Traci Lee

About me

I currently serve as the Vice President of Business Solutions for Bridgepoint Education. In my present role, I provide guidance to the company's ground based and online colleges to optimize their operations while staying within regulatory guidelines.

I have over 22 years of experience in the education industry. My experience encompasses virtually all aspects of the education business, including admissions, financial aid, academics, career services, and management of multi-campus operations. I’ve held senior level management positions at Career Education Corporation, MedVance Institute and the University of Phoenix (Apollo Group) as well as providing consulting services to a multitude of colleges and universities during my tenure with Campus Management Corporation.

My focus has been on campus start ups, regulatory compliance, process improvement, and operational oversight of multiple campus colleges, including international campuses. I recognize the challenges of working in a highly regulated environment that has grown more complex as companies have expanded operations, either organically or through acquisition, to include multiple regulatory bodies and governing oversight entities.

I hold a B.S. degree in Business from Arizona State University and an M.A. degree in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. I have completed the Apollo Group's Executive Development Program and the Career College Association's (now APSCU) Leadership Institute.

Activity

Traci Lee

Discussion Comment

Preparing for an Audit

Greg - Lessons learned typically lead to better planning. Hopefully, thru these discussions, we get to learn from each others' lessons as well as our own.

Traci Lee

Discussion Comment

Corrective Action Plans

Great point, Monica. Turnover can have a significant impact on an organization. Clear documentation on policies and procedures is critical to employee transitions. I've often heard that audit findings are tied to new employees/high turnover/lack of training, etc.

Traci Lee

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Effect of Media

Virginia - What are your thoughts on the policies in place by regulators to deal with complaints? I've heard mixed responses on colleagues perceptions on the effectiveness of regulators with regard to student complaints. I've also seen more and more websites pop up where students "publish" their dissatisfaction with institutions in addition to complaints to the media.

Traci Lee

Discussion Comment

Corrective Action Plans

Excellent details - thanks for contributing!

Traci Lee

Discussion Comment

Preparing for an Audit

You bring up a good point - if you are following your policies and procedures but, they no longer adhere to the regulation, there is still a problem. Regulations are constantly changing and are also subject to "revised clarification" which sometime differs from when a regulation is initially put in place. While it is difficult to keep up, training workshops and summaries put forth by various entities may assist in highlighting key changes.

Traci Lee

Discussion Comment

Preparing for an Audit

Stacey - you are right, they almost always find something. A "pre-audit" can help - especially with overcoming some of the fears and stresses of employees going through an audit for the first time.

Traci Lee

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Compliance in Business Areas

Victor - Your comment on "security features" made me think of an area where there is increasing fraud from students: Falsified records. I have been surprised to find schools still using "plain" paper rather than security paper to print student transcripts, awards, and diplomas. I'm curious to see if any participants out there have experienced submission of documents to their institution which were determined to be fraudulent and also, if they are using security paper at their institution. Thoughts/Comments?

Traci Lee

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Preparing for an Audit

Victor, very true. And, as noted on another recent post, early identification of problems allows the school to implement corrective actions PRIOR to the audit and, ideally, be able to prove that the problem has been resolved. I have seen auditors opt to "forgive" citations if the school has already implemented a "fix" that can be evidenced with results. And, even if they make the citation, the college is already implementing the action plan versus having to develop a plan. It's easier to respond with an existing plan that is already in place than to have to go step by… >>>

Traci Lee

Discussion Comment

Corrective Action Plans

Anna - Good point. I have seen many good "action plans" which have not been implemented. The action, and validation that is has the intended impact, are critical to success.

Traci Lee

Discussion Comment

Preparing for an Audit

Excellent point, Julio - more and more, I have seen auditors "applaud" process improvement efforts which have been put in place prior to an audit, demonstrating that the company/college had an internal review process that successfully identified an issue and resolved it. The key to this is to do this far enough in advance of an audit to be able to demonstrate that the revised processes and procedures have, in fact, resulted in resolving the risk item/issue identified. If a new process has been put in place only recently, the auditor typically cannot validate that the matter is rectified.

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