S1 - E79 - Visit classes with high DFW rates or high number of first-year students (Support)

Too often we wish students would reach out to us for help. However, we know that this is rarely the case, especially during their first year. So we have two options: wait in vain for them to come to us or take key and timely information to them. More importantly, when dealing with Generation Z students, it is crucial to understand that we need to “go to them [and] don’t beg them to come to you” (Hundrieser, 2015). Gen Z’ers prefer interactive communication (Hundrieser, 2015) and the majority of Gen Z say they prefer in-person communications (51%) as opposed to emailing (16%) (Schawbel, 2014). By simply running an institutional report to find out which classes have the highest number of first-year students or which classes have the highest DFW rates, you know which classes you can visit to provide information on key resources (i.e. tutoring, etc.) and/or key deadlines (i.e. registration, FAFSA, scholarship deadlines, etc.).To implement this initiative, we simply contacted the faculty who taught these courses and asked if we might take the first two minutes of class to share some important information with their students. The faculty all readily agreed and welcomed our visit. Our peer mentors then began working their way through the list of classes, stopping by, and making quick announcements. We found that going to the students is a great way to provide the support they need to be successful and retain.

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