Watching the digital dashboard after enrollment opens is especially gratifying when the numbers are ahead of last year.  Take today for example, we are 565 students ahead for spring enrollment than we were on the comparable date in 2015.  Comparing enrollment with the same date (yes, these are different dates) we are still 103 students ahead.  It’s no wonder our advisors feel like they have been busier this year than in previous years and thank you all for encouraging students to register!

There’s another number I watch on the dashboard as well and that number can be discouraging. That number is how many students are currently enrolled. Today, the number is 4119, down 102 from the first day of classes, two months ago.  What happened to those 102 students?  As an institution, we know very little about those students, thanks to ORPE (NMC’s Office of Research, Planning and Effectiveness) we do ask students who withdraw from classes to respond to a withdrawal survey.  This information while important is only part of the picture as most of the students responding to the survey have dropped only one class and not their entire schedule and many students do not respond to the survey.  For example, for the week of October 17-23rd, 41 students dropped 57 courses and only ten students responded to the survey.  Most of the students who respond to the survey, select the reason for dropping is, work/life/school balance challenges. We get it; school is not a “leading” activity (K. Beach, 1995), our students are juggling work (often full-time), family responsibilities, and other commitments while trying to attend school (often full-time).  Hence, the double-edged sword!  As we try and grow enrollment and encourage students with full-time loads (15 credits to finish in four semesters), how do we help them juggle full-time courses and full-time life responsibilities?  Is it possible?  Is it reasonable?  Do we set our students up for failure from the beginning and what can we learn from those 102 students who completely withdrew this fall?  That double-edged sword is both my teaching and learning dilemma—how do I teach students to cope with school, work, life balance and what can I learn from the group of students who chose to completely withdraw?