Robert Cooper

Student affairs can be explained to mean the departments that offer support to learners at higher learning institutions. The department has the obligation of enhancing students development and growth. There are places outside America where the departments are called students services or student support. The persons working in such departments are called Student Affairs Practitioners. The organization and type of the departments that offer support to students vary depending on the type, size and locality of the institution. The departments are headed by Vice Chancellor or Vice President, who in turn reports straight to the President or the Chancellor leading the institution. However, the system is shifting. The reporting structure in the United States higher education institutions was altered to Provost, meaning the principal academic officer. First to second-year student retention means the magnitude to which the students remain in the same institution after their completion of the first year. Thus, they proceed to study in the second-year of the same institution rather than quit for any given reason. Institutions poor retention rates are caused by institutional problems, as well as student personal problems. Some students may quit after they completed their first-year study when they are not satisfied by the service quality in the institution. The students do not acquire the necessary assistance from lecturers since the student lecturer ratio is high. The students also find out charges that lead to high fees that they feel are unfair. The students also feel unprotected like in cases where the lecturers force students to have sex with them in order to pass examinations. In other cases, students become ill or are unable to pay fees hence, they drop out. To intervene so that learners do not leave after the first year, the institution should check the reasons that make the students leave . This act is vital since the correction of any deviation depends on the problem. For the problems mentioned above, the institution should make sure that the quality they offer is good. The library, for instance, should be well-stocked. The number of lecturers with reference to the students should always be raised. The facilities the institution has should be able to cater for the available student population. It is also vital to evade charging students without considering their affairs, since whenever they feel unfairness they transfer to other universities. Another way to intervene is to ensure that the institution has good medical facilities, in order to treat sick students and to avoid dropping out. Finally, the students who have genuine case of financial inabilities should be given bursaries and scholarships by the institution. Service provision is an important factor in student persistence and retention. The providers are not concentrated in one space. There are different locations for different departments although they share buildings. There exists collaboration between different departments of providers; however, the collaborative efforts are not sufficient. For instance, the office of the registrar and the admission office have direct communication and help students in getting admission assistance with ease. In addition, the academics and the student affairs service providers work hand in hand to ensure that all issues relating to a students academic welfare are looked into. First-year oriented programs help student transit smoothly and fit in the school program. The programs offered include first-year orientations to make students aware of life and campus experiences. There are also admissions, financial aid, and enrolment management. Other services include academic services, residence life, recreation and sports, as well as inclusion and diversity. There are other services that can be adapted, incorporating alumni and development. Gaps in service provision led to failure in student retention and persistence. Gaps in service exist in the way some service providers relate with the students, as well as the omission or absence of some first-year oriented services. For example, while requiring assistance from the finance department in matters relating to examinations, the service providers make it complicated for students to acquire the help that they need. In addition, the institution does not oversee the smooth transition of students into the school program from what they are used to previously. Besides, service providers are diverse, and it becomes difficult for students to know where to seek certain kind of help. Asking for certain service providers is tiresome as some people are not cooperative. These three gaps in service exist in the institutions, making it difficult for students to persist beyond the first year. Therefore, the institution should ensure that it enacts all services that will assist students in their stay in the campus in order to eliminate low rates of student retention. It is important to employ the student persistence and retention model in order to reduce the rate of students transferring from the institution. In addition, the school should ensure that its staff have good customer and public relation practices. This will aid in proper service delivery. Riobert Cooper is an writer at the https://123helpme.org/articles/nursing-paper-writing-service/ . He conducts researches on various issues. The most interesting cases are on modern politics and business development.