WSU Student Retention Team | Photo by Jessica Fugett | The Wright State Guardian
The Wright State University (WSU) student retention team is finding creative ways to help students despite the social distancing barrier.
Same goal, different focus
The student retention team strives to identify barriers to success, teach students to navigate college life and empower students to achieve their educational goals.
With the switch to online classes, the student retention team is working hard. They want to make sure they are connecting with the student body.
“With all of the social distancing and staying at home, it’s easy to feel disconnected and isolated,” said Student Retention Associate Katie Jones. “Just calling a friend or setting up a video meeting has really helped me to feel less alone and I hope the students we reach out to feel the same.”
Catherine Hernandez, student success coach, has been able to do everything she did before, just over the phone.
According to Hernandez, the way the student retention team serves students shifts with the situation.
“Right now, the shift is online,” said Hernandez. “How to be successful with remote classes. The way we support students and teach them how to navigate needs to be towards that goal. So we need to be adaptable to really put students first and I think that’s what we’re doing.”
Being creative with social media
The student retention team has been using social media more than usual to aid in reaching out to students.
“I am lucky to have the opportunity to think and find creative ways to help students,” said AJ Shetty, student retention associate. “I had never used Twitter, TikTok or handled a Facebook page before and it feels good to finally put the use of my time with social media and use it as a tool. Social media is very powerful and we can see that now.”
Members of the student retention team have started taking turns posting videos of themselves giving tips and advice to their peers.
According to Hernandez, the university was missing the peer-to-peer tips for how to be successful.
The student retention associates then started to make videos to share their tips and tricks to being successful online.
“Having us directly talk to students helps us be more relatable and personal for students and bring the sense of community in a time of social distancing,” said Shetty. “I feel video messages are more effective and draw in more attention.”
We’re all in this together
Being a sense of support for students has been a goal for the student retention team from the beginning. Now more than ever, they want to make sure students don’t feel isolated and alone during this unprecedented time.
“A lot of students are so frustrated in this transition, and our job is to make sure that we can provide any resources and help that we can,” said Student Retention Associate Megan McKarns. “We truly wish and want the best for our students and want to make sure that we are able to do everything we can to ensure their success!”
According to Shetty, the student retention team is working hard to understand students’ problems and develop solutions.
Aside from assisting students academically, the student retention team wants everyone to know that they are in this together.
