Hi Lisa,
As the Program Director, I also let the students know on the first day of classes the chain of command. Our college deans are very good at asking the student who "appears" in their office if they have spoken to the instructor? What was the result? did the student follow up with the program director? what was the result? and so on. If the student has not followed the chain of command, my dean is good at asking them to schedule an appointment with the program director for a resolution. We also have what we call "frequent flyers" who tend to keep asking several people until they get the answer they seek. I equate this with playing different levels of a game and discovering the path to make it to the end of the level. Fortunately for the staff we have what is called "student tracking" which allows us to put in notes about the student's visit, what the student was requesting, and what the results of the meeting were. This tends to slow them down a bit when everyone knows what is going on. Sometimes I have flashbacks to raising my children....:)
I totally agree the student's success is our ultimate goal. This does not mean that I give them each an "A", this means giving the student the tools to succeed. Still in the end it is the student's responsibility to succeed. One of my favorite quotes is: The only place where SUCCESS comes before WORK is the dictionary.
The media has been positive with regard to its ability to influence the regulatory environment. An example of the positive influence is the reporting of massage therapy businesses that are operating 24 hours a day, under very questionable circumstances. By bringing these establishments to the publics attention, the media has helped to bring awareness to the general public. In turn, that awareness has helped to enforce a desire to regulate therapeutic massage, keeping the public safe when receiving a massage.
Jeanne,
This is a great example of media and regulations working to help educational institutions that I had not thought about. Occupational quality and credibility are certainly outcomes related to education and licensing, when necessary. Thanks for sharing this positive angle!
Traci Lee
Traci, I am relatively new to the Campus Director position, but have been involved in post-secondary education for 20 years. Media tends to report the neagative, which I believe would increase regulations. If this helps to weed out the schools that are taking advantage of students and the federal student aid program, then I believe it to be a good influence.
terri,
I hear what you are saying - I also think that any "bad apple" school can influence the public perception of the sector as a whole.
Traci Lee
Discussing the 'chain of command' for airing problems before problems arise will help students consider steps to take when there is a problem. Also, it is critical that all faculty support following the 'chain of command' so there is no involvement of faculty who should not be involved. It is sometimes easy for faculty to provide a sympathetic ear and listen to complaints about a colleague, rather than sending the student to that colleague to discuss a problem. Helping students take the appropriate steps to address a problem will help them learn to do this in the real world, an important part of their education.
The media has brought to the forefront many positive and negative issues which educational institutions face on a daily basis. It has also made the consumer more aware of less than reputable schools. It's important for students to be aware of the quality of education they are receiving and whether it will meet their needs prior to investing their resources. Sometimes more information isn't always a good thing, but for students it has helped to make them informed consumers and target inappropriate behavior.
Gail ,
Well stated! I think some of my best life lessons during college were about effective problem solving beyond the academic lessons I gained.
Traci Lee
The media has led prospective students to believe that achieving a degree at our college is an easy task and that the jobs after graduation are plentiful.
First of all, the students don't realize prior to talking to an admissions advisor that they have to maintain a minimum grade point (in our case B- or better)in order to meet the minimum requirement to be able to take the next class in the program.
Second, our college has many limited enrollment health science programs. Therefore the student must compete against other students for a limited number of seats in the professional tract.
I believe media has put pressure on the regulatory bodies to have a more effective way for student's to be handled by the institutions. It is now more important then ever that institutions have a complaint procedure with their state agency for student complaints.
Media also can have negative and positive impacts on schools with social media such as Twitter, Facebook and other media websites. Student's now have the ability to share their experiences with their schools publicly in an open forum. This can create leads for schools but can also turn students away from schools.
I think it has created a lot of hyper vigilance.
Kelly,
You bring up an interesting topic with social media outlets. More and more colleges are embracing such forums as a means to identify strengths and areas of concern within their institution.
Traci Lee
Media plays a huge role on career colleges. However, whether it is good or bad it will provide somehow positive education for the students because at the end there will no surprises to go along the way. Every student's education is no joke and should always be on great team effort.
Whether is positive or negative, the media will do their job. Its up to the individual to do their own research and make the best choice for him/her.
The media is only doing their job, whether its positive or negative feedback. The individual must decide which is best for him/her and try to not let the media influence any decisions.
Rachet,
I agree that ensuring students have complete awareness of realistic expectations is ideal. I hope that students embrace the opportunity to be informed before selecting their college and program.
Traci Lee
Unfortunately, the media want to sell and they emphasize in the negative news.Is our responsibility as educators improve the communication with the students and listen their complaints.
In my opinion, portraying something in a positive manner does not bring in good ratings as far as the media is concerned. I live in a city where the university is being investigated by SACS for the mishandling of university funds. I also see that some commercials for schools portray how life would be more rewarding if a student went there, however, listening to students who have dropped out from their program paint a completely different picture.
Kristi,
I think most schools have student success stories as well as those where there may not have been a match between the student's needs and the programs offered. While schools should be accountable to providing what they say they offer, there are often a wide range of perceptions even at the same school and/or program that makes it difficult to determine if a problem was an isolated incident or, evidence of a deeper concern.
Traci Lee
The marketplace naturally forces for-profit institutions to offer an educational product that is valuable to students, it is always highlighted in the media outlets. Expectations of the product put out by a career college, the student, is important to show growth in the employment rate and recession. With so much focus on poor numbers in employment by the media, and negative and positives being thrown around with the current administration, institution are forced to show a clear connection to improve the quality of their graduate and provide a proven success. This will support the Institution(s) with obtaining the needed funding to survive and contribute to economic success.
