Integrity of Information given by the Representative
How does the integrity of the Representative affect the prospective student's perception of the institution?
Mark:
Since the admissions staff are usually the first people to have any detailed conversations with the prospective student, the student's perception of the integrity of the admissions staff is certainly going to be important.
What are some of the methods you can can use to effectively establish your integrity with prospective students?
I believe one way to effectively establish your integrity with a prospective student is to not speak negatively about any of you competition. Being negative about a particular institution isn't a good first impression. Prospective students are visiting your school for a reason. Rather than being negative about your competition, focusing on being beneficial to that student will definitley establish your integrity.
I agree with you completely. I believe that you should never speak badly about your competition. You always want to make sure that your potential student finds the college that is right for them, which may in the long run not be your college.
I think that whenever possible you should visually show the propective student proof of what you are informing them about. If that is not possible referring them to a source that shows what you're saying is legitimate reinforces the fact that you are being upfront and honest with them and establishes integrity.
I agree, and in addition if a student begins speaking negatively about another school, a good way to respond I've found is to explain that you are not an expert on the school in question, so you cannot speak intelligently about them. However, you are the expert when it comes to your school.
Never compare schools, just provide the most accurate knowledge about your school.
I think that honesty is always the best policy and because the Representative is the peson to establish repor with the student
Building rapport with your prospective students is key. Having that relationship will help them build trust in you as the admissions representative.
When a prospective student sits down with the admissions representative they are under the assumption that all of the information given is factual. When a representative gives inaccurate information, it reflects on the entire institution. The word representative means" Standing for or acting for "(Merriam-Webster)The Admissions Rep is acting for the college and his or her actions are perceived to be a direct correlation of the integrity of the institution.
We offer confirmed statistics and information to prospective students on their first visit to the school.
I think the best way to establish our school's integrity are the current and former students. We encourage prospective students to talk with students and graduates who are on campus.
We also have a facebook page that is very useful for prospective students. If they have a question posted on our page they will usually get many responses from our students or graduates.
I think that prospective students can tell if an agent is being honest with them. I always take my time explaining the admissions process and refer students to where they can verify the information if they choose to do so. If you come across as honest and be able to provide detailed information to the student without being pushy, the student will be more receptive to choosing your school.
I agree, not speaking negatively about another school is very important. I would think if a rep. was speaking poorly about another educational system, what else are they saying that possibly isn't true. Knowing your school and the programs inside and out, allows a rep. to speak with integrity each and every day with each and every prospective student. Being direct is an easy way to build rapport with someone as well.
The integrity of the representative affects the students perception of the institution tremendously. The representatives are the first face of the institute, the first source of knowledge pertaining to the school.
I agree also, being negative does no one any good! The student is looking to the agent for accurate information to make a sound informed decision. Being negative only puts the agent and the institution in jepardy and harms its reputation. Be positive!
