I read a study that suggested an oral roll call at the start of class had a tremendous impact in student completion and success rates. I thought, ‘That’s crazy!’ I didn’t believe it at first. But I tried it out and learned everyone’s name really quickly. About midway through the term, I had lost no one. By the end, I was cursing myself because I had this big stack of papers to grade because no one had gone away. Everyone stayed. I’ve come to appreciate that my ‘soul job’ is to create the kinds of experiences that are going to make students successful. It’s more than how I teach a particular subject. It’s how I teach students and help them create pathways to achieve whatever they’d like to achieve.
– Rhonda Morris, Professor of English, Director of SF’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)