[AAACE-NLA]Closed enrollment

[Barbara Arguedas]

Hello,
In our Adult Basic Education program, we have closed enrollment.  We have a
week-long registration period at the beginning of each semester or term.  In
the case of GED classes, we have 9-week terms and we close registration
after the first week.  However, there are times when we can still accomodate
more registrants and we keep it open longer -- it's entirely up to us and we
adjust as needed.  In ESL classes, we do not accept new students after
registration.  This is the only way to do all the pre- and post-testing
required by NRS.  We also feel that the classes begin to form a community
from the very start and this in turn helps with retention because the
students feel that this is "their group/ their community".  Latecomers may
not be as much a part of the group as those who registered immediately.  It
is, however, difficult to show just how this has improved learning and
retention. The closed enrollment does help us to manage testing etc. and
ultimately we are getting more students post-tested. In the GED classes,
students go to the class they have selected based on time of day and their
schedule, and they register right then and there.  Instruction begins
immediately; they are sent out to our central area to pre-test if they
haven't already done so. We are often still amazed that a student who
registers and begins class one week fails to show up the following week.  We
still lose quite a few unfortunately.  Good luck.
Barbara Arguedas
Santa Fe Community College
Adult Basic Education
Santa Fe, NM

-----Original Message-----
From: Sandra Robinson [mailto:srobinson at doe.state.vt.us]
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2003 12:31 PM
To: aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org
Subject: [AAACE-NLA]Closed enrollment



We've seen the research and are thinking about moving from open to closed
enrollment in our state.  Are there programs experienced with closed
enrollment
and if so, would teachers or administrators share what they know with us?
What's positive and what's negative about the approach with respect to
students
( retention, skill gains and a stable learning community) and with respect
to
teachers. If your program changed from open enrollment to one that's closed,
we'd appreciate knowing why and how you did it, whether it worked initially,
what processes you used, and what factors you think affect the outcomes -
whether you think it would work better in an urban vs rural area, etc.
Thanks.