I think that one of the most critical facts affecting higher education is retention rates. Students come to school and withdraw because of issues that higher ed does not address. Students need more information and direction once they are enrolled in a college, they need to be taken care of as a whole human being not only a number that comes to school and takes a test, but a person that besides being intelligent, he/she has emotions and spirit that need to be balanced in order to be efficient in the classroom. It is our responsibility as educators to graduate students that are balanced and satisfied with the education received.
Thank you for your comments Jag. Managing the change that will occur with the growth will be important and it sounds like you are thinking through all of the steps. Good luck!
Hello Jean,
We first have to start educating the ones in leadership roles to start having an understanding of the growth and challenges. Thankfully the organization that I work for the executives like to take risks where they foresee growth. Finding experts in each field also present a big impact. These experts can open doors for curriculum and future educators. For my team the biggest impact will be familiarizing themselves with the new programs and understanding the dynamics of the new program.
Jag,
I agree, with the ever changing landscape in higher education we need to adapt and offer the career-fitting programs that you mention. Since you are in a leadership role, how do you anticipate this change will impact your team?
I work for a Career College in a leadership role. For our organization, the critical issue is the rapid growth of students and programs. We are finally starting to look at expansion of the College . We are looking at more space and career fitting programs in Healthcare that are needed in today's market. With this critical issue comes another critical issue of finding quality program developers, curriculum experts and managers to help us grow and develop.
As a trade school, our biggest challenge is twofold. First, Federal funding has changed our pool of students, bringing in people less naturally inclined to go into our field (Audio engineering). This, coupled with larger class sizes makes the challenge of reaching each student more difficult. Revising our curriculum to reinforce key concepts more often helps to give every student the best chance of success, but the pool of students changing means that our expectations has to change as well. In our case, financial aid has a very dramatic good and bad impact on our completion and placement rates. Financial aid polarizes the students that we encounter, giving us the top and bottom achievement level of our classes at the same time, it rarely results in the students falling into the middle of the group.
I agree that graduation/completion rates in addition to the current regulatory environment.
Gregory, I couldn't agree more. I'm curious, what can you do personally to help get that positive message out there?
Dr. Jean Norris
I think that we need to continue to increase the positive results as it pretains to the Career College Sector and it's graduation rates and how it impacts the US economy by producing the human capital required to get back on top. Where the challenge becomes more significant is getting this positive message into the minds and thoughts of our government officials and the community at large. I feel that Career Education has never been given the credit it deserves and this practice must change.
Tamikah, this is a great point. With all of the shifts in the marketplace, we will always see some changes with the programs that are popular. It's always a good idea to continue to be up to date on this piece of your product knowledge. Great job.
Dr. Jean Norris
In higher education some of the programs are facing a significant drops from students. I would have to say that with the changing trends in the market the demand for technology increases.
In the CIS and Computer Science Departments across the world are seeing siginifact drops in higher education related to the techology changes and seeking more certified IT professionals. Traditional univerisites and colleges are facing the same critical issues as the technology college.
melinda,
Great points. Yes, it is challenging to find and serve today's students. What changes can an organization make to stand out amongst the competition?
Dr. Jean Norris
Enrollment of qualified students and their retention. The competition for student s is growing and quality students are becoming more challenging to find and keep.
Thank you for sharing your insightful observations, Raymond. As a leader in your industry, what are some of your suggestions for addressing this issue in higher education?
Shannon Gormley
I think the most critical issue facing higher education in the near-term is actually the issue of loss of focus on what education is supposed to be. By this I mean that we are becoming so focused on outcomes by measuring graduation and completion rates that no one is looking at whether there is any actual learning taking place. In light of the new FA rules that have been implemented the issues are being diverted from education being about education to education being about completing a program. This has driven many to believe that no one should ever fail. Why have assessments on learning if they are not going to be utilized? I constantly struggle with instuctors who ask "what do I do, this student is failing?" Since the student has not mastered the skills required to pass why is there even a question? This is a highly critical component of career schools that cannot be overlooked just to enhance completion rates. If Sally doesn't master the skill of intramuscular injections then Sally doesn't pass. Period. She has the option of repeating the class or changing career path. No educator should be pushed, guided, forced, or influenced to alter the benchmarks simply to increase percentages. This is where I believe the education downturn started in the first place.
Dave, you are so right and it sounds like you are looking at the new regulations as an opportunity to help students. In regards to finances, you are right, this seems to be a large issue for students. What have you done to help students see the value in education?
Right now the for-profit schools are contending with the new FA regulations coming on July 1. Understanding these regulations are going to be vital to helping our students succeed. Financial issues are big cause of our students withdrawing.If a student is struggling academically and runs into trouble with finances they may feel the fight to stay in school is not worth the effort.
Thanks for sharing, Sandi. I bet your staff appreciates your daily reminders of putting students first.
This is what I remind my staff of everyday and it helps to put in perspective all that we need to do as Admissions Associates to remain within compliance.
Well said, Sandi! Following compliance regulations is a must in the industry. And it is absolutely critical that the students best interests are the first priority.
