Spelling and Punctuation
I am curious to know your thoughts on the importance of proper spelling and punctuation amongst Admissions professionals. Do you believe that proper or improper use can impact a prospective students' decision to enroll? Do you believe that it can affect current students as well?
Of course the increase in texting has caused many to shorten words and not bother with punctuation, but as educated professionals, we should know the difference and when to apply these accordingly.
We are employed with a higher educational facility so what does it say of us when we begin an e-mail to a prospective student with "hi enrollment x"? No capitilization to begin sentences. I have even seen professionals using slang spellings, such as "thanks". If I were seeking higher education, I would never enroll with an individual or the school that employed the individual if an initial e-mail from them was littered with no capitalization, slang terms and smiley faces.
Do you believe we should be the change we wish to see in our students and graduates?
sharon,
Poor spelling and punctuation is a reflection of the school. We draw other conclusions when we see mistakes in advertising and documentation.
Patty Aronoff
I agree, the business of education is serious, and we demean it by treating it casually and not being professional. There are so many tools to help us with grammar, spelling and puncuation. Although society has become a bit more relaxed, we must not loose sight of our mission to educate and realize that students pay close attention to how we present ourselves, and if we come accross as uneducated, why would they want to attend our institution.
Yes! This is incredibly important, in any field. We must strive to be better and our postive energy will infect others. We must always look polished and professional in our speech, mannerism and in writting.
Katherine ,
So true! Our industry uses so many acronyms and we use them every day. Often we forget that others have never heard of them before.
Patty Aronoff
Lead by example, students will rise to your expectations of them. I believe we need to make sure we do not use slang in the work enviroment.They may not understand the importance of it during their education but rest assured they will hold you accountable after graduation if you did not teach them proper communication skills.
Gretchen,
We are change agents and should be the example of professionalism. If we become casual and uncaring on how we present ourselves, how can we truly expect high standards for our students?
Patty Aronoff
