Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals

by Jennifer Edwards

This book contains simple strategies that administrators, faculty, and staff can use to inspire motivate, and nudge college students towards success. This book contains the following Chapter one, “Our Work is Important, It Changes Lives” focuses on the importance of higher education for individual families and for the communities in which they live. When succeed, a family’s life trajectory can change - dramatically. Chapter two, “Connecting with Students During the Summer Before College”, presents tips, sample campaigns, and assessment strategies for administrators, faculty, and staff to use during the summer before the freshmen enroll in their first college classes. Chapters three and four, “Communicating with First Year Students During the First Semester” and “Communicating with First Year Students During the Second Semester” are focused on tips, sample campaigns, and assessment strategies for administrators, faculty, and staff to use when communicating with first-year students and their faculty. Chapter five, “Communicating with Your Second-Year, Third-Year, and Senior-Year Students”, focuses on innovative ways to engage students beyond first-year. Chapter six, focuses on all students, while providing copy and paste campaigns for faculty and staff to utilize. From "Encouraging Students to Print their Schedule at the Beginning of the Semester” to “Helping Students Connect with Their New Campus”, each of these campaigns can be easily implemented on college campuses. Finally, chapter seven is focused on simple ways to use the technology to reach retention goals. This chapter provides simple worksheets can be be implemented in almost any student success and academic affairs department to help them work towards student success and retention.

139 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2019

About the author

I was born in Los Angeles California and into a show business family. My father was writer/director Blake Edwards (Breakfast at Tiffanys, The Pink Panther series, Victor Victoria. To name a few). My mother was an actress, Patricia Walker and later became a costume designer. In the mid sixties they divorced and my father married Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins, Sound of Music). She became my step mother when I was seven years old.
At the age of ten, I won the title role, in the NBC movie "Heidi" which not only had the highest neilson ratings at that time, but also preempted a New York Jets Oakland Raiders playoff game. It is still referred to as The Heidi Bowl.
I continued acting, and did many features, television shows, and plays.
I have always enjoyed writing. As a young girl, I wrote poetry and songs. I have also written several screenplays and continue to write lyrics for songs.
"When Angels Cry" is my first novel. I am currently working on a new book.
I am the mother of two grown daughters. Kayti 38 and Hannah 21. Hannah now makes 5 generations in our family, in show business. I have three grandchildren. I live in the beautiful mountains over Malibu with my fiance, who is a musician/composer.