Happy New Year!
This one simple thing can improve the retention rates in your IT classes, but you have to do it in week one!
Did you know that a lack of computer storage and software licensing can be a huge barrier to the retention of students in your IT classes?
An IT instructor in a two-year college instituted laptop tech checks with his students the first week of the semester, and his retention rates shot up from 50% to 90%+ because he ensured all students had the hardware and software required by the class.
Here’s what I recommend you do to have similar results:
Publish the recommended computer requirements with the program information on your website (RAM, Hardware, Processor, Software Needed)
Institute a Tech Check in-person or remotely before the class or during the first week. Do not rely on student self-report for this information. Students may be embarrassed they don’t have the funds for the computer setup they need and may not want to share this information which can cause them to get behind in the class and drop out.
Identify free resources within the College and externally to assist students with computer hardware and software costs. Some colleges have loaner laptops; some educational foundations can help subsidize software and hardware costs, and financial aid may be able to cover some costs..
If you take this approach, you will increase the retention of your IT students.
Would you like to have a fully developed customized recruitment and retention plan in just one month? Let's discuss a WomenTech Training at your school. I have some times available starting in February after the busy start of the semester.. I look forward to talking with you.
I would recommend the WomenTech Bootcamp to other Auto Programs: it was eye-opening and transformative for our automotive and diesel programs. For example, we hadn’t considered the size of women’s uniforms, or how the lab experience could be improved for female students, or how to prepare women for industry shop culture – which can be rough.
The WomenTech Bootcamp was outcome focused. In less than one week we created Robust Recruitment and Retention Plans with the responsible parties and a timeline. But on our own at the College, it would have taken us multiple meetings over multiple months just to discuss our ideas, much less get names on paper and ideas into a plan template. It really accelerated the planning process.
The WomenTech Bootcamp will help improve your program’s overall health. It makes sense to target a population that’s under-represented, to create a more inclusive model. I see our qualified female technicians filling the workforce demand for our industry partners.
Michael LeBlanc
Automotive Instructor, Department Chair,
Principal Investigator, NSF ATE, “Accelerating Advanced Electric Vehicle Technician Education While Increasing the Recruitment and Retention of Women”
Linn-Benton Community College, Lebanon, Oregon