ACTION PLAN - University of Ulster

campus-wide >search and rescue= teams to help identify high-risk students and work with
them before their problems become critical.
The main components of the Blackfeet retention model incorporate networking, cultural
activities, counseling, mentoring and teaching various life skills such as stress
management, problem-solving, parenting, and enhanced interpersonal communication.
Jefferson Community College in Kentucky has developed 63 ideas for faculty use in
dealing with retention/attrition. Faculty/Student Interaction include such basic ideas as
faculty learning each student=s name as quickly as possible and using the student=s name
in class; telling students by what name they prefer to be called; at the end of each class
period, asking one student to stay for a minute to chat (or compliment, tell you missed
him/her if absent, etc.); and asking students to stop by the faculty person=s office to pick
up returned quizzes, tests, themes, etc. These provide an opportunity to talk informally
with students, call students when they are absent, make appointments to discuss
attendance, make-up work, etc., get feedback from students about their perceptions about
faculty attitudes toward them, socialize as the faculty person=s style permits, conduct
personal interview with all students sometime during the semester, provide positive
reinforcement when possible, and give respectful answers to any questions they may ask,
listen intently to students= comments and opinions, be aware of differences between
students= classroom mistakes and their personal successes/failures, be honest about their
feelings, opinions, and attitudes toward students and toward the subject matter (don=t be
afraid to admit don=t know all answers; if student tells you something in confidence,
respect that confidence; avoid making value judgements about confidences), lend and
borrow some books with students (initiate process with AI=ve just read a great book on
_________@), give your telephone number and office location to students, at the first class
meeting pair up students and have them get acquainted and switch every five minutes,
and have students establish a buddy system for absences, work missed, assignments,
tutoring (exchange telephone numbers or pair them by majors or geographical proximity).
On the hcc.hawaii.edu website, Culturally Effective Communication is addressed as an
essential skills for all teachers. It is critically important that teachers be culturally
competent communicators, and for them to identify belief systems of both the students
and themselves to spot blocks to communication. Areas to be examined need to include:
ethnocentrism (my way is best), discrimination (differential treatment due to minority
status), stereotyping (generalizing about a person while ignoring differences), cultural
blindness (ignore differences and proceed as though they do not exist), and cultural
imposition (belief that everyone should conform to the majority).
What can we do?
While ULM does not have a large American Indian population, a model similar to the
Blackfeet retention model could be used to address the retention of African American
students.