Thread: Do you bother chasing up missing students?

If a student enrolls for a full term but only turns up for the first few weeks, do you bother to chase them up?

In theory, I feel like chasing them up is good customer service. But in practice, I don't usually bother. I'll admit it's partly because I've been doing this a while and have just gotten lazy. But also because I have around 100 students to deal with, and why should I bother with the ones that aren't interested? In the past, I've found that the ones I contact via email rarely bother to respond...if they were interested, they'd be turning up to class, or would probably contact me to say what's happened or ask for a refund. Even when I try to survey missing students to find out if there's anything we could improve upon, I get almost zero response.

On the one hand, what do I care? I have their money for the term, so the classes make OK profit. On the other, if they're not there this term, they surely won't come back next term. So from a monetary perspective retention is important.

But also from a customer service standpoint - I recently received an irate email from a missing student, a term after she'd first 'disappeared', saying it was terrible how I never contacted her when she didn't show up. Personally, I think she was just a PITA type of person, but maybe I should be concerned....

What do you think?

Interesting trivia: Since I introduced the option of online booking, most of the missing students have paid by this method. I get the feeling that they're busy working, make enough money that losing the term's fees are not a big deal. Or perhaps they're more detached from the whole class experience. Less emotionally invested. Hmm.

I tell my students at the beginning of a session that I'd like to hear from them if they can't make class bc I AM the type of person who will start to wonder if you were in a massive car accident or had to leave the state after a family drama or whatever. If a student has come to more than one class and has been gone a couple weeks, I will generally email them once to make sure they are okay. After that, I keep them on the mailing list, but reminding them to come to class is not my job. I have regular students who *can* get themselves to classes and actually value the service enough to show up (or at least tell me when they need to miss class) and I prefer to spend my energy on them. If it is a long term student who suddenly drops off the radar, you bet I want to know what's going on, but there are too many people who just don't bother to show up.

I have about 5-6 students a session who come to the first couple of classes than then I never see them again (I usually have 1 or 2 per session who sign up and pay but never come to a single class!). I don't follow up with them, because honestly I don't feel like they owe me an explanation of their whereabouts. I figure their schedules got to busy to make class, or maybe the class or my teaching style just wasn't what they were looking for. Weirdly, sometimes the ones who are most enthusiastic the first night of class - buying a hip scarf right away, asking about the music I use, saying how much the loooooove the class - are the first ones to disappear. But with over 50 students per session, I just don't have the time or inclination to try and keep tabs on all of them.

Like Lara L, I would follow up if a long-term student suddenly fell off the face of the earth, though.

I don't contact people who come to a few classes and then disappear. I also have about 100 students to keep an eye on, so I focus on the ones who are IN my classes. Besides, it seems intrusive to me -- it's none of my business, really, WHY they've stopped coming. Maybe it's not for them. They don't owe me an explanation.

I'm like that, though. If I changed gas stations, hairdressers, or grocery stores and the one I'd been going to called me up for an explanation, I wouldn't feel cared for. I'd feel put on the spot and intruded upon. I don't owe them an explanation!

I realize that's not true for everyone, and if the subject is broached correctly (not 'why did you leave?' but 'Is there something I could do to correct the situation that made you leave?') a lot of people would feel valued.

I can see value in it. It's just not my personality.

Originally Posted by jewelbellydance

But also from a customer service standpoint - I recently received an irate email from a missing student, a term after she'd first 'disappeared', saying it was terrible how I never contacted her when she didn't show up. Personally, I think she was just a PITA type of person, but maybe I should be concerned....

Maybe she was angling for a refund and wanted to see what your response would be........

I don't think with some individuals you can ever get this one right. I've chased up students but many just didn't reply, weren't interested or just couldn't be bothered to say "it's not for me". Then again, one student, whilst telling me she couldn't attend on a particular week, said she was telling me because she thought I would want to know (correct), and would think it a bit off if I didn't follow up an absence of about 2 weeks. This was a quite unsolicited comment, but she had obviously thought about it.

I've known adult education students make a complaint when they are missing for a couple of weeks and the establishment/tutor (not me, a colleague) didn't contact them - others just disappear off the radar. Other establishments are quite active in chasing up missing students (especially if they have been Govt sponsored) although they usually just withdraw at the end of the day.

I think you generally get a "feel" for your students and know when something is up with individuals who generally do attend regularly. These I do chase up, but in a very careful/tactful way - because I do care, especially if they seem to care about coming to class and dancing in general. Others you just know are not going to complete the term.

Only if they've been coming to class for a long time and then suddenly drop out. I just send them a not " hope you are ok". No pressure.

What Sabrina said. First-ever classes have a high dropout rate and that's OK, but if you have someone who has seemingly committed to regular classes vanish, that's when to make a gentle inquiry.

If someone who is a long term student suddenly disappears I'll usually try to check in to make sure they are ok and its a scheduling/real life thing that has come up. I let them know I hope they can get back in classes again soon and if they need start dates for a session when they can come back, or if it's mid-session and want to see what's going on just contact me, no problem.

I don't typically chase down first sessioners. I will have one or two "ghost" students a session who pay for classes but if they show up I've never seen them, and one or two who decide its not for them or more work than they expected. We all have those I think.

The only first sessioners I call and check on are those who's registration was more than two weeks before the start of the new session. If they miss the first class I will often call the next day in that case under the impression that maybe they forgot since they registered in advance and to reassure them they haven't missed enough they can't catch up. I've had one or two over the years turn out to be that type of situation so to me its worth a call but otherwise they are adults and I am not going to chase them down.

I've been teaching beginners for about a year now and although my classes have been consistently full and have gotten good feedback there is heavy turnover. I have only a handful of students that have been with me for the last 7-9 months and these are the girls I would follow up on should they disappear on me. I would not feel comfortable following up and inquiring about an absence with someone who only took a few classes or just one or two sessions.

For what its worth, I've never had anyone follow up on me either and I've done a couple of disappearing acts myself.

I usually send a little "We've missed you in class; hope everything is OK" email. It takes very little time and seems to leave students with a positive feeling. Sometimes they then sign up for another session which they don't attend. ..l;,

Same here plus tell me when you will be mussing classes or need to drop out, no need to tell me why, but otherwise i do worry

but then actually following up absences i only do with long time students, we have way too many classes and students to do otherwise

Originally Posted by sabrinabellydancer

Only if they've been coming to class for a long time and then suddenly drop out. I just send them a not " hope you are ok". No pressure.

Thanks for all of your responses. It's good to know I'm not on my own in not following up first-timers, though I think I might develop a standardised email I can send them - something stating our make-up and refund policies, encouraging them to come along ... That shouldn't be seen as pushy and at the same time hopefully shows I care.

I think perhaps I should follow up on missing intermediate/advanced students a bit more than I do -again in a non-confrontational manner.

But it's good to know a 'do nothing' policy is not too uncommon!

Working for a college, that's their job.
If I had built up a reationship longer term with a student and perhaps I knew she had a health or other problem, I might try to find out what has happened but not in terms of wether she is going to return..just that she is OK.

Originally Posted by jewelbellydance

Thanks for all of your responses. It's good to know I'm not on my own in not following up first-timers, though I think I might develop a standardised email I can send them - something stating our make-up and refund policies, encouraging them to come along ... That shouldn't be seen as pushy and at the same time hopefully shows I care.

This seems like a really good idea, I may try this too.

Although after the first week or two of class I rarely take roll. I teach my beginner class and then two advanced classes and by the time I get home at 10pm my head is so FILLED with all the little tasks people have asked of me (e-mail me this, look up that) there's no way I'm going to remember that Suzy, who I met twice, wasn't in class at 6.

I'd have to revamp my system to include more roll taking and notetaking. Not a bad idea anyway.

I lost a few regular students I had been kind of counting on to make the class so after a couple or three weeks of absence I e-mailed them and got no response, so I followed up with a phone call/message on voice-mail. No response. So I felt kind of awkward & annoyed & let it go. One of them showed up to an event at the theatre and said she had switched work shifts. I didn't ask her if she was coming back to class at some point because that felt weird.

I didn't have a 100 students so it was sort of a matter of every student counted, as far as making the rent. But trying to stay on top of the situation felt icky...it just compounded to my feeling that maybe I wasn't cut out for this!

Not anymore, unless they've been with us for a while We keep them on the mailing list, though.

I don't have 100 students (that'd be nice though!). I had 6 in my beginning class this past session. I don't ask anyone to tell me when they'll be out, but a couple did voluntarily let me know when they'd be out. I had one student who made the first 1/2 of classes, then missed the last 1/2. I considered emailing her a 'missed you in class hope to see you next week' note, but turns out she gave me an email she doesn't even use/check. I didn't call because like Lauren said, they don't owe me an explanation, & I figured if she gave a bum email then she really didn't want to be reached anyway. I figure sometimes life happens & for whatever personal reason they can't make it back. If they want to return or want a refund or credit to come back they'll be in touch. I did have a student request a credit after some things came up for her & I accomodated her. She came to the next session & will be in my next class to keep learning.

Originally Posted by maurazebra

Not anymore, unless they've been with us for a while We keep them on the mailing list, though.

Ditto here.

Re the mailing list it's very useful as some students return after a couple of years absence, while others just enjoy being in the know re upcoming studio events, haflas, troupe performances, etc.


Khalida

As a student, if I just started classes with someone new and they called me if I missed a class I would think it was weird.

My two regular instructors however are a different matter. I tell them if I have to disappear for a while and if I disappeared with out notifying them and they called me, I wouldn't be upset. It would be nice to know they were thinking about me.

I generally don't contact beginners, unless they are registered for the course I teach at a college. We are encouraged to contact students who miss more than 2 classes to remind them of the attendance policy. I'm not sure this teaches the younger students the art of self sufficiency but it does bring many of them back to class. They forget that an F in bellydance is still an F on their report card.

That being said, if has been with me for more than a few months and seems dedicated, I will call or email to check in. These students have confided in me about their illness, lay-offs, risky pregnancies, etc... They always appreciate that their absence was noticed. Nobody likes to call and say "Hey I lost my job so I can't afford to take your classes," but it's nice to know that your teacher cares. I have about 100 students as well so sometimes it takes a long absence for me to get around to contacting one of them.

If they really like to be there, they will. Maybe sometimes they're busy or engaged in something and can't be there.



--------------------------------------
We're a professional manufacture and trading company of belly dance items from China .
Belly dance costumes ,bras ,tops,pants, skirts, veils,hip scarves, isis wings , shoes,accessories,ect.
High quality and competitive price ,wholesale and retail both are ok, you can start order from 1pc.
Yifusha Import & Export Co., Ltd. - Belly dance costume, Belly dance wear, Belly dance bra
Anything interested ,please feel free to contact me. It's Ruby here.
Email : yifusha4@yifusha.com
--------------------------------------