Our university also does an excellent job with product knowledge training... this is an area that i would like to focus on and pursue additional training to increase my knowledge about our programs.
The other areas i feel would be of intrerest to me is the area of learning programs. I feel if i know more about the programs i would do better in ciriculum.
I think it is important to understand how all of the different departments work together, and how they affect each other. This allows for a greater understanding of your own position and how you affect others. I think exploring this idea is important to success and understanding.
I feel as though some more specific training on the actual rules would be beneficial to my success. The more familiar I can be with the regulations, the better agent I will be.
More details about other departments that we send our prospective students thru. So that we can better inform them of what is going to happen.
The school that I work for does a fantastic job with training. We have regular product knowledge and recruiting training. One thing that I personally do to get product knowledge is, call students that I enrolled to check on them and talk about the class that they are in. What are they learning? What do they enjoy most about the class? What don’t they like? This helps me uncover prospect concerns and allow me to share what they might experience. Plus it’s a great time to ask for a referral.
Internally it is important for schools to be sure agents are well informed of the programs offered at the campus. It is also important that it is an ongoing process, since projects, advisory committees, and student initiatives are subject to change. The more knowledgable the agents are, the better they will represent the school.
I agree. I am in training right now and I often ask in depth questions about many of my school’s programs, departments, and policies. I want to know as much information as possible.
I agree knowing all that applies to us and all that applies to our students. I think that the most important thing in all of this, is to better assist our students. Any and all information to make that happen I believe is needed.
We have recruiters that come to our school each week. I have sat in on their presentations to learn more about the industry, benefits, hiring requirements and salary ranges.
We are expanding into two new areas over the Summer and Fall. I am interested in meeting with the instructors and even visiting some training sites to help explain the programs, training and career potential to incoming students during the admissions process.
We are actually pretty lucky when it comes to training. We have some reps that actually say that weekly training is overboard, but repetition pays off. It's also a good time to clear the air of any questions and confusions for some of the newer reps!
I think a great training idea would be to offer a course on how to coach and motivate students that have ended up in default at other schools and want to get back into school. Our reps are trained on getting them back to a FA rep that can call the lender and help the student out. I know for many organizations when you hear a student is in default, the student can be written off and not pursude.
Although this may not have a lot to do with the rules and regulations of the job, I'd be interested in some dialogue in regards to our role in student retention. I'd love to hear some input and ideas from others as to their methods of retaning students.
I believe it is very important to learn about every component of what your institution has to offer and how it basically benefits the student. In the future we want to look at best practices for answering questions from students.
The same thing happens at my school too. Training is a top prority here and we have regular training sessions.
As I am strictly set up to work with online students for my school, I miss out on many of the obvious things most admissions officers see. I am not on a campus, so I never see the students face, I dont get to see them graduate, I dont see them in their classes studying etc. I wish I had more opportunities to be reminded who it is I am helping, and why my job is so important.
I love the "I let them know that I am available to assist them anytime and that I will be at their graduation!" I will start to utilize a form of this phrase as they finish up their admissions process. Though this has been true, I never verbalized it.
I think an area that I like to learn more about, no matter what industry I'm in, is that of how to properly network what and who you represent, while outside the office. I use the age old term, "30-second Elevator Speech". If you believe in the school you represent, then you need to be proud of it and talk about it where ever you go. So... what are some suggestions on how you position who you are and what you do?
I had good training on every department when I started working for my institution. We continually have training sessions that cover our programs and different departments. I would really like to focus more on following what the business office does because there is so much that goes into the financial aspect of school that I feel like that area could continually offer new trainings. Also, any technical training on the systems that students use daily is a definate plus!
Anthony,
Most schools track retention closely and have internal polices for improving retention. Many accrediting agencies also have policies that address student retention.
John Ware
Perhaps, the way the Career center Director helps in the placement of students for employment in school and at graduation.
