First Impressions Count

1. Strategies for Creating an Effective Managed Intake ProcessFacilitators: Lennox McLendon and Brian Frazier First Impressions Count

3. The Sanity Quiz • Do several of your students complete your intake process but then quit after a couple class sessions? • Do your teachers find themselves constantly juggling between teaching existing students and enrolling new ones? • Do your teachers never have as much time as they would like to help students set realistic and meaningful goals?

4. You may be suffering from the “All Things to All People” Syndrome – quite common among adult educators. If so…

5. Flexibility gone bad… Adult Education Services Get your GED Enroll in a free class today! Enroll anytime! Set your own schedule! Flexibility has been the cornerstone of adult education.

6. But even flexibility has its limits It’s all about BALANCE!

7. And… Making First Impressions Count

8. Workshop Objectives • You will: • Review research related to intake processes, • Assess your current orientation and intake procedures, and • Explore options and resources for strengthening those procedures.

9. Managed Intake* * For our discussions – global term referring to program orientation, student intake, and initial assessment

10. Managed Enrollment (next session)

11. Combinations

12. The Power of Managed Intake What does the research tell us?

13. Toward a New Pluralism in ABE/ESOL Classrooms – Robert Kegan “The interpersonal relationships that these adult peers developed in the cohort made a critical difference to their: • academic learning, • emotional and psychological wellbeing, and • ability to broaden their perspectives.” http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report19a.pdf

14. The Critical First Three Weeks – Allen Quigley First three weeks are critical to student persistence • Situational barriers • Institutional barriers • Attitudinal barriers http://www.ncsall.net/?id=420

15. The Adult Learner Persistence Study NCSALL (John Comings) • To support learner persistence, we need to help students: • Manage their negative forces • Build self efficacy • Set realistic, meaningful, and achievable goals • See the progress they are making. http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report12.pdf

16. Managed Orientation and Intake

17. The First Impression • Orientation • Provides information and assistance to make informed decisions • Great opportunity to get students excited and motivated • Intake • Involves gathering background information • Skill assessments for placement and diagnosis

18. What are you doing now? Page 38 Activity 1 • Take a few minutes to complete worksheet #1 – Student Orientation and Intake Self-Assessment. • You’ll refer back to it later in the workshop.

19. “You only have one chance to make a good first impression.” Orientation and Intake • What should it include? • How can it be scheduled?

20. Orientation& Intake Model Program Overview Preliminary Goal Setting Strengths Identification Student Testimony Self-assessment Learning styles Locator/appraisal Follow-up Student Interviews * discuss assessment results (locator, learning styles) * discuss/assist in resolving barriers * confirm student attendance schedule * begin standardized testing Goals and ILP’s * set student goals * develop individual learning plans Registration Tour of Facility Student enrollment form Release of information Code of conduct Internet use policy Logistical procedures Page 5 Welcoming Activity Barriers to Success Conducted during 3-4 hour group orientation Conducted during scheduled follow-up

21. Managed Intake Delivery Options • Centralized Intake • All new student intake is conducted at one location. • Student information is forwarded to class sites upon completion. • Onsite Intake • Student intake is conducted at each class site on a scheduled basis.

22. Centralized Intake Page 6 Back to School Student Telephone Call Appointment Complete secondary program Central Telephone Number • Recognizes needs • Decides to seek information Underage Information Session Orientation & Intake • 45-Minute Session • Parent/guardian present • Program information • Discuss goals/ needs • Decide upon course of action Completion and Transition Progress Enter Selected Class Site Program of Study Advisor Appointment Developed by instructor with input from student

23. A 12 Hour Model Page 7 • Day One – Orientation to Adult Education • Day Two – Making the Most of Your Learning Experience • Day Three – Assessing Your Strengths • Day Four – Getting Started

24. ESOL Intake • Need to adapt • Audiotapes and materials in various languages • Picture-based needs assessments and learning style inventories • Resources • Center for Adult English Language Acquisition http://www.cal.org/CAELA/

25. Activity 2:Stop and Reflect Time • At your table, discuss the following: • Refer back to your student orientation survey. • Which of the components of the managed intake model that you are not doing now do you find most interesting? • Is this component something you would be able to do? • If not, what would need to change to allow you to do it?

26. But what if… • There is no staff available to conduct managed intake? • Use a part-time instructor as the centralized assessor. • Use volunteer tutors to work with existing students while teacher conducts managed intake. • Make existing students aware that one three-hour class session each month will be designated for independent computerized study while teacher conducts managed intake.

27. But what if… • If I don’t enroll students on the spot, they’ll never come back? • Committed students will come back! The # who fail to return is significantly smaller than the # who dropped out after a few classes. • Professionalize your program. Give potential students an appointment card.

28. But what if… • Students can’t/won’t wait until the next scheduled intake session? • Employ the “on any given Monday” routine; enroll new students on one particular morning or afternoon each week. • Plan for making “exceptions” for specialized circumstances.

29. Planning Next Steps • Share the information with your teachers and engage them in the decision making process. • Use the “Managed Intake Decision Points” as a reference tool.

30. Managed Intake Decision Points Page 39 How will I advertise the intake schedule to prospective students? What is the best location/s for centralized intake? Talk to program director and staff to gain support and approval. Yes Do I need to get approval to initiate a managed intake process? What resources and materials will be needed? Do I want to conduct centralized intake? How often would intake need to be conducted? Yes Who would conduct the intake? What options do I have for students requiring immediate enrollment? No No Begin planning process for onsite managed intake. Who would conduct the intake? Who would teach the class during onsite intake? What criteria will I use to determine the effectiveness of the managed intake process? When and how often would the intake be scheduled?

31. Career Planning Component • National College Transition Network • Curriculum • Activities • Templates • http://collegetransition.org/publications.icacurriculum.html

32. Where I came from • What’s Important to me • What I’m good at • http://www.cls.utk.edu/pdf/getthere.pdf Getting There A Curriculum for People Moving into Employment Center for Literacy, Education and Employment

33. First Impressions Count • Allaying fears • Acknowledging strengths • Making comfortable • Planning for Barriers • Creating a Sense of Community

34. Always willing to help… • Lennox McLendon • llmcl422@netscape.net • Brian Frazier • frazierb3@michigan.gov