5 Student Retention Tips for Higher Education
With higher education being such a door opener to many opportunities, its value for prospective students can be incredibly high. However, with these high stakes, students can be vulnerable to melt and attrition, and higher education professionals might find it hard to retain students as they succumb to the pressure and high costs of education.
Here are 5 student retention tips for higher education:
1. Reducing Pre-Enrolment Anxiety with Better Connections
Students who are particularly vulnerable to leaving higher education are often ones that don’t feel like they’re getting enough support or have enough reason to push through the discomfort of the application and enrollment process. A student might feel overwhelmed with the amount of work required to simply be prepared for their first day and they may feel anxious about what the entire experience will bring for them.
Related: The melt dilemma: what are Gen Z’s doubts all about?
Helping them to build community and connect to others before they attend their first classes can assuage their fears and feelings of aloneness. The feelings of being overwhelmed are common to many students, and giving them a chance to see that their experience is not abnormal can provide relief and feelings of security.
Using Unibuddy Chat lets students talk to ambassadors, current students who have walked in their shoes or even faculty who can help field questions about their programs, and can be a great tool for fostering connections and a sense of community. You can go further by providing a whole network with Unibuddy Community, perhaps for incoming students for 2023, to ask questions in a forum and get answers, as well as see that they’re not alone in this daunting new situation.
2. Offer Engaging Digital Platforms for Candid Conversations
Unibuddy Community can help students balance the intensity of reaching academic goals with the satisfaction of being connected to something worthwhile, be it peers, clubs, or events. A student doesn’t have to have their private information displayed for everyone, so it takes the anxiety away from posting messages to a group, and lets students connect and see what’s on everyone’s minds. It’s helpful for a student by keeping them connected to their peer groups for moral and academic support.
Related: Supporting students to overcome their fears with Community
Unibuddy Chat lets students connect directly, in a one-on-one fashion. It can be used to connect students to peers, especially if they’re looking for friendship or it can help new students connect to an ambassador, which is great for someone wanting guidance on an anxiety-provoking part of academic life, like picking a major or selecting the right courses.
These platforms are designed for letting students share openly and honestly, giving a real picture of what to expect and what’s currently going on – a key component for student retention. Conversations here do not have the inauthenticity of some marketing campaigns, and are likely to be received well by Gen Z students.
3. Show that Challenges are Common and Surmountable
Peer-to-peer, student-to-student relationships bolster confidence through the sense of belonging and competency with encouragement and useful experiences, which are key components to achieving success in higher education. Students who don’t have peer connections miss out on fun activities to reduce stress, support from others invested in their well-being, and ideas that can help them get unstuck when in difficult spots.
Give your incoming and current students access to the resources within their peers through Unibuddy Community. It can offer guidance for a student, perhaps as they decide to switch programs, try a new club, figure out their course selection, or even navigate personal issues with their mental health or families.
Related: How digital learning communities help prepare students for higher ed success
Unibuddy Community isn’t a replacement for in-person student connections and the student community in general, but it can be like a warm introduction to a space where a student can feel welcome and supported. Throwing oneself into an unknown social situation can have its own pressures and be daunting, and some students may feel too anxious to attempt this. In using Unibuddy Community, they can get a feel for what the student community is like, and assess how they can join the scene.
4. Building and Nurturing Connections
Students might, for any reason, feel disconnected from their peers and community. They may feel a time crunch during exam periods, or being busy with work, or simply not have enough energy to devote to their social network. Unibuddy Chat and Community can keep students connected without requiring much effort from them.
During breaks when students are physically away from the campus, Unibuddy Community can still be active and help engage students by providing them with something non-academic to look forward to when they return.
5. Support Every Step of the Way
The average academic journey does not get easier the further one gets into their studies, and institutions can boost student retention by giving prospect students what they need where they’re at.
Related: The Power of Digital Orientation: Why Selling Higher Ed Doesn’t Stop At Admissions
A more advanced student, in their third or fourth year, may not be as vulnerable to attrition as their first-year counterparts, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t struggling to maintain motivation. Being an ambassador can be rewarding for students, and can provide meaning as a useful touchpoint for newer students and work experience once they’ve graduated.
Unibuddy Community can continue providing student-to-student support to others who are facing similar challenges and have informative experiences to share, while Chats can let them make and reinforce connections with individuals. All this helps reinforce your student retention strategy.
