Amber,
Good point about the political influence. It's certainly that time of year right now where we hear a lot from the politicians and current events influence what they may focus on when campaigning.
Traci Lee
The media has influnced the education industry. Some negative and some positive. We have seen the results of some schools who have had poor judgement. The positive side is that it made all of us ask could this happen at our school. I think we should always inspect what we expect. Bad judgement will always be around and for those schools that are proactive with internal audits can prevent and correct the bad judgement.
Dr. Childers,
Thanks for your positive comments. I agree that the upside of the situation has enabled us all to refocus on mission and core values as well as reaffirm the dedication we have, as a learning community, to serve the career training needs of our student populations. There are, as you reference, some institutions that have negatively impacted the sector, but I too believe that for the most part the sector remains true to its cause.
Jay Hollowell
As the Director of Education for my school, I see how the negative impact the media has on Career Schools. Our school works very hard to have a positive impact on the community by having our students involved in community activities. Our student participate in back to school activities involving students getting free school supplies, haircuts, and dental care. Our students participate by autoclaving instruments, taking down health histories, obtaining vital signs, and assisting chair side as needed.
Our school is very student oriented. Everyone in our school is involved in the success of each student. The first day of class I meet the students at orientation and discuss how important their success is to me. I offer them assistance with organizing their notebooks to teaching them study skills and well as tutoring. As the industry has changed more students are being home schooled and haven't learned good study techniques or how to write written report properly. These are some of the services offered to our students to help them be successful. The majority of our students did poorly in high school and need to gain confidence in their ability to succeed. My staff and I work very hard at giving this type of support to our students.
There are times when a student isn't successful and threatens the school with the media. The majority of the time it is a student who was unable to accept the outcome of their actions. For example, poor grades or attendance issues.
As a whole, our school supports our students when a problem arises and offers encouragement and hope as needed. This approach has worked well for us.
Michaela,
You really hit the nail on the head - many of the issues from disgruntled students seem to stem back to their academic or even financial challenges faced during their program of study. Your efforts to provide services to alleviate these issues should reduce the chances of a student complaining or stirring things up with media. It's great to see a school taking on the responsibility to assist students proactively!
Traci Lee
As a result of reports by the media regarding private colleges, it is important to remember that in the courts of public opinion, we are guilty until proven innocent. If complaints are aired to the media, be they true or fraudulent, we are considered guilty until we prove innocence.
Therefore I choose to take the high road and address these areas immediately with new students. During our Orientation I introduce myself as the Executive Director and I explain my role in the campus. I also make sure that the students know where my office is located.
They are instructed to follow the chain of command within our campus, but I want them to know that they always have recourse in the event that they feel they are not receiving a fair hearing. Obviously my goal is to always be able to secure a resolution within the confines of our organization.
Kenneth,
Great approach! I respect the efforts to address concerns head on and for leadership to be available to students when needs arise.
Traci Lee
