Title of Effective Practice: - California Postsecondary Education ...

Direct Connection to Policy Area 4 of The Illinois Commitment
Maximizing Adult Education Student Retention
McHenry County College
What issue or need is addressed by the effective practice?
The impact of non-credit Adult Education on the lives of learners, their communities, their workplaces, and their
families is potentially great. The impact of Adult Education depends on the extent to which programs engage in
practices that retain students long enough for them to make educational and personal gains.
It is important to note that participation in Adult Education is strictly voluntary. There are many reasons why
adults may not continue long term studying. In fact, the average hours of study in our program are less than 80
hours per year. Therefore, our program has committed itself to maximizing learner retention.
Description of the effective practice:
To this end, four key practices are deployed:
1. Student-friendly recruitment and enrollment using native language publicity information for ESL learners,
outreach activities to community entities (schools, houses of worship, employers), accurate and timely
information, first-contact staff who are welcoming and accommodating.
2. Placement of learners at the most appropriate level of instruction, and in classes that are most convenient to
their lives.
3. Flexible re-enrollment practices: As their life circumstances change, students can easily transfer from one
class to another.
4. Contacting students after they have been absent.
How does this practice achieve sustainability?
Staff input and feedback are regularly incorporated into the procedural details of these four practices. Reminders
of the priority of retention work are issued and discussed frequently with all staff. Staff are monitored programwide
to gauge the extent of follow-through on retention processes.
What are the results/measurable outcomes?
The evaluation of the results of retention work is ongoing. Preliminary results show that all staff, instructors,
placement clerks, office staff, and supervisors are diligent and better coordinated in conducting consistent
retention work activities. This is especially the case with post-absence contacts to students. Through fiscal year
2005, less than 30% of absent students were contacted. In the second semester of fiscal year 2006, more than
55% of absent students are being contacted. It is expected that these activities will bear fruit in fiscal year 2007
as we reach the goal of contacting 90% of all absent students.
Contact Information
Name: Jeffrey Bright
Email: jbright@mchenry.edu
Phone: (815) 479-7588
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