Keston ,
We agree that the career services impacts all areas of a school. Great placement increases enrollment. Great placement encourages students to finish knowing they have a great chance to get jobs. Great placement positions the school as the place to get training. Employers view you as a solution to their needs for trained staff. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
The Career Services Department is important due to the fact that a lot of career college's accreditation is based upon the placement percentage of the schools graduates. With a great Career Services team that is known for its ability to prepare and place students in their field of choice, more student will be willing to enroll based on the placement rate and career services program.
kim`,
Yes, successful career schools know how to focus on customer satisfaction for the customers - students and employers.Interesting that you wait 6 months to contact grads. We believe that grads need to be contacted at least once a month for forever! Alumni can enroll in the next level programs and make a difference in your institution as discussed in earlier comments. We feel that grads should see their schools as a resource for ongoing training, use of library, and assistance in any phase of their job search, loss of job, goals to seek promotion, increased salary and lots more. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
I agree with your comments that it is about creating student satisfaction. In fact at my school we complete an Alumni Survey six months following a student's graduation to get their input and feedback as to how satisfied they were with Career Services, their Career Development class, their instructors in that field, if they were presented with the tools and resources they needed to successfully search and find jobs in their chosen programs. It's provided us great feedback as to what has been successful and areas that we can tweak to ensure even greater success.
Theresa,
Interesting question. What makes a student unemployable? Your admissions standards should screen for individuals who will not be successful in school and do not have a chance of getting a job. It looks like the problem starts with the Admissions department. Do they know enough about your programs to enroll students who are likely to succeed? This is essential in the admissions process. Successful students do get jobs and are great sources of referrals and information about your programs.
Dr. Susan Schulz
I fully agree that if they have a job they will continue to pay their student loans back. It becomes a two-fold for if the new prospective student is happy with the outcome of their schooling then they are going to talk up the institution and bring new students on board by word of mouth. And it brings up your numbers for ACICS.
With this being said, now Admissions will be happy as well as the Career Service Dept. But what happens when you have students who are unemployable???
Tasha,
We agree. Students enroll to get a job. They often don't want to know about the courses they have to take but prefer talking about the type of employment they can seek. Placement gets their attention. If a school is known for great training and great placement that says it all. Graduates will want to refer their great school to others. Employers will reach out to your institution when seeking new hires. We think it is all about placement. thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
I think that the impact is seen all the way from admissions to the end process. It helps to increase enrollments as well as aiding in the "branding process"
Genia,
So well said! Placement says it all about your institution and word-of-mouth is the best (and least expensive) form of advertising. Usually Community Outreach initiatives come from the Career Services department. It is important to have an ongoing dialogue with employers. You of course want to know about their job openings. Also important is their training needs. Are your programs meeting their requirements? What new training will be required? You are so right that students need skills to get jobs, stay on the job, and seek raises and promotions. There are a lot of benefits to offering students and alumni ongoing employment skills. Thanks
Dr. Susan Schulz
I feel that it plays an intricate role in the creditability and success of the entire school. Many people are connected to social media. They use it as well as word of mouth in the community to share their experiences and successes in life. Having a sound placement department that is well connected to the students and the community will greatly increase enrollment, as well as increase student retention,thus building the respect for the work that we do for the community. Helping to prepare students for the workforce by supporting them with the skills and tools that they need to not only find a job but also stay on the job will also foster pride in themselves as well as improve their work ethics.
Kendra,
We agree that impressive and accurate placement stats impact admissions. The facts clearly show that your institution provides effective training and assists grads to get jobs. Grads will want to refer your school. Employers will want to hire your grads. That's why we think employment skills training is so important. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
The Placement dept. can impact admissions number by being able to assist a substantial amount of graduates with jobs. This help that potential student see that they will be assisted and the percentage of opportunities are promising.
Selimah,
Very well said. Our customers are our students and our employers. We need to make them satisfied so they will stay with our school. Success is a great marketing tool. Happy grads tell their friends. Happy employers welcome our grads and tell us about their training needs. It's a win win. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
It can impact enrollment significantly because it is with this tool that prospective students would enroll. A placement department to me is like an advertising department. It showcases the school with hightlights of having past students come by, having a relationship with employers and building a bridge for the program and it's growth.
Duncan,
Thanks. We agree and believe that a full functioning career services department has a lot of influence. Students enroll to get a job. That's what gets and keeps their attention. Career services needs to develop and maintain employer relationships. That so many benefits. You have many people to contact for job openings as each student graduates. When grads are placed they have a lot to brag about and will tell others to enroll. Employers will be happy with new hires that came from your school. It is a win win all around. Thanks
Dr. Susan Schulz
Antonia,
The placement boards sound great. You might also create posters for each grad showing them as a student and then a photo on the job. Include copy showing how each overcame obstacles to get where they are. Often this information automatically sells the prospect on enrollment. Data has a lot or power. Teachers, in our opinion, should constantly talk about life on the job. Thanks
Dr. Susan Schulz
Through reading many other posts on this thread it is clear that the Career Services / Placement department has a major impact on increasing Admissions - I don't think anyone would ever disagree with that. The simplest answer as to WHY placement impacts admissions is through solid placement rates but it's really much deeper. Where I work, we try to make it more about creating student satisfaction. A satisfied student will be more likely to tell others about his/her experience. In our community, we've found that many of our enrollments have had friends or relatives who have attended our school in the past and found success and that has been a contributing factor in their enrollment at our school. Career Services / Placement also has a large impact Financial Aid. A strong Career Services department will help schools obtain and maintain accreditation which will can create new opportunities for funding.
I know with Admissions and current students our department has made a significant impact. We have 4 graduate placement boards throughout the campus. Admissions point them out when providing tours to perspective students. Current students see the boards and see places where they could potentially be employed and look forward to seeing themselves on the board. In addition, the placement percentages for all programs last year exceeded expectation. This tells incoming students that their really are opportunities for me when graduating from their program. When conducting workshops the instructors will sit in. They have an opportunity to gain current hiring practices, which I have acquired from speaking with employers on a daily basis.
may,
Very good points and well said. We work with so many school owners that require students to complete a full term of career services training. It takes a while to build employment skills. It takes a long time to build confidence. That's why training needs to start on day 1! We know many career schools that require Title IV students to especially take the training. They must get a job for which they were trained and have skills to stay on the job and succeed. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
Placement impacts several departments on campus, beginning with enrollments. Have a strong and successful CSD/Placement Dept. demonstrates to potential students that they will have strong chnaces of graduating with a job. Demonstrates that the school well prepares their grads for the real world.
Another way placement dept affects other departments is also on the Financial Aid side. A grad with a career placement and gainfully employed will have the financial backing to repay the school loans and help keep the schools finance department in good standing.
