How schools help prevent dropouts
Ngee Ann-Adelaide Education Centre (NAAEC) plans course timetables flexibly to accommodate students' study plans.
Students may apply for leave of absence if they have to relocate for work, as long as they complete their programme within a stipulated duration permitted by the University of Adelaide, said Ms Lim Mei Mei, the centre's general manager.
Students may apply for leave of absence if they have to relocate for work, as long as they complete their programme within a stipulated duration permitted by the University of Adelaide, said Ms Lim Mei Mei, the centre's general manager.
She added that students may also opt to transfer to Adelaide, Australia, to complete the programme.
SMa Institute of Higher Learning offers academic programmes with flexible course structures so students can study at their preferred pace within a specified period.
"Free additional classes will also be conducted to help learners gain a clear understanding of subjects," said chief executive officer Richard Soh.
ERC Institute Marketing & Services Director Jenne Foo said: "Our programme administrators will pay more attention to students' needs in terms of administrative and enrolment processes, as well as to ensure they are coping well.
"The programme administrator makes an extra effort to be present at the classroom at least 15 minutes before the lesson starts, to chat with the students. This helps build a bond between them and the students, and allows the administrator to detect any students who show signs of dropping out, via absenteeism or attitude in class.
"ERC Institute also has a professional counselling service available to all part-time students."
Auston Institute of Management marketing manager James Sim said adult learners who face stress or issues during their studies can always turn to their course consultants or quality assurance manager for help.
Uptrend College's vice-principal, Mr John Foo, said they have a Pastoral Care Service to help students who face difficulties in their courses.
He said: "Our teachers and administrative staff are urged to be vigilant, proactive and sympathetic with students under their care.
"They have an obligation to maintain good rapport with the students and spot potential problems students may be facing."
PSB Academy students facing problems can approach their academic staff as well as the principal counsellor for help.
Students can also enrol for one module per term with approval from the partner University.
If they are too tied up with other commitments, they can apply for leave of absence, with approval from the University, to take a break from their studies.
Students in PSB Academy's Certificate and Diploma programmes have an unlimited number of attempts to re-take their failed modules, and all students have a maximum candidature period to complete their studies.
The Marketing Institute of Singapore Training Centre (MISTC) has various services for adult learners struggling to balance work, family and studies.
Mr Suresh Punjabi, MISTC's Executive Director, said: "This includes the option to join another parallel session instead of the scheduled session, or defer a module to the following semester so that they can complete the programme at their own pace."
Informatics Academy has implemented a live streaming and recording feature for its lectures, and students can access the recordings at their convenience.
The PEI's faculty heads and lecturers counsel students who face problems with their studies, and also give more attention to weaker students.
Kaplan Learning Institute's organisational learning consultancy arm provides in-depth learning needs analysis for students, and the programmes can be designed and developed to focus on identified needs.
SIM GE offers part-time programmes that cater to adult learners.
An SIM spokesman said: "The mode of delivery of our academic programmes is designed to offer as much flexibility as possible to our adult learners. Students who need additional coaching or advice can always approach our teaching faculty for help.
"We also provide counselling services for those who require support in non-academic matters."
TMIS has a full-time Student Welfare Executive whom students can approach if they face difficulties.
The PEI's staff will also monitor each student's class attendance, and take the initiative to approach students who have poor attendance for a counselling session to find out the problems they are facing, and help out as far as possible.
This enables TMIS to retain the students in the course even before they think of dropping out.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
Source:http://www.edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/news/schoolnews/1159844/How_schools_help_prevent_dropouts.html
SMa Institute of Higher Learning offers academic programmes with flexible course structures so students can study at their preferred pace within a specified period.
"Free additional classes will also be conducted to help learners gain a clear understanding of subjects," said chief executive officer Richard Soh.
ERC Institute Marketing & Services Director Jenne Foo said: "Our programme administrators will pay more attention to students' needs in terms of administrative and enrolment processes, as well as to ensure they are coping well.
"The programme administrator makes an extra effort to be present at the classroom at least 15 minutes before the lesson starts, to chat with the students. This helps build a bond between them and the students, and allows the administrator to detect any students who show signs of dropping out, via absenteeism or attitude in class.
"ERC Institute also has a professional counselling service available to all part-time students."
Auston Institute of Management marketing manager James Sim said adult learners who face stress or issues during their studies can always turn to their course consultants or quality assurance manager for help.
Uptrend College's vice-principal, Mr John Foo, said they have a Pastoral Care Service to help students who face difficulties in their courses.
He said: "Our teachers and administrative staff are urged to be vigilant, proactive and sympathetic with students under their care.
"They have an obligation to maintain good rapport with the students and spot potential problems students may be facing."
PSB Academy students facing problems can approach their academic staff as well as the principal counsellor for help.
Students can also enrol for one module per term with approval from the partner University.
If they are too tied up with other commitments, they can apply for leave of absence, with approval from the University, to take a break from their studies.
Students in PSB Academy's Certificate and Diploma programmes have an unlimited number of attempts to re-take their failed modules, and all students have a maximum candidature period to complete their studies.
The Marketing Institute of Singapore Training Centre (MISTC) has various services for adult learners struggling to balance work, family and studies.
Mr Suresh Punjabi, MISTC's Executive Director, said: "This includes the option to join another parallel session instead of the scheduled session, or defer a module to the following semester so that they can complete the programme at their own pace."
Informatics Academy has implemented a live streaming and recording feature for its lectures, and students can access the recordings at their convenience.
The PEI's faculty heads and lecturers counsel students who face problems with their studies, and also give more attention to weaker students.
Kaplan Learning Institute's organisational learning consultancy arm provides in-depth learning needs analysis for students, and the programmes can be designed and developed to focus on identified needs.
SIM GE offers part-time programmes that cater to adult learners.
An SIM spokesman said: "The mode of delivery of our academic programmes is designed to offer as much flexibility as possible to our adult learners. Students who need additional coaching or advice can always approach our teaching faculty for help.
"We also provide counselling services for those who require support in non-academic matters."
TMIS has a full-time Student Welfare Executive whom students can approach if they face difficulties.
The PEI's staff will also monitor each student's class attendance, and take the initiative to approach students who have poor attendance for a counselling session to find out the problems they are facing, and help out as far as possible.
This enables TMIS to retain the students in the course even before they think of dropping out.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
Source:http://www.edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/news/schoolnews/1159844/How_schools_help_prevent_dropouts.html
After reading the article, I feel that it is good that these higher learning institutes have come up with different ideas to prevent students who may be having difficulties in their studies or personal troubles from giving up in their studies and drop out of school. As a person’s studies get more advanced, I feel that it will get harder to cope, and when one gets older, the person might get busier. For example, you will have to find jobs as you reach adulthood. So, any job will definitely take up your time spent to study and result in difficulties in your studies. With the flexible ideas implemented by the institutes, the busy or troubled students will benefit and the result will be that they will be dissuaded from giving up on their studies. From this article, I am reminded that studies are important in life; so if there is a chance to study, why give it up?
ReplyDeleteSome students have difficulty studying due to different factors which may lead to them consider dropping out of school. However, this article shows how some institutes are putting in effort in ensuring that potential dropouts are taken care of. I believe that those who are showing signs of wanting to drop out can still be helped and it is great that teachers want to help them by giving counseling sessions or building good relationships with them. Adult learners are also given flexible schedules and part-time programs so that they can manage their time since they are also working.
ReplyDeleteI feel that these institutes are really helping to reduce the number of dropouts and also help adult learners who might have difficulty managing their time for both work and studies. Everyone can keep on studying if they want to so as to constantly improve themselves and as long as they have a chance to do so, they should not waste it.
The article is about various ways private schools are coming up with to deal with dropouts. The methods range from counselling to flexible timetable and building strong bonds between program administers and students.
ReplyDeleteAlthough these schools are starting these programes with good intention in mind, I feel that they often are not the most effective.
Most of the schools mentioned here are private schools, and from my own view, people who ends up in private schools either have a complicated background or some other problem in life.
No one would give up a government paid school to apply for a private school where everything is more expensive.
So if the student is really missing lessons, it would be because of some serious problem and I doubt just plain counselling would help them.
All in all, i think government school should adopt these methods as it would cater better to the students there.
I personally feel that these institutes are helpful in preventing school dropouts.
ReplyDeleteIn reality, not all the students are able to cope and get adjusted well in government schools and as a result, a minority of them drops out of school
There could be several reasons for their actions such as family background, rigid timetable and etc.
I feel that these institutes are effective in reaching out to them as compared to government institutes.
Firstly, they have greater flexibilities in their timetable to suit those school dropouts or part time students, enabling the students to juggle flexibly between work and studies.
Secondly, they have counseling sessions for students who may face difficulties. Although government schools do have a similar practice, I feel that it is less effective as there are usually only 1 or 2 counselor/s attached to the schools.
Lastly, the interesting mode of lessons engages the students and interest them rather than pressuring them in studies.
Some may argue that these institutes are offer courses that are expensive, however I strongly feel that the quality of service and education they provide is worth compared to government schools which may be less expensive but unable to cater and take care of so many students.
In conclusion, never give up in your studies, “it is not the mountain you conquer but yourself.”, develop a positive attitude and work hard to achieve success.
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ReplyDeleteIn today's society, competitiveness is getting more and more intense, be it in school or work force. Even for those with a proper degree or diploma, there is no guarantee for a place in the work force. Hence, I feel that these approaches adopted by private institutions its effectiveness is limited. Yes, it is true that with these counseling and monitoring can help in reduce the number of drop-outs. However, if a student cannot even handle their school work, how can they manage their work in the work force, which is more abundant and stressful?
ReplyDeleteGive a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. In my opinion, school should educate students on time and stress management instead of trying to make lesson time more flexible and learning easier. Student should learn to accommodate the timetable given by the school and not the other way round. By doing so, students then can gain ‘competitive advantage’ over others and hence achieve a greater height.