Throughout my years of experience, I have realized that many staff members enjoy additional training. For recruiting and admissions professionals, there are a variety of training topics that may be helpful. They include and are not limited to public speaking, communicating with parents vs. students, understanding the communication flow, and how to appropriate build rapport with prospective students.
Products knowlege is always vital. I need to confidently explain as many areas of each program as i can. The worst thing that can happen, is for someone to come to me after starting class, stating that they was misinformed due to my instructions/information.
I feel that having a sit-down interview with the chairs of each department was most helpful in understanding the different programs we offer here. This was part of our personal campus training and I feel would benefit any institute. I also think that it would be most helpful if you would be given a designated person to shadow and go through the entire process with for like a day or two to get a better feel of exactly what happens. Speaking with the Finance Dept would also be beneficial in speaking with students because you would be able to better answer their questions but obviously still following compliance regulations.
Understanding the pace at which the course work is given and the homework load would be important information to provide students. Many of our programs are hands on, however some programs may require more self study then others.
Carey,
I think this is important detail that many agents probably are not focussing on. Great suggestion.
Kimberly Stein
I believe that having a better understanding of how our school decides what and where to market and the progression of how the process works would be outstanding. I think the Resource center could be a little easier to access on the website. And more interactive online training would be beneficial
I think additional training is always good, things can change on a daily basis and it will help us better help the students.
I am a new rep. I have never been "tested" on the material, but I have had the opportunity to visit the other departments in our school. I think it has been a valuable part of my training. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a new rep. It was beneficial to put a face with a name. It was also great to get direct information from a person vs. just reading about a program or department.
I agree that cross-training for all the departments is essential for helping to recruit and with admitting students. The more knowledge you have about what each department truly does for the students the better you can provide information they need and may ask about.
I also believe this is very important. Learning more about academics, career services and student financial services are some of the biggest areas of interest and concerns that students have. This helps us do our job better and getting the right questions answered for our students.
Other areas that I think would be beneficial would be ways to get the information to the student easier (facebook,text message,etc...). These and other techniques could expand the number of people we come into contact with.
Another great suggestion. I also think that, by doing this, we'll create greater relationships with people from other departmets, which will only prove to help us deliver a more effective student experience.
My school has an open door policy. I am a new Admissions Representative and I have met with several Program Directors and I have been able to learn from them what the features and benefits are that pertain to their program.
I would like to see more training for readmissions agents. Our job is different then that of the admissions agents and more training would help. Our forms, our access to different informtion required for student reentry, and our method of contact are all very important. Special training for this positon would be extremely helpful.
I'm in a program where I will get to experience the four major departments in a student's enrollment process. During my initial training I found it very beneficial to dive into the catalog and read about the program's courses and ask the faculty/chairs questions about the program. My company also does regular product knowledge meetings as well, which I am looking forward to.
Its important that every agent is familiar with the innerworkings of each department and how each is a vital part of the entire student experience. Training in each area or at least periodic sit-ins would be helpful.
We just had a meeting with one of the instructors at the school where I work, and he shared how he's been hearing some of the conversations held with potential students while on their tours with an Agent, and feels that each agent gave sufficient information about the program he teaches. He stated that he feels that by having accurate knowledge of what each program offers, helps the student in their choice of finding the right program fit. I feel that the more the representative knows, the more they can share with the student.
I think some seminars or workshops on how to work with other depts would be of interest. If we can understand what they go through they could help us with our admissions.
My institution does a fantastic job of training us on the programs my campus offers. They offer continous trainin and updates for each program. however, I feel it would be a great benefit if we could be trained morein the programs offered at other campuses. My school has 14 campuses and 30+ programs.
Does anyone else have a similar thoughts about the organization you work for?
I also agree! Although my school is really good at training for the admissions department, I would love to see more cross training. It would be a great help to know more how the registrar determines if credits are accepted or not. It would also be beneficial if we had more cross training with the financial aid department.
Once my notebook is completed it will help out a great deal with knowing more of this type of information!
