The Dublin Institute of Technology, the State's largest third-level college, is to put its lecturers and staff on first-name terms with their 22,000 students in an attempt to tackle the college's drop-out problem.
An internal report recommends that staff be circulated with photographs at the start of the year so they are able to recognise and greet their students by name. It is hoped this will help students identify more with the college and feel less anonymous. If staff memorise names and faces, the report says, it should counteract the "difficulty experienced by students in terms of lack of significance and lack of recognition by staff".
The idea is among several proposals, including: returning a student's registration fee if they agree to talk about their reasons for dropping out; "image alteration" - acknowledgment that dropping out is "likely" and there are valid reasons for it. This could remove the stigma and encourage students to talk about their reasons. It also suggests a foundation year for students leaving second level who need extra academic preparation before beginning their formal college careers; "incentives" for students to get involved in clubs and societies, and monitoring and control of part-time working by students.
In a recent Dail reply, the Minister for Education, Dr Woods, said there was an almost 40 per cent drop-out rate at DIT, although he conceded the figure only covered students who entered the college in 1994.
The report also tackles the traditional academic practice of not checking on attendance at lectures and tutorials. It says the college recognises that students are adults and make informed decisions on attendance.
However, it adds: "We have a responsibility to acknowledge that their presence matters and a responsibility to those who might have taken that place on the course had the opportunity been afforded them."
The report, which has been seen by The Irish Times, was written by Ms Jill Barrett of DIT's Careers Service. In the preface, she says implementation "has commenced with the support of staff across DIT. All, however, are open to consideration and amendment by the staff of DIT through the consultative process which I recommend."
eoliver@irish-times.ie