A lot is expected of students throughout their time in college. After the initial buzz of starting life in further education, the challenge for the institution is to ensure their students remain engaged during their time and have a good overall student experience.
While engaging students is easier said than done, it is much more challenging to re-engage those struggling and thinking of checking out altogether.
Disenfranchised students' challenges are much more difficult for those involved and attentive to their learning. There are many reasons certain students disengage from their studies, which, left unattended, result in the risk of dropping out.
When considering some of those key challenges and how to overcome them, it is easy to see how utilising an online campus app and mobile-first approach can help combat some of these issues and improve student engagement.
When a student downloads and uses the campus app, it is simple to check which students are engaging and which are not. Once the challenges and the suffering students are identified, your digital campus can interact with, help, and support those who need it most.
Challenges
The main challenges students face, which put them at risk of dropping out, are centred around one theme - struggling to cope with change, whether academic, social, or financial.
As these pressures take hold and the students struggle to cope, their work, attendance, and mental health can suffer. Without help and support, this pressure can begin to feel insurmountable - leading them to think that dropping out is the only option.
There are ways to help your students cope with these changes. Using your student app and digital campus provides them with support and the ability to handle the obstacles placed before them.
App Support
Ensure students know where to find the resources they need and are aware that there is a digital campus app that provides everything they need all in one place. Therefore, reminding students who have yet to use the app of the advantages of doing so.
Promote the support and mental health resources available through the app to students experiencing emotional stress. Assure them that they can get help and support whenever they need it.
Financial pressures and worries can lead to students not continuing to study if the support and help available is not readily accessible. Make sure students have access to resources, information, and advice clinics before it's too late and they can't continue their studies due to financial pressures.
Students may feel overwhelmed by academic pressures and expectations. Through the app, ensure students know where to go to access the educational resources they need to succeed. Communicate important dates and ensure students know where to turn for help and who to contact regarding academic support.
Institutions must take action to ensure they offer help, support, and advice if a student shows signs of struggle and disengagement in any mentioned areas.
Re-Engage
Your app should serve as your main communication source, enabling you to contact students where they are, on their own time and on their own terms. Most of today's students are digitally savvy and smartphone natives and therefore accustomed to using them as their primary means of communication.
Students now expect communications to be optimised for their smartphones, and in-app notifications are proven to gain significantly more engagement than other types of messages.
Emails are often unread or ignored as students face information overload. It is vital that important, timely messages should be targeted and sent directly to the user on their smartphone.
If students can find the answer they need, where and when they need it, they will feel much more engaged. Tailor your messages and notifications for particular students who have yet to engage, providing a good opportunity for you to target your messages to them and identify those who may be at risk. A mobile app is an ideal way to direct students to the help and resources they need, allowing them to access them anytime.
For more information on re-engaging students, join our webinar on February 28th at 12:30 pm to learn more about the challenges and how to overcome them.