SAN FRANCISCO — For many years, Miami Dade College booths at high school college fairs were similar to those of other institutions, with staff doling out brochures and college-branded trinkets to whoever passed by.
Furthermore, Miami Dade’s summer orientation for new students used to be similar to those of many institutions: a parade of college officials gave presentation after presentation to youths who were more engaged with their smartphones than with paying attention to explanations of what it means to be placed on academic probation and how to avoid it.
However, after conducting surveys about these and other initiatives, Miami Dade officials overhauled their high school outreach and freshman orientation to make services and activities more personalized.
Nowadays, they designate their counselors to liaise with specific, feeder high schools. At college fair booths, each counselor builds relationships with prospective students and their parents, and is considered the go-to person at Miami Dade for additional questions about admissions and financial aid.
By the time new freshmen attend orientation, they have already been assigned an academic adviser who meets with them to register for their first semester of classes. Most of the typical welcoming speeches by deans and administrators have been recorded and parked into a web portal. Students can access them anytime — even if they end up on academic probation and are trying to improve their grades right away.
“By moving the talking heads onto an online platform, we have much more structured, face-to-face advising at orientation, which is what students find most valuable,” said Dr. Lenore Rodicio, Miami Dade’s executive vice president and provost. “And at the high schools, our counselors who are the go-to contacts host information events like ‘Financial Aid February’ and ‘March Career Madness.’ The event names might seem corny, but high school kids and their families are getting what they need to make informed choices.”
She and others credit these kinds of revamped services to helping Miami Dade boost orientation attendance to 86 percent among first-time freshmen and its retention rate to 65 percent, a little higher than the national average among community colleges.
