Deborah Bello

I have tried mirroring in the past and you have to be careful so that the other person is not consciously picking up on it and shutting you down. I always try to keep my hands in my lap, give them eye contact, smile, share stories of myself, and genuinely and sincerely help them to relax allowing them to think of their questions and concerns.

I am so aware of my body language. I have a tendency to cross my arms when I am standing speaking with a student. And now I can see how it could be misconstrued as being guarded, closed off, uninterested. I try with each student encounter to make sure we part each other's company happy.

It is so important when meeting with a prospective student that you take the time to clear your mind, relax your body and actively listen. I have found that once I am ready for the conversation, the prospective student is more relaxed and can communicate more easily. Reading between the lines is also so important in order to get to the root of the conversation. It enables you to go places that can assist the prospective student in identifying their goals.

It is critical to provide as much attention to those students who did not start on time to those individuals who are there on the first day.

It is important that faculty and Career Services work together to focus on work related behaviors and real world expectations of employers.

Each applicant meets with the Placement Department to discuss retention/placement percentages for the program they are enrolled into. The applicant is also given an opportunity to sit in classes and meet with instructors before starting class.

We believe that it is critical to continually engage students to remind them of their goals and why they decided to pursue their career path.

How do you manage a student's unrealistic expectations?

We rely on our applicants to disclose any physical or mental disability that would impede their training. What happens when the disability is discovered after the applicant begins the program?

If it is determined that a student requires a sign-language interpreter in order to have equal access (at a cost of $80K), how does this get packaged as part of their financial aid?