Summary
- What do you mean by Students Life Cycle?
- Meaning of Students Life Cycle Model
- Adopting Students life cycle Management system in colleges
- The modern approach to Student Life Cycle
A life cycle refers to a series of changes within a lifespan. Similarly, a student’s life cycle refers to a series of changes that takes place in a student, within a particular period.
The period referred to here, is the time when the student enrolls in college till graduation.
The time the student is in college is the best time to mould and transform the character and personality of the student.
This moulding of the student must be done to provide an overall development that will be conducive to the ultimate aim of education, that is, to have a lucrative career and be a good human being.
Many colleges adopt Student Life Cycle Model to ensure that students benefit from their stint in the college. So, what is this Students Life Cycle Model and how does it help to transform students
Student Life Cycle is the process in the life of a student from the time of enrolment in the college till graduation. It can be described as a journey or voyage of a student for that -particular period he or she is in college.
Following or adopting a student life cycle model is important because it moulds the student. This moulding plays an important role in a student’s life because it is at this time that students learn the tricks of the trade.
It is a good idea for colleges to have student life cycle management systems in place. There are different approaches adopted by colleges.
Many colleges have their own Student Life Cycle Model, while other colleges adopt tried and tested methods of Student’s Life Cycle Models.
Whatever method a college follows to groom students, the basic idea is to help design innovative methods to guarantee student success.
Apart from colleges, many scholars and educationists use the student life Cycle models to adapt the education system to the changing times.
There Are Three Stages in A Student’s Life Cycle:
- Enrolment or pre-enrolment as some prefer to call it
- Period during college
- Preparation for graduation
These three stages in a student’s life are the most important. Each stage further includes the following events and activities:
1. Enrolment or Pre-Enrolment
This stage involves attracting students to the campus for courses offered by the college.
The pre-enrolment stage is important as it convinces students of the potential careers in store for them. This stage also includes admission processes.
2. Period During College
After the enrolment stage, students enter the transformation stage. It is here that students are trained academically as well holistically for a better future.
This stage emphasizes academic performances of the students as well as personality development. Activities and events outside the classroom also form part of this stage.
3. Preparation for Graduation
Preparing students for graduation is another important stage in the Student Lifecycle model.
These are the basic three stages in a student lifecycle model. All other methods colleges adopt hover around these three basic factors, that is enrolment, college period and graduation.
TITO Model
Another tried and tested Student lifecycle management system called the TITO model, makes for good reading. Although the basic factors remain the same, the model follows a five-point system.
This system was developed by Alf Lizzio and Keithia Wilson, Griffith University Australia, in 2010. According to this Student Life Cycle Management System, there are five aspects to a student’s life cycle.
Let’s get into the details of the TITO approach.
TITO originally stands for Transition in and Transition Out. Which refers to the time frame. That is the time when the student enrols in the college till the student graduates from the college.
According to this approach, the student’s transition in the college depends on 5 core factors:
- Capability
- Purpose
- Resourcefulness
- Connectedness
- Culture
The TITO approach further elucidates on each of the 5 factors and goes on to explain the difference between the students in the first year of college and the same students in the final year of college.
1. Capability
Here students are trained to feel capable. Again capability has different aspects like capability concerning active participation with the community at large, and academic performance of students.
2. Purpose
In this student’s life’s cycle stage, students must find their purpose or goal. Students must know their direction or the way they want to take their life forward. It is at this stage that the development of personality takes place.
3. Resourcefulness
Resourcefulness is an important Student Life Cycle stage. In this stage, students learn several skills to cope up with college life.
Skills such as good communication skills, time management skills, and other aptitudes are developed and tested at this time
4. Connectedness
This stage is closely connected to communication skills. It develops student’s ability to communicate with peers, teachers and outsiders.
5. Culture
In this student life cycle stage, students connect with others academically. It is more of how well the student can adapt to the outside world.
A student Life Cycle contains these stages. A transformation occurs in all these stages, providing overall and holistic development of the student.
It contains many values, skills and talents that are acquired during a student’s life cycle. However, it does not necessarily have to take place in a prescribed order. It can occur during different time frames in a college period.
Student’s Life Cycle Under the Current Education System
Today, a student’s life cycle has undergone a massive change. One of the main reasons for this radical change in a student’s life cycle is the advancements in technology that have encouraged distance learning programs.
With distance learning and technology as part of the curriculum, a student’s life cycle has to change accordingly. Newer and more modern student life cycle models are being introduced.
Now colleges can not depend on a single student life cycle management system. Colleges have to now adopt multiple systems to accommodate the traditional learners and non-traditional learners like the distance learning students.
Conclusion
Student life cycle models adopted by colleges play an important role in the education system. Such systems in place can aid students in evolving and bring a feeling of success to the students.
