It’s really difficult to understand why people take education so lightly in this country. In stark contrast international students studying here seem to relish the opportunities that our education systems offer. As ‘the squeeze’ to demonstrate return on the governments investments in education continues, providers are becoming more and more accountable for student attendance, retention and graduation. Whilst for larger providers this has sometimes been a bitter pill to swallow, for we smaller providers, it’s really just business as usual. Understanding the factors that drive your learners to stay or go in our learning environments is critical to understanding how we influence them to ‘just stay’.
Kiwidotcom recently undertook a research project with the assistance of Ako Aotearoa that looked at the very factors that influence enrolment, retention and graduation in our learning establishment. For small providers, undertaking research of this nature is not work to be undertaken lightly but it is definitely worthwhile. Our research is perhaps not a ‘theoretical masterpiece’, but for us it has changed the way we do things and how we influence learners to do things differently. You can read an overview of the findings or download the report here.
Take a good look at the Ako website while you are there. A fantastic resource for isolated organisations like ours, it’s a place you need to visit often.
