Satisfaction by Degrees
Retaining students is the single most important service that faculty and staff can render to Coastal Carolina University. Coincidentally, in the event of new budget cuts, retaining students may also save jobs. Retention affects everything: our reputation, graduation rate, future advancement and budget. Retaining students costs less than recruiting new ones. And retaining students delivers more graduates satisfied with their academic experience.Whenever you hear a student complain, express a desire to transfer to another institution or speculate negatively about his or her future, please take the opportunity to talk to that student. Take a personal interest in his or her problem, frustration or change of heart. Excellent service is what students have come to expect from us. Providing superior service for students, visitors and one another is not only the right thing to do, it’s also the essential component of our brand.
Last week I heard about a professor in the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration who met with students at the library on a Sunday afternoon before a big exam the next week. He went beyond the call of duty to make certain each student had time with him to understand the subject matter before giving a test. That’s excellent service, which translates into retention.
Whenever you see people wandering around campus, welcome them and ask if you may help them find someone. Whenever someone wanders into your office or on your hall, introduce yourself and ask if you may help. Whenever your neighbor asks about the University, invite that neighbor to campus for a tour. If a student next door is interested in enrollment, take that student an admissions packet and follow up with an e-mail about the student to Judy Vogt, our vice president for enrollment services. That’s a service that will bring great returns for the institution and for us all.
