating them with teacher work-diaries which list the units to be done through and academic session. Faculty submit their self-appraisal annually. They are enabled to update their knowledge by attending orientation and refresher courses. Faculty input on different committees enables the institutes to redress grievances informally, organize cultural meets, monitor library services and do other routine work.
Student performance is assessed with the conventional instrument of terminal and summative testing though. Seminars, assignments and study tours supplement lectures. The Student Adoption Programme whereby about a few students are helped by a class teacher is a welcome measure but it needs improvement to bestow individual care and offer counselling which cannot otherwise be effective in large groups. On the whole, the teaching-learning process in the college is primarily examination-oriented. There is an abundance of research on best practices in student retention. Understanding these practices appropriate for academic settings is important to designing retention strategies that will meet the needs of our students. The following strategies are relevant to colleges and universities:
Commit to and invest in student retention.
Develop a retention plan that sets goals, establishes strategies to attain the goals, and includes action plans to ensure achievement.
Ensure all members of the campus community understand that they have a role and responsibility in student retention. Everyone (faculty, staff and administrators) has a responsibility in improving retention rates; they must work together to promote success.
Hire employees who embrace the institution’s vision and values.
Gather and analyze data on student retention. Use the data to plan for improvements.
Conduct student satisfaction surveys on a systematic basis.
Conduct exit interviews to ascertain student reasons for leaving and possibly to resolve issues that are barriers to returning.
Develop a student-centered environment.
Establish a warm and welcoming environment.
Provide excellent customer service.
Review all policies, procedures, syllabi, and processes to ensure that they are student-centered, learning-oriented, and student-friendly. Eliminate unnecessary paperwork and policies.
Design a system to provide for seamless orientation, assessment, advising, registration, and payment.
Offer flexible forms of participation and review availability of classes to ensure that students’ needs are being met. Develop mechanisms to increase offerings of classes with high enrollment.
Ensure that facilities and grounds are clean, comfortable and safe. Commit to improving facilities that are important to students, such as student common areas and computer labs.
Offer financial aid and student employment opportunities.
Develop methods to ensure students are academically prepared for coursework.
Mandate course placement testing.
Require students showing deficiencies to complete remedial or developmental coursework.
Implement early alert methods.
Identify students who are “at risk” and develop proactive intervention methods.
Identify students who may be dropout-prone by observing “behavioral cues” (e.g., missing classes, failing to apply for financial aid or requesting a transcript).
Help students develop study skills and understand effective learning strategies.
Offer academic support services such as a tutoring center, learning center, math lab, language lab, etc. Encourage students to use these resources.
Provide peer tutorial services.
Provide Supplemental Instruction (SI) for classes that are extremely difficult.
Provide transition assistance programs and seminar courses.
Design orientation sessions to meet the needs of diverse student populations.
Offer workshops to help students develop skills such as time management, study skills, career exploration.
Develop an academic advising plan based on effective advisement strategies.
Provide training for academic advisors.
Design an evaluation program that assesses the effectiveness of the institution’s advising program.
Use a model of frontloading and progressive responsibility. Front-loading places emphasis and resource allocation on services and programs designed to assure a successful transition to the institution. It involves a proactive and interventionist approach with new students. With progressive responsibility, faculty and institutional support/intervention can lessen in intensity as students increasingly become more comfortable with the campus environment, get involved, and strengthen their institutional commitment.
Provide career-counseling services.
Research shows that students who are committed to their educational goal are more likely to persist. Helping students identify career goals and interests early can increase commitment.
Encourage on-campus communities to create bonds between students. Ensure frequent and high quality contact between students and faculty.
Encourage participation in academic clubs, student organizations and student activities. Ensure that there are opportunities for all student sub-cultures to participate.
Establish student common areas for socialization and relaxation.
Develop innovative strategies to increase student involvement. Change the attitude in serving students from, “We have the services, but students don’t take advantage of them,” to “How can we provide proactive ways of ensuring that students are supported by the programs we offer?”
Create learning communities that link courses together.
Establish opportunities students to be mentored by peers and faculty.
Have faculty to be available via different modes of communication (e-mail, phone, office hours).
Have students provide feedback on their perceptions of faculty attitudes towards them.
Commit to ongoing training for faculty and emphasize the critical role they play in student retention.
Help faculty develop methods to engage students in the classroom.
Provide incentives, recognition, and rewards for faculty/staff involved in retention-related initiatives.
Dedicate a center to the teaching/learning process.
Establish opportunities for active and collaborative learning.
Have students participate in class discussions.
Incorporate hands-on learning activities.
Offer early exposure to career-related coursework.
Encourage group activities to break down barriers between students.
Demonstrate commitment to education of all students.
Develop systems for proactive monitoring, formative assessment, early identification and feedback.
Develop appropriate learning settings for different student populations.
Student progression is attempted through conventional strategies of coaching and preparing students for examinations rather than for competitive career openings and placement opportunities. Aesthetic sensibility is sought to be inculcated through debates, dance, essay writing and cultural programmes. The institute must publish an annual prospectus for student guidance. A placement cell must be created in the college. Academic and placement counselling is to be offered. A concerted effort at creating adequate opportunities for personality development of learners, especially their communication skill for taking interviews and for public speaking can help achieve this. An effective placement cell offering career guidance and systematic training in communication, besides coaching for taking national and international examinations for vertical mobility, may be created.
1.6 Healthy Practices:
As a public agency, the academic institution has the advantage of using political will and influence for educational development. This has been the source of unique healthy practices. In addition, the noble cause of serving the poor and the marginalized by itself contributes to many. The following are some:
• The reliance of the institution on the goodwill and services of the local MLA and the MP has gives substantial help to develop infrastructure. Such an enlightened use of privileges for public good is a healthy practice.
• The availability of statutory reviews by the state gives the institution periodical opportunities to review its own performance. It is a kind of quality check, if only it is taken seriously.
• The local internal administration vested in the Principal has enabled internal co-ordination with the help of committees.
• The mission of the institution to make higher education available to the socially deprived and economically poor youth of the region is a healthy and noble and ideal.
• The social impact made by both NSS and NCC through a programme of awareness building, literacy-promotion and social service constitutes a distinct healthy practice.
• Public scholarships which cover a considerable body of students reinforce access. The affordable fee structure is another help. These are healthy social practices.
• The regulatory measures of the institution to monitor academic programme – such as work diaries, student assessment schedules and teacher self–appraisal are enabling healthy practices.
The Universities in various states may select leading colleges, which have good infrastructure and experienced faculty to organise short-term courses exclusively geared for facilitating placement of students abroad.. Presence of Indian students in the global arena would infuse the cultural legacy of India too and help realise the doctrine “Viswa Kutumba” (the entire world is one family). Therefore, it is time to explore the impact of global market on the Indian education system. While there is tremendous demand for students worldwide, the working conditions should also be taken into consideration. Those wishing to go abroad to accept a career should understand the realities well before taking such a decision. For example, in most developed countries, a teacher has to deal with small numbers of children in a classroom and discipline is always reported as an issue when it comes to classroom management but at the same time the classrooms have more assistive devices like computers and teaching aids to teach children.
1.7 Recommendations :
1 Engage more with education authorities on the planning, management and evaluation of student placements;
2. through improved collaboration, achieve greater consistency across the timing, purpose and procedures for student teacher placements.
3. improve the standardisation of placement documentation and communication with schools and students;
4. review and standardise the nature of written reports required from teachers on student progress and performance;
5. take steps to improve the consistency between tutor evaluations and class teacher evaluations on student progress and performance;
6. provide timely feedback to education authorities and schools on the quality of student teacher placements within schools;
7. work with schools and education authorities to overcome some of the difficulties which teachers have attending pre-placement meetings; and
8. provide more mentoring courses and introduce mentoring modules for teachers.
1.8 Conclusion:
Teaching, learning and evaluation are conventional but they are informally monitored to leave the routine unaffected, without any serious disruption of work. Student progression is attempted through conventional strategies of coaching and preparing students for examinations rather than for competitive career openings and placement opportunities. Teaching is an interactive process of gaining and sharing knowledge, valuing the learning’s of others and appreciating the differing contexts in which learning both occurs and is applied. If given the tools, the agency of teachers can work to disrupt the organization of schooling that limits opportunities for historically underrepresented students to access high-status knowledge. Though teachers might have some experience as change agents in other arenas, educators might lack the specific skills necessary to narrow the access divide in higher education. Applied e-Learning and e-Teaching in higher education cover multiple possibilities, including the marriage of the learner, teacher and a growing range of technologies available today.
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* Dr.Ramesh .R.Naik
Reader, Department of Library & Information Science, Karnatak University, Dharwad.
** Shri.Mahesh.D.Horakeri
Selection Grade Librarian and Research Scholar, Department of Library & Information Science, Karnatak University, Dharwad.1.1 Introduction
Education is undoubtedly a process of living. It cherishes and inculcates morale values, disseminates knowledge, spreads information relevant to its institutions and keeps alive the creative and sustaining spirit. Education today is the most important investments that government of different states and countries make. Developed as well as developing countries of the modern era need to stress on building the creative and productive capacities of their workforce. In this increasingly globalised economy, knowledge and the skills are key differentiators of nations as well as individuals. It is globalisation which determines the university education and research trends emerging today.
An educated society is vital for growth and development. This should not be confused with literacy. The issues relating to faculty, research and quality education constitute the core of an educational process. The competence and dedication of teachers, their constant up gradation, the pedagogy, the level and quality of inputs, performance levels are some of the basic determinants of education. Knowledge either imported or home spun has signaled new challenges and improved the quality of life. Education is a process of human development and empowerment, a process that enlarges the boundaries of the self from self centered ego to the universal consciousness, a process that raises the levels of consciousness from physical to emotional to vital to intellectual to spiritual.
Education in its limited sense is “schooling” and in its widest sense relates to accumulation of experiences to enrich and ennoble life. In its limited sense it is influenced by market forces, in its widest sense it relates to generation self knowledge, self understanding self analysis, self realization. Education and learning are widely recognized as essential to processes of development and poverty reduction. In many developing countries, issues of educational access, equity, and quality have been identified as prerequisites to the achievement of development goals. The global education is not merely confined to where students go to learn and the methods of teaching but it is also about what they learn and how equipped they are at the end of their degrees. Only academic knowledge of the students may not serve the purpose today. Educationists and faculty members have also to think seriously about developing their employability and to equip them with skills they need to succeed. We definitely need a new global knowledge infrastructure to encourage research, development and education.
1.2 Teachers as Powerful Change Agents :
A true teacher makes a silent revolution. He/she does not know when and where the impact is made. During school days, students listen to the teacher, and even appreciate the way the teacher teaches; when they become adults they admire at the teachers who taught them and when they become grown-up they get inspiration from those teachers who made a difference in their lives. The appreciation becomes admiration which results in inspiration with the growth and maturity of the learner and therefore, teacher impact is a long-term phenomenon.
The true teacher can be described as one who is efficient tool. The teachers who are capable of making long-term impact in the students are those who are technically sound. The teachers should be dynamic like running streams and not static like stagnant pools. Cool headedness is something to do with the humanness of the teacher. Students in fact look for caring, kind hearted, and soft spoken teachers to guide them. Yet another function of the teacher is to energize the students. The coaches in the sports field not only provide technical tips to the players but also provide confidence in order to bring out the best in them. A teacher should become an energizing coach in the playfield of learning. Such teachers certainly make a silent revolution in the lives of the learners. Over the past decade, there has been a resurgence of international interest in distance learning and distance education as potentially useful strategies for addressing human development issues. This resurgence has been rooted in part in the evolution of new information and communications technologies, and in part in the improvement of pedagogical and administrative models for facilitating learning at a distance.
1.3 Role of teacher in student’s development:
Students’ engagement in learning and schooling depends to a large extent upon how teachers can relate to the students, their communities and their worlds. The focus and direction of teacher has been upon competency and skills, registration and accreditation. In contrast to the external requirements of student’s retention, learning achievement and engagement lie within the contexts of their varying learning communities within and beyond their schools. Universities and teacher educators have begun to realize their own need to engage more with their varying communities if institutions and staff are to gain the confidence of students, parents and community members. The influence of service learning and the ways it has been incorporated into many education programs, at times, as a core unit. Indian teachers are normally preferred worldwide for three reasons. Firstly, most of them are strong in content areas of teaching, and secondly they are multilingual, which is an added advantage to handle children from different ethnic groups, and thirdly, they hail from a multi-cultural society, which also contributes to skills in handling children of different cultures. Though these are the attributes of the Indian teachers, it is equally true that not all teachers get selected when it comes to recruitment. The existing colleges of education in the country may ensure quality in two ways in order to create such a market for the Indian teachers. Following are some possible ways: The curriculum of teacher education being followed in most colleges of education in the country is not tuned to prepare global teachers. Adequate curriculum input on communication skills, information and communication technology, multi-cultural issues, skills in adapting to small as well as large classrooms, etc., should be incorporated so that the present teachers are adequately prepared for the world market too. The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) may revise its curriculum framework taking into account the growing international trends and also ensure that necessary curriculum changes are effected at the University level in order to enable it percolate right into the classroom.
The impact will then be sustained to bring about a transformation towards better living and greater awareness of issues. It will, at the same time, bring mutual benefit to the volunteer and the community he or she serves. It would be better still if such a concerted effort is linked with the academic curriculum: projects, surveys, histories, folk art and other studies pursued in the context may add up for academic credit and certification. Research is integral to teaching and it is the vital channel to ensure academic soundness. Hence teachers may be encouraged to write proposals for sponsored projects. Teacher development through research may be considered as top priority, even in a teaching institution such as this upon whose academic soundness the success of the college rests.
1.4 Student placement
Designated agencies need to prepare for student placements by taking into account their capacity to provide an appropriate learning environment. This involves assessing the availability of resources needed to provide the input and structure necessary to sustain student placement. Such support structures would include an identified supervisor, allocating time to a student on a regular basis, defining their tasks and identifying other staff members who are available to provide input when required. It is necessary to develop a learning contract between the agency and the student. This clearly determines the responsibilities of both parties during the placement.
An essential component of any student placement is the supervision and support provided by staff within the organisation. While a number of staff may be involved with the student, there should be one designated person who has overall responsibility for the student. Designated agencies need to manage and use their resources in effective and efficient ways. This helps to provide children and young persons needing or in out-of-home care with the best possible standard of care. Using students and volunteers can enable designated agencies to expand and explore options which may otherwise not be available to them. The contribution of students and volunteers has the potential to enrich service provision. However, including students and volunteers does bring with it additional responsibilities and risks that designated agencies account for and manage. The selection of suitable students and volunteers must be as rigorous as the process through which permanent, temporary and casual staff are recruited and employed. Designated agencies should have selection practices to recruit committed and appropriately skilled volunteers and students who will enhance the well-being of children and young persons under their supervisory care.
Designated agencies also need to provide students and volunteers with orientation and induction to their organisation. This should include key organisational goals, policies and procedures. Mechanisms to get student and volunteer feedback should also be set up. Volunteers have diverse skills, expectations and backgrounds. When considering engaging volunteers, agencies need to consider their capacity to provide a role that will use the volunteer’s particular skills. In addition to this, agencies need to take into account the level of supervision that will be required and provided for any volunteers. Such structures should be in place before engaging volunteers. Designated agencies need to allocate resources to the training of volunteers. Induction and orientation training is essential as well as further updates of information at relevant times. Effective management strategies need to be set up if the use of volunteers is to be maximised. It is also necessary to ensure that volunteers feel supported, valued and recognised.
1.5 Student support activities:
Teaching, learning and evaluation are conventional but they are informally monitored to leave the routine unaffected, without any serious disruption of work. Admissions are made on the basis of past academic record. The higher learning institutes facilitates routine teaching-learning programme by regulating them with teacher work-diaries which list the units to be done through and academic session. Faculty submit their self-appraisal annually. They are enabled to update their knowledge by attending orientation and refresher courses. Faculty input on different committees enables the institutes to redress grievances informally, organize cultural meets, monitor library services and do other routine work.
Student performance is assessed with the conventional instrument of terminal and summative testing though. Seminars, assignments and study tours supplement lectures. The Student Adoption Programme whereby about a few students are helped by a class teacher is a welcome measure but it needs improvement to bestow individual care and offer counselling which cannot otherwise be effective in large groups. On the whole, the teaching-learning process in the college is primarily examination-oriented. There is an abundance of research on best practices in student retention. Understanding these practices appropriate for academic settings is important to designing retention strategies that will meet the needs of our students. The following strategies are relevant to colleges and universities:
Commit to and invest in student retention.
Develop a retention plan that sets goals, establishes strategies to attain the goals, and includes action plans to ensure achievement.
Ensure all members of the campus community understand that they have a role and responsibility in student retention. Everyone (faculty, staff and administrators) has a responsibility in improving retention rates; they must work together to promote success.
Hire employees who embrace the institution’s vision and values.
Gather and analyze data on student retention. Use the data to plan for improvements.
Conduct student satisfaction surveys on a systematic basis.
Conduct exit interviews to ascertain student reasons for leaving and possibly to resolve issues that are barriers to returning.
Develop a student-centered environment.
Establish a warm and welcoming environment.
Provide excellent customer service.
Review all policies, procedures, syllabi, and processes to ensure that they are student-centered, learning-oriented, and student-friendly. Eliminate unnecessary paperwork and policies.
Design a system to provide for seamless orientation, assessment, advising, registration, and payment.
Offer flexible forms of participation and review availability of classes to ensure that students’ needs are being met. Develop mechanisms to increase offerings of classes with high enrollment.
Ensure that facilities and grounds are clean, comfortable and safe. Commit to improving facilities that are important to students, such as student common areas and computer labs.
Offer financial aid and student employment opportunities.
Develop methods to ensure students are academically prepared for coursework.
Mandate course placement testing.
Require students showing deficiencies to complete remedial or developmental coursework.
Implement early alert methods.
Identify students who are “at risk” and develop proactive intervention methods.
Identify students who may be dropout-prone by observing “behavioral cues” (e.g., missing classes, failing to apply for financial aid or requesting a transcript).
Help students develop study skills and understand effective learning strategies.
Offer academic support services such as a tutoring center, learning center, math lab, language lab, etc. Encourage students to use these resources.
Provide peer tutorial services.
Provide Supplemental Instruction (SI) for classes that are extremely difficult.
Provide transition assistance programs and seminar courses.
Design orientation sessions to meet the needs of diverse student populations.
Offer workshops to help students develop skills such as time management, study skills, career exploration.
Develop an academic advising plan based on effective advisement strategies.
Provide training for academic advisors.
Design an evaluation program that assesses the effectiveness of the institution’s advising program.
Use a model of frontloading and progressive responsibility. Front-loading places emphasis and resource allocation on services and programs designed to assure a successful transition to the institution. It involves a proactive and interventionist approach with new students. With progressive responsibility, faculty and institutional support/intervention can lessen in intensity as students increasingly become more comfortable with the campus environment, get involved, and strengthen their institutional commitment.
Provide career-counseling services.
Research shows that students who are committed to their educational goal are more likely to persist. Helping students identify career goals and interests early can increase commitment.
Encourage on-campus communities to create bonds between students. Ensure frequent and high quality contact between students and faculty.
Encourage participation in academic clubs, student organizations and student activities. Ensure that there are opportunities for all student sub-cultures to participate.
Establish student common areas for socialization and relaxation.
Develop innovative strategies to increase student involvement. Change the attitude in serving students from, “We have the services, but students don’t take advantage of them,” to “How can we provide proactive ways of ensuring that students are supported by the programs we offer?”
Create learning communities that link courses together.
Establish opportunities students to be mentored by peers and faculty.
Have faculty to be available via different modes of communication (e-mail, phone, office hours).
Have students provide feedback on their perceptions of faculty attitudes towards them.
Commit to ongoing training for faculty and emphasize the critical role they play in student retention.
Help faculty develop methods to engage students in the classroom.
Provide incentives, recognition, and rewards for faculty/staff involved in retention-related initiatives.
Dedicate a center to the teaching/learning process.
Establish opportunities for active and collaborative learning.
Have students participate in class discussions.
Incorporate hands-on learning activities.
Offer early exposure to career-related coursework.
Encourage group activities to break down barriers between students.
Demonstrate commitment to education of all students.
Develop systems for proactive monitoring, formative assessment, early identification and feedback.
Develop appropriate learning settings for different student populations.
Student progression is attempted through conventional strategies of coaching and preparing students for examinations rather than for competitive career openings and placement opportunities. Aesthetic sensibility is sought to be inculcated through debates, dance, essay writing and cultural programmes. The institute must publish an annual prospectus for student guidance. A placement cell must be created in the college. Academic and placement counselling is to be offered. A concerted effort at creating adequate opportunities for personality development of learners, especially their communication skill for taking interviews and for public speaking can help achieve this. An effective placement cell offering career guidance and systematic training in communication, besides coaching for taking national and international examinations for vertical mobility, may be created.
1.6 Healthy Practices:
As a public agency, the academic institution has the advantage of using political will and influence for educational development. This has been the source of unique healthy practices. In addition, the noble cause of serving the poor and the marginalized by itself contributes to many. The following are some:
• The reliance of the institution on the goodwill and services of the local MLA and the MP has gives substantial help to develop infrastructure. Such an enlightened use of privileges for public good is a healthy practice.
• The availability of statutory reviews by the state gives the institution periodical opportunities to review its own performance. It is a kind of quality check, if only it is taken seriously.
• The local internal administration vested in the Principal has enabled internal co-ordination with the help of committees.
• The mission of the institution to make higher education available to the socially deprived and economically poor youth of the region is a healthy and noble and ideal.
• The social impact made by both NSS and NCC through a programme of awareness building, literacy-promotion and social service constitutes a distinct healthy practice.
• Public scholarships which cover a considerable body of students reinforce access. The affordable fee structure is another help. These are healthy social practices.
• The regulatory measures of the institution to monitor academic programme – such as work diaries, student assessment schedules and teacher self–appraisal are enabling healthy practices.
The Universities in various states may select leading colleges, which have good infrastructure and experienced faculty to organise short-term courses exclusively geared for facilitating placement of students abroad.. Presence of Indian students in the global arena would infuse the cultural legacy of India too and help realise the doctrine “Viswa Kutumba” (the entire world is one family). Therefore, it is time to explore the impact of global market on the Indian education system. While there is tremendous demand for students worldwide, the working conditions should also be taken into consideration. Those wishing to go abroad to accept a career should understand the realities well before taking such a decision. For example, in most developed countries, a teacher has to deal with small numbers of children in a classroom and discipline is always reported as an issue when it comes to classroom management but at the same time the classrooms have more assistive devices like computers and teaching aids to teach children.
1.7 Recommendations :
1 Engage more with education authorities on the planning, management and evaluation of student placements;
2. through improved collaboration, achieve greater consistency across the timing, purpose and procedures for student teacher placements.
3. improve the standardisation of placement documentation and communication with schools and students;
4. review and standardise the nature of written reports required from teachers on student progress and performance;
5. take steps to improve the consistency between tutor evaluations and class teacher evaluations on student progress and performance;
6. provide timely feedback to education authorities and schools on the quality of student teacher placements within schools;
7. work with schools and education authorities to overcome some of the difficulties which teachers have attending pre-placement meetings; and
8. provide more mentoring courses and introduce mentoring modules for teachers.
1.8 Conclusion:
Teaching, learning and evaluation are conventional but they are informally monitored to leave the routine unaffected, without any serious disruption of work. Student progression is attempted through conventional strategies of coaching and preparing students for examinations rather than for competitive career openings and placement opportunities. Teaching is an interactive process of gaining and sharing knowledge, valuing the learning’s of others and appreciating the differing contexts in which learning both occurs and is applied. If given the tools, the agency of teachers can work to disrupt the organization of schooling that limits opportunities for historically underrepresented students to access high-status knowledge. Though teachers might have some experience as change agents in other arenas, educators might lack the specific skills necessary to narrow the access divide in higher education. Applied e-Learning and e-Teaching in higher education cover multiple possibilities, including the marriage of the learner, teacher and a growing range of technologies available today.
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