Last Minute Sign-ups

In my program area I am experiencing higher than normal last minute sign-ups. This causes a big problem for me and for the instructors. You may have experienced this. The problem is we don’t know whether to cancel a class or let it run. Case in point, on a Wednesday I had 3 people signed up for a class. I needed to cancel it by Thursday and needed, in this case, 5 people for it to go. On Thursday I got number 4 with a possible number 5 so I let it ride one more day. The class ran on Monday with 7 people in it. Had I cancelled on Thursday as I had planned…well, you get the point.

I wish I could say this is something we can fix but it isn’t. With the tight economy, last minute planning and the current culture, this kind of thing may be with us for a long time.

What is an instructor to do? Decide a cut off time that works for you and communicate it to your programmer. If you are good to wait till the last minute, great. If you aren’t, that is great too. Just let us know. Make extra copies of your handouts for those last minute arrivals. Be flexible with your class plan. If you believe you are going to have 5 in class and 10 show-up, be ready to make some changes. No, this doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. Finally, be aware we are watching the registration numbers but can’t monitor them all the time. We do our best to let you know who and how many you will have in class.

Please share with us any thoughts you have on this subject and what kind of challenges you face.

Increase Your Enrollment

It is that time of year again. Spring is here and people are thinking of things other than taking your class.

They will miss a great opportunity and all your hard work preparing for the class may be for naught. The solution to the problem is simple--increase your class enrollment.

Three straight-forward activities that can increase your enrollment were discussed in a previous post. However, they are certainly worth repeating.

• Contact potential students and tell them about your class.
• Make announcements in places where people gather who would be interested in your topic.
• Email prospective students and give them the department Internet address so they can register online. http://noncredit.cocc.edu/

Helping the Absent Student

This seems to be a time of the year when students miss class because of illness. Rather than have them get behind, miss the one session for which they enrolled, or stop attending altogether, I would often provide the missing student with a copy of the material from that meeting. The material usually consisted of my notes, an assignment, or task to perform.

The material was sent via email. For those who did not provide an email address when enrolling in the class, I would call them on the telephone, explain that I would like to send them the material from the missed meeting, and ask for an email address. They not only provided an address but expressed gratitude for the extra effort being made on their behalf.

Email the Courtesy Call

Numerous posts (see: Helping Students be There and Make the Courtesy Call ) addressed the idea of contacting the students prior to class to convey important information and help develop a sense of community. The example below is an email that Chris Matthews, Tai Chi instructor, sends his students.

“Hi everyone,Wanted to remind you all that you are signed up for a Tai Chi for Health class this weekend, Sat. and Sun., Nov 14 & 15. The class will be held at Focus Physical Therapy offices located at 901 NW Carlon Ave (just off Broadway and Colorado next to the Deschutes River). Class will run from 8:30 to 11:30 am. I will be there about 8:15 so feel free to get there a little early.We will be taking some breaks so please bring some light snacks for yourself as we will not have time to go out for anything. Wear comfortable clothes and Focus does ask that we not wear shoes on their practice floor, so if you are comfortable in socks that is great but if not please bring a clean pair of shoes to wear.I have attached some information on tai chi and qigong for you to look at when you have time. You do not need to bring this information to class.If you have any questions before class please feel free to call me at 541-555-1234 or email me. Look forward to seeing you Saturday!”

Thanks to Rachel Knox for this post

Make the Courtesy Call

Has someone given you a courtesy call to remind you of an appointment? I find them to be of value and decided to extend the same courtesy to my students. It has turned out to make the beginning of class much smoother. This results from the calls being a time to answer questions and/or pass on additional information.

An example that comes to mind is the student who informed me during the call that they would not be unable to attend the class. I advised them to contact the department at (541) 383-7270 and make the necessary arrangements. Additional information that can be given includes:

• A statement about parking conditions.
• What items the student needs to bring to class.
• The availability of food.
• Directions to the classroom.
  

I make the call about a week in advance of the class. The script is along the following lines:

Hi, my name is (your name) and I am calling to remind you that our class (fill in the topic) will be starting on (fill in the day), at (fill in the time). It is located in room (fill in the number), at the (fill in the campus).

Contact your program manager for a class roster with names and telephone numbers.

Solving Student Registration Issues, Part I

Community Learning participants are registering later and later for classes. This is a broad trend and not unique to COCC. We want our students to be able to register as late as possible but, as instructors, you will need to have a strategy for what to do when the number of students in your class is greater than the number of students for whom you prepared materials. Here is what to do about students with registration issues:

• If a student shows up in class and says they have registered, take their word for it. Please take their name and daytime phone number so that your programmer can follow-up.


• If the class is full with a wait list, we always follow the wait list procedure of first on, first called.


• If they have not registered, politely explain that you are unable to take a registration at class and unfortunately they cannot attend without pre-registration. This is a liability issue for the college.

What to do with students who have registered but are not on your roster.

• If you have prepared extra handouts, great! If not, explain that you received your roster before their registration was processed and consequently were unable to prepare materials. Offer to email or mail handouts after the class, arrange for them to work with another student if possible and either share or observe.


• Remaining positive and focusing on the overall quality of the class will help you avoid getting derailed by additional students.

This is a two part post. Next Monday, we will discuss the issues of supplies and communication with the department.

Thanks to Glenda and Rachel for this information.

Winter Weather and Its Impact on Class

'Tis the winter season and severe weather conditions may prevail. Glenda Lantis, department program manager, offers the following.

“COCC rarely has to cancel classes due to weather conditions. Closure for snow may be inconsistent due to distances between locations. If your class is held in a local school and the school is closed, your class will be cancelled for that day or evening.

The same holds true for other community facilities such as the local Senior Centers. If weather and/or road conditions deteriorate during a class session, the instructor should exercise individual judgment.

Community Learning program staff make every effort to contact instructors and students during times of emergency or weather related closures, however, occasionally, staff have difficulty accessing contact information to do so.

Listen to the local radio for announcements, check our website www.cocc.edu or call 383-7700for a recorded message in regard to COCC Campus closures.”

Helping the Students be There

Have you noticed how the doctor, dentist, and other professionals give you a telephone reminder of your appointment? Why not give the students a reminder?

Some of our instructors have found that a simple, short phone call several days before the start of class can be a rewarding experience for both the instructor and the student. For example, it serves not only to heighten anticipation of the class, it can be a time to unravel any mysteries— where is the classroom, should they bring anything, are there snack facilities, etc.

Of particular note is the opportunity to talk with the students before the class begins. Discovering the reason they are attending, their prior knowledge of the subject, what they would like to obtain from the class, etc., can provide for those last minute adjustments to class activities that turn it into a better learning experience for everyone.

Your program manager can give you a student roster with telephone numbers.

So You Want More Students? This is what others have done.

Mike Mansker is teaching Kokanee Caught and he belongs to an online discussion board for like-minded Oregon fisher-folk. He posted a description of his class before the schedule came out and asked who might be interested. When the schedule came out, he posted our website and phone number and contacted the people who had responded favorably from his initial query about the class. The class is now full and he is contacting all his students with an email thanking them for registering and getting feedback about what will be the most valuable thing they could learn from the class so he can be sure to cover (within his outline) what people want to know.

Davon Cabraloff will be teaching our Zumba class and Davon has done a number of things to get word out about her class. Since Zumba is new to Bend, she started a class back in the winter and has been advertizing all over town on bulletin boards with very professional looking signs for that class. The students she has in that class were a great base for her COCC class. She also wears a huge “Ask Me About Zumba” button wherever she goes as well as other Zumba related clothing to generate interest with strangers.

Mollie Hogan who will be teaching our Hooping class added her classes to her Hoop Dazzle website and emailed a newsletter listing the classes and the COCC contact information out to her current students and others who are on her mailing list.

What ideas do you have and what has worked for you? Please comment and let us know.