How RTOs can retain more students in Australia Leave a comment

Introduction

It is often said that high-quality training is the key to an RTO’s success. But it is partly true. Australian students or international students studying in Australian RTOs all begin their journey with an enquiry about courses or with enrolment forms. This shows that not only quality training but Marketing & Recruitment, Enrolment Support & Progression are also important for RTO success. The success of student retention rates can depend on marketing and enrolment strategies rather than just training quality of your training. In this blog ‘How RTOs can retain more students in Australia’ we will talk about student retention strategies to retain students. Let us begin.

Strategies to retain more students

• By streamlining the enrolment and recruitment process.

Simplifying enrolment and recruitment is vital for student retention. Automation and clear communication also play key roles. Introducing a pre-enrolment “application” process enhances value perception and data integrity. Automated payments ensure commitment and motivation. Setting pre-enrolment standards for skills and benchmarks improves candidate selection. This clarity reduces confusion and boosts student retention. Streamlining both processes attract the right students and sets the stage for the success of RTO’s training quality.

• By making training more accessible and flexible for learners.

Ensuring top-notch training remains a priority for every RTO, regardless of their objectives. However, focusing solely on strategies for retaining students falls short of maintaining their enthusiasm and active involvement. Making the training more accessible for remote learners or for those who  cannot attend face-to-face classroom training. This helps the RTO to stay committed to the quality of training and it is an excellent retention strategy meanwhile refining onboarding and enrolment procedures. Retention rates are great when RTOs have a flexible training process for learners.

• By providing student support services.

Students face many issues like personal issues, financial burdens, challenges related to training and assessments or community involvement, all these issues impact students’ completion rates. RTOs should offer support services for all these issues. RTOs need awareness for such issues which they can get by talking to the students and with open lines of communication in RTO.

For emotional and personal matters which affect the well-being of students, RTOs can train the RTO staff to gather such information. Emotional matters can create stress, anxiety or depression and impact the training journey. The staff should be able to identify students in need through attendance, test scores or by simply monitoring students.

Career planning needs guidance and the right planning. Most students lack vision, they usually are unaware of the career options that their qualifications can bring them. RTOs should take into consideration and arrange for seminars from industry professionals or experts or counsel students themselves. This will help students understand career prospects and growth prospects.

They should also arrange study sessions and form study groups and student communities in RTO so that students and trainers can offer support to each other and reach course completion successfully.

• Offering individual support.

Individual support can increase student engagement rates and enhance student retention. Individual support can be provided for training and assessment which will make the students bridge the gap between learning and training. Trainers of registered training organisations can take one on one sessions or provide doubt-clearing sessions and provide study plans to students. Individual support is tailored to students’ needs and hence cannot be generic as needs differ from student to student. Regularly speaking to the students of a registered training organisation is great for improving student retention.

• By providing regular feedback on student assessments and training.

An excellent student retention strategy is providing regular feedback to students and the feedback from students helps RTOs to improve training. Feedback helps RTOs to highlight the issues of the students and feedback from students helps RTOs to fix their course materials and training strategies.

• By assessing RPL.

Recognition of Prior Learning is a great student retention strategy as it adds value to the training journey of the learners. RPL also creates a tailored and individualised learning experience for the learners.

Conclusion

The efforts an RTO puts into retaining students should encompass more than just the calibre of training and student assessment offered. Various elements can impact student retention, spanning from the learning setting and personal challenges to impractical anticipations and the absence of support resources. Enhancing marketing and enrolment techniques can pave the way for enhanced student retention approaches, as they attract students whose expectations align with the program’s reality. Fostering a sense of belonging and cultivating a favourable learning ambience play pivotal roles in maintaining students’ commitment and involvement in their educational journey.

Are you being an RTO looking to buy quality training resources?

Then VET Resources is your partner. We offer high quality training resources and assessment kits. We also free consultations to RTOs. For further information contact us here.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q.1. Are program completion rates and student retention rates important for RTOs?

A.1. Yes, program completion rates and student retention rates are important for RTOs in the sense that they indicate the efficiency of the RTOs as training providers.

Q.2. Can supportive learning enhance student retention rates?

A.2. Yes, supportive learning is effective in improving student retention rates as they help them with additional material or students’ assessment practice which helps students achieve their qualifications.