Every college ministry no matter how good it is has students stop coming or don't come back after attending a few times. Could you be MORE intentional on retaining students?
8 Thoughts on retaining students:
1. Know who attended and when. Many use an electronic check in system. But, it can be done the old fashioned way with sign in sheets. Some use Comment cards each week or during the first month to help keep track of who is there and who is not. Develop and maintain a list of everyone who has attended this semester as you go along.
2. When a student misses 2 weeks in a row, they get a contact. Consecutive misses are a good metric for when someone should be checked on.
3. Beware of "shaming" contacts. Students do not like to feel like they are being fussed at for not being there. Maybe it could be a message that says, "Hey missed your face..... just wanted to let you know what is coming up next week. Hope classes are not getting you down."
4. Do evaluation sheets at the middle of the semester......NOT at the end. Some years ago we were going through evaluation sheets after our last Freshmen Nite of the semester. They all said how great it was. Yet, we knew we had lost a significant number. Then, it dawned on me. Of course, those that loved it were still there. Do an evaluation sheet after a month or at mid-semester that would help you know if you have some issues that need to be corrected in your big event.....BEFORE they have quit coming.
5. Invite 5 or 6 students for pizza and talk. 3 or 4 weeks into the semester invite some different freshmen for a talk back session. Ask questions and listen. Don't justify or explain. Ask and listen. Students think and talk better with free pizza in their mouth.
6. Contact sick students. Yes; when you hear someone is sick, make a contact and see if they need anything. When a student is sick, they can feel very alone and uncared about. As a student, I was sick in my room with strep throat when my BSU Director knocked on the door with cup of warm soup. It felt like a life saver and love.
7. At your leader meeting, take a few minutes to talk about who is missing or hasn't been seen in a while. Besides alerting you to them, you can divide up contacts and just help your leaders being conscious of continuing caring and noticing who is missing.
8. After the first 2 weeks of your regular weekly meeting, compare your list against last year's list. Who was active last spring that has not been this fall.
This article was adapted from "Reaching MORE College Students" Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN
You can check out "30 Devotionals for College Freshmen" at Amazon.com/dp/B0H8K6L1QX
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