Jenifer,
I like your positive attitude and commitment to delivering great service and education to students!
Traci Lee
In reading replies of others, i think a common theme is shown. Yes, it is unfortunate that bad news does sell, one just has to watch the evening news to see that. But, media can also be used for "good" purposes but all to often not seen or heard. The flip side of the coin to the negative is that it has changed the way that some "shady" schools are doing business or not doing business anymore.
The media can influence regulatory decisions in many ways. I have been fortunate enough to be a part of this process from the school perspective and a regulatory perspective. I do understand that some students unfairly represent their schools, however I have also seem more schools that do not offer quality education and charge unfair amounts of tuition. In my experienct this being reported on in the media has helped to create regulation that will help to protect the public.
Yes we are 100% accountable to our students. However, students need to give school authorities and opportunity to rectify an issue before threatening to call the news or get an attorney. I find that when an issue arises, school admin is usually the last to know and if the proper chain of command were used then the issue would be resolved/remedied.
Marci,
I agree - students should exhaust all means of escalation within a college before reaching out to external resources. I think schools can communicate and provide easy means for students to pursue such escalation to assist in encouraging internal resolution.
Traci Lee
The media many times highlight areas of concern - sometimes regarding a common practice and sometimes regarding only one or a few isolated incidents. Regulators are apt to react to these articles when structuring new regulations whether or not they reflect a common problem.
Nancy,
Great point - it's hard to determine from an article if there is a wide-spread, systemic issue or if there was an isolated incident, perhaps by an employee acting against the direction/guidance of the school.
Traci Lee
Media has influenced the regulatory environment in the education industry in numerous ways. First, we repeatly see shows on Television such as 60 Minutes, Frontline, Talk Shows, etc., with negative reports regarding tuition, enrollment stats which most often produces unfavorable images. Secondly, Media attacks via newspaper articles - addressing "limited graduate support for job placement." With the unemployment rate being at an all time high, positive images that is representative of colleges and universities should be advocated. For example, Media should stress the importance and the value added benefits for those individuals who embrace knowledge and seek obtaining a college education. This fact alone should be a motivational tool to encourage those indivuduals who have not sought to pursue higher education.
Mary,
Great point about how media could help positivity impact the unemployment crisis by touting the benefits to those who obtain a college education.
Traci Lee
I'm new to the education industry (Registrar) but find everyone's opinion both true and interesting. I've definitely learned a great deal just by reading all the posts. Our school is small with about 150 students. I would say, for us at this point, the students opinions outweigh the media. Positive feedback and referrals from prior students is what helps us grow. Even though it seems like a lot or frustration sets in, following the standards and having internal audits makes life a little easier. "Happy Students = Happy School" :)
Sandra ,
Great to hear that you have happy students! Keep it up!
Traci Lee
I do think that the media has influenced the regulatory environment in the education industry because it has given the public more information regarding tactics used by schools to influence enrollment. Such scrutiny will pressure schools to operate in the best interest of the students that they serve. It is important that students are informed so they make better decisions when opting to borrow student loans.
Alecia,
I agree that transparency is beneficial for informed decision making by students. It is just disappointing that the regulations had to force this level of disclosure which comes with certain guidelines that may cause unintended confusion as "apples-to-apples" comparisons are challenging.
Traci Lee
My opinion is that the media has had a positive influence on the regulatory environment in the education industry. It has forced us to talk, not only about our student success, but our corporate success. IE what we have found that works and does not work as a school, best practices for instructors, admissions and administration.
Lisa,
The positive focus on student success is certainly a positive!
Traci Lee
The media gets a bad rap for thier "investigative" reports on education. The truth is, is if we do our jobs, follow all regulation requirements and stick to the authorized scripting given to us, we shouldn't be worried about being investigated and set up. Now that may be a semi-negative way to portray these investigations, so on a postive note, the threat of being investigated or probed or shopped has made educational facilities more accountable for thier actions and enhance focus on these areas.
The media has grown increasingly skeptical of the legitimacy and integrity of "for-profit" educational institutions. However I'm not sure it is the cause of the increased regulation or the result of the Department of Education's growing scrutiny. It is unfortunate that the media has taken side against career colleges, while continuing to support public colleges which also result in profits, take a substantial amount of government funding, and have difficulty keeping placements up in this economy, however they do not face the same increasing regulations. I hope that more media coverage will be aimed at exposing the lack of an even playing field amongst higher education, but it seems unlikely given the current media bias.
Andra,
I am all for accountability. I think one of our challenges is that some of the well intended regulations end up causing greater confusion and in some cases, additional expenses that get passed on to students with higher tuition.
Traci Lee
Mass-media is probably the most performing way to get informed nowadays. Any kind of information educates in a way ore another. The level of how verdict is the information is very relative, that's why when information is used for educating young generations it has to be reviewed and maybe adapted to some norms.
A lot of the advertising that schools or colleges play on TV, Radios, Newspapers, Internet, etc are false advertisment. Once a student actually gets to graduate from that specific school or college, and they haven't experienced nothing that they were told by the ads or school, then they feel cheated.
Imagine thousands of students complaining about not getting what they were told at the begining ! This is exactly why the regulatory environment in the education industry is so strict about following procedures and making sure the student is getting what they are paying/enrolling for.
The media can get word around quickly these days. If a student is unhappy with something, they can try to use the media to manipulate the situation and get their way. The media can also be a source for students or staff members on how other educational institutes are running their programs. People will be happy when their own campus is doing better compared to others, or they can become disgruntled when they realize that their campus is not doing as well as the other campuses.
