Faculty and Staff
Retention: What We Can Do
Retention at Fort Hays State University takes a commitment from everyone to help create a thriving tiger. While it is up to the student to show interest in being at the university, there are ways that we as faculty, staff, administrators, families, friends, and peer students can encourage students to stay. With that being said, the more likely students make positive connections with the people and the resources at FHSU, the more likely the student will want to be here. It is important that we engage the students to become actively involved in the community. In addition, the more academically successful a student is, the more likely they will want to be here. It is the little things we do, that can make a big difference to the students. If a student connects, engages, and succeeds, the likelihood of retaining our students increases and creates a thriving tiger! Here is what we can do, as a community, to help retain our students:
CONNECT
- Get to know the students by their first names. By getting to know students, the student is more likely to seek out advice or help when they need it.
- Follow-up with the students regularly. Check in with students who you know have been struggling, no matter the issue, to see if they are doing better. In most cases, the student will appreciate that you care.
- Advise a student club or organization. In order for a student club or organization to become recognized they must have a staff or faculty advisor. Through your advice, support, and knowledge, the club or organization will flourish.
- Keep the students informed. Make classroom announcements that encourage your students to stay involved. Keep them informed of out-of-class opportunities such as internships, research opportunities, study groups, and campus events.
ENGAGE
- Encourage students to get involved. There are many ways for students to get involved at FHSU. They can join a club or organization, work on-campus, participate in intramurals, etc.
- Enable students to see the big picture. Help students apply what they are learning in the classroom to their everyday out-of-class experiences.
- Encourage students to seek help when it is needed. The student needs to understand it is our job to make sure our students are feeling happy and appreciated.
- Encourage students to utilize campus resources. Students who utilize campus resources such as Health & Wellness Services, Academic Advising: Career Exploration Center, etc typically earn better grades.
SUCCEED
- Maintain high expectations in the classroom. Retention is not about lowering expectations, it's about helping our students to reach their full potential.
- Challenge the students, but also provide support. Students are more likely to reach their full potential when they are challenged, if the challenge is initially too much for the student, they may need some additional support to help them progress toward their goals.
- Hold students accountable. Recognize when students are missing class or not participating and help students to realize the impact this can have on their ability to do well academically.
- Participate in Tiger IQ. Please login to Tiger IQ whenever you are concerned about a student so that we can help them get back on track. Inform students, in your syllabus, that you participate in this program.
- Provide consistent feedback. This helps students identify where they need to improve and what they are doing well.