Organizational Honesty with the Students
I believe the organization at a college or school must all work together to make the educational experience a successful one for the student. But I believe that at the core of the "Thoughtful Heart" must be total honesty from all of the administrators, staff, and faculty. Admissions must be honest with the students, not try to convince students to enroll in the program with the lowest enrollment this month. Financial aid must be honest with the students about their financial responsibility for any money borrowed, and the faculty must be honest about the jobs available in the career they are preparing the students for. Only when all departments have been totally honest, can an institution be successful and grow.
Tony,
Looking out for students by putting them first and running a business that expects performance are not mutually exclusive. Good schools expect their Admission Representatives,Financial Aid Assistants, Career Services team members, Deans, Instructors and Campus Presidents to perform to established standards. That does not mean we cannot take care of our students at the same time. In the long run, the better we take care of our students, the more profitable we will be.
We need good Admission Representatives to help bring us qualified students to teach. Individual Reps may not be right for your school. However, if a schol consistently misses its starts, the issue is not likely exclusively in the Admissions and Marketing departments. The issue could be with the programs, the success rates of students or in the school's reputation.
As "edupreneurs," our job is to make money while providing a good service that benefits as many students as we can. If you do not feel that your organization does this well enough, talk to the leaders at your school and bring them constructive solutions.
This precept of a "Thoughtful Heart" should also ring true with for-profit institutions. How is a vo-tech school's vision and mission statement reflected when admissions has a monthly target. And when rep's repeatly miss their goal they are terminated?
Thanks, Taffy. The best way for a school to ensure long term success is to worry about student needs and student success.
You make very valid points and I think that is an issue that alot of schools have. The main reason we are in this field is primarily the students and alot of people lose sight of this when they realize the profit. It doesn't help when organizations force poeple to be dishonest with bullying. Nice post!
Honesty is always the best policy. If you try to be truthful, or as truthful as you can be, you never have to remember anything and misconceptions will be avoided.
