Only One
If you had to choose one disclosure to present to a prospective student which one would it be? Why?
If I could only choose one thing to disclose it would be the real expectations required to finish the program the student is interested in. I feel that setting a student up to fail by misrepresenting how difficult the course will be is not fair. If a student is fully aware of the difficulties ahead and is willing to do the necessary things to complete their education then I know I have done my job correctly and with integrity.
Since my background has been in career services, I would disclose the most recent school's placement rates and explain how they are determined. I would help them understand why this is important to them in making their decision. I think this is also an excellent way to help a student understand the demands of a programs and how their choices in accepting those demands and maintaing good attendance is crucial to helping them as they graduate and begin their own job search.
Tony,
Placement rates can be the most confusing of all disclosures due to the fact that there are so many complex formulas (dependent on your accrediting agency). Taking the necessary time to help a student understand those rates is an important task.
Cindy Bryant
If I had to choose only one, I would choose the graduation rate. Nothing else matters if the student does not graduate from his/her respective school or training program. Due to changes in the economy and the fact that career employment data only reflects current conditions, the job market is not always a students to control. Graduating from school is and always will be theirs to control.
Brian,
Thank you for sharing your opinion regarding graduation rates with the group.
Cindy Bryant
I would also choose the graduation rate. I think the graduation rate is a true reflection of the school's commitment to the student and their success.
Although it is not my area of expertise, I think the one disclosure I would present to the student would be the financial information. What the cost of the program is in terms of tuition, fees, books, etc. So much concern exists about our financial well being that this is imperative that the student know exactly what they are walking into regarding debt and expenses. Education is an incredible investment, but we want to be 100% transparent in this area.
Belinda,
Thank you for responding to the forum question.
Cindy Bryant
I would choose to disclose the employment rate for that program. It is necessray for sprospective students to know how likely they are to get a keep employment for the type of trainging they recieved.
If I had to choose one disclosure, it would probably be placement rates. I feel that every prospective student has the right to know the accurate placement of the program that they are interested in spending time and money on.
I think the one disclosure that most students are concerned with is how much or how can I pay for this. So, I would go with the financial aid part because you can cover two things at once. I know you are asking for one but it is almost a given to be able to do both!! I am able to really disclose the financial aid process, an estimated budget and the cost of attendance all in one while I am showing them the cost of tuition, books and fee's.
If I could chose just one it would have to be to disclose the cost of the program. The reason being that it is probably the 2nd or 3rd largest investment a student will make in their future. A student needs to know what that investment is going to look like and determine if the benefit is worth the cost and time to accomplish their goals. Will this investment make their life better (earnings, satisfaction, career) or will it make it more difficult (student loan debt). In my experience a student's concern over "how much is this gonna cost me" far outweighs their concerns over class size or placement. So I would like to have that discussion with them first and foremost.
From a financial aid side the one disclosure i do with all my students is give them the full knowledge of where they currently stand with their amount of loans as well as with the new pell grant law tell them how much they have used and also let them know how much they have available in terms of funds left.
The one disclosure that is very important is what is expected of the student to be a successful graduate. They need to know up front what courses are needed to be completed in order for them to graduate and the amount of commitment is asked from them to be successful in these courses.
I’m partial to employment rates (which may or will also eventually show gainful employment of wages). As a career service adviser, I am proud that employment numbers for all of our programs are above (some well above) the standard, and this was before the standard had been lowered. This is an area that proves to prospective students and the community that we do our job and follow our own mission and goals. If we do not meet our mission of providing excellent career training, we cannot meet the goal of producing a highly skilled employable graduate. Employers are the customer of this product – they will only hire and retain those that can do the job.
I would do a disclosure on the graduation rate. I would like this one because I myself am close to graduating at my college and I think that this will motivate other students to want to see their program to completion.
Danielle,
Welcome to the forum. In this repressed market students have suffered significantly while seeking employment. However, I believe that the "traditional" college graduates have had a bigger challenge than skilled graduates. The good news is reported in a Bloomberg article, there is an expected 10.2% upturn in the employment market this year which will be very helpful. Another factor that will increase employ-ability is the fact that last year the oldest members of the Baby Boom generation celebrated their 65th birthday. In fact, every year, and for every day for the next 19 years, 10,000 baby boomers will reach age 65. This will open the door to massive opportunities for our graduates. Thank you for reminding us of what our sector does so well.
Cindy Bryant
I would disclose the financials. Students should be thoroughly aware, long before they decide on a school, about what their financial obligations are going to be, what kind of debt they are looking at, how long they anticipate it will take to pay that debt off with the salary from their new career, etc.
Lisa,
Disclosing financial aid and the impact it will have on the student's monetary resources is critical. They need to be advised thoroughly and have the opportunity to ask questions.
Cindy Bryant
