Natalie Cutcher

​The customer service principles were ​great cornerstones of how to interact with students. Every time an interaction occurs, it's a reflection of the school. 

​If a student feels as if the school misrepresented the realities of attending the program, trust will then be ruptured and could result in the student withdrawing and creating a negative storm on social media. 

​Never guarantee that credits will transfer to other institutions and never bad mouth them either. This goes against "competitive integrity". 

​The stakes are high when it comes to misrepresentation - it doesn't matter if it was unintentional or a mistake. It has real consequences to the institution and your position. ​

​Across all departments, from Admissions to the virtual learning space, every employee must be familiar with the course catalogue, policies and procedures or the institution. This will help avoid miscommunication and misrepresentation to prospective and currently enrolled students. 

Regional accreditation focuses more broadly on the institution's mission and effectiveness whereas national accreditation delves deeper into measurable outcomes (such as student attrition rates, etc).

Make sure to include any departmental mission statements in addition to the institution's. Both help establish ethical standards and guide the employees towards building a compliant culture. 

When communicating with students (especially when it comes to advertising), the institution needs to lead with honesty. This will set realistic expectations for the students, set them up for success, as well as mitigate future complaints.

Check your state policies so you can adequately distribute necessary disclosures - some are disseminated upon request while others are automatically provided to students. They should be living documents and regularly updated.