Referral Sources
How can we tell what our referral source counselors (BVR, BWC, VA) are telling their clients?
We have kept a line of communication open with referral agencies, as much as is possible. I began attending meetings about 8 years ago with our Jobs and Family Services folks. I was on an educational task force committee which prepared for the impending lay-offs at our GM plants - we began meeting a year in advance, in order to have concise information regarding educational opportunities prepared in printed form. This included all of the colleges and universities and tech schools in this area, what programs were offered and cost!! Other areas of concern were also addressed and committees formed that would cover, personal finance, mental health, etc. Since then, I have kept in contact with these folks and attended other meetings, in which all of the colleges were invited, where we heard what was happening with WIA, TA, etc.
Accurate information is the key. If you do not know, find out the answer before the student leaves your office. It will only lead to trouble down the road if you don't.
Unless your school uses mystery shoppers at these agencies, I don't know how you would be able to tell. The prospective student can give you some insight; however, the best protection is that your school provides all accurate and applicable information. If you have an individual, as we do, that is specifically tasked with dealing with the agencies, you can attempt to ensure they are providing only general and accurate information. We do this by having our liaison individual meet with the individual agencies. From my perspective as just an individual admissions representative, this also allows our school, not only the opportunity to keep them updated, but also the opportunity to keep our name and school in front of them.
