Recognizing that common strategies are failing, some colleges are trying new and extra steps to keep online students engaged. At the University of West Georgia, retention rates for online students dipped as low as 68 percent in recent years, compared to about 90 percent for traditional students. Alarmed by the low figures, the school sought to make improvements. To give instructors firsthand knowledge of the frustrating roadblocks online students can face as they learn, UWG required them to take online classes on how to teach online. "Faculty training is too often focused just on the technology of teaching online," says Melanie Clay, the school's associate dean of extended degree programs. "They really need training in knowing what it's like to be an online student and what their role in helping them succeed. In an online classroom their role is more than serving as a content guide.