Quotas?
Are quotas given by educational institutions legal for admission reps?
Michelle,
They want to feel that they are the one and only. Most times students feel they are just another number and that's where you can make a huge difference. Seek out the individual in them and find the right match with your school.
Patty Aronoff
I feel the same, sometimes it may be luck of the draw or a good lead. I try to treat everyone as the same coming in. I don't want to make them do anything they aren't interested in, especially at the cost to them being so high. If my job is in jeopardy so be it, at least I know I can sleep at night knowing I did my best and was honest and an advocate for them. numbers don't scare me anymore:)
Jessica,
It is unfortunate to hear stories such as your. We do need to be aware of the numbers for school growth. We need to enroll more than those exiting in order to grow the business.
Patty Aronoff
I understand that we need "quotas", I mean we are a working as agents at "for profit companies". At another institution I worked for they were so hooked on these "quotas" that at the end of the month people were breaking down. I understand we need to achieve goals but when you are being promised you will be fired at month end if you don't have 10 students... glad I am not working there anymore!
I agree with you Alain, a lot of schools have that mentality and it is SO WRONG! Admissions shouldn’t be about money and numbers but about helping students. Period. My philosophy is ...If that isn’t "you" than you might want to rethinking your career choice.
Jermaine,
Many believe that quotas are the only way to drive admissions representatives. Others state if you impose quotas that you will not receive quality enrollments only driving for the coveted number.
Patty Aronoff
I guess Quotas are a good way to make sure people are performing but sometimes there are different reasons for low performance an it seems that even if the reason is valid the bottom line is if you are not meeting the quota almost everytime your in some kind of trouble.
Randy,
Wonderful post! It is very rewarding to see your student walk across the stage and graduate. Their family and friends join in the event and congratulate them in their success. This is why we do what we do.
Patty Aronoff
I too have to commend Alain for acting in a manner that he felt he needed to because of his ethical and moral compass. I have worked in higher education for some time now and I love my career. When I was an admissions rep I was just as competitive as I am now in my current position. That being said, what effected me the most was watching one of my students walk across the stage and graduate. Or when I would get a call out of the blue from one of my students that everyone thought would be trouble because of her situation and she is excited because she is only two classes from graduating with her bachelor's degree. I hear people joke about changing lives, but so often the conversations you have with a student really do change their entire lives. Act with honor and integrity with the best interest of someone else at heart and you can have an extremely rewarding career and be highly successful at it at the same time.
Alain,
Great advice!!
Great to hear that they have gone through extensive investigation.
Best regards
Luis,
Most schools have a budget as we are a business as well. They are considered as goals and motivators. How we meet those budgets is the ethical question each admissions representative must answer.
Patty Aronoff
Alain,
Thank you for sharing your personal experience here on the forum. They are wise words for others to respect and follow. The honesty and integrity of our sector is dependent upon all of us following the path of ethics.
Patty Aronoff
Alain,
Good for you in standing your ground! We should look at every student as a graduate. First day sits are important, but completers are far more important. If you do not have students, you do not have a school.
Patty Aronoff
Hi Bill,
I'm an admissions representative. I believe that most we do in life has goals and aspirations if not we would not be achieving progression. Admissions goals are set to help our school grow. I believe there are motivators.
So if I understand correctly quotas are now called budgets? It looks like there is no way around it, I assume they can't be called quotas anymore so they are refered as budgets, goals, motivaors, incentives and by other names.
Of course it was, it was related to the 5 day lock period. To keep it professional, I will not mention the name of the institution I worked for but I will say that it has now gone through extensive investigation and massive layoffs months after I resigned. My past students til this day search for me via social media and refer family and friends to me. I just know it's tough to stay ethical so for those of you who are out there working for a company that sounds similar to the school I worked for. At the end of the day, no matter how great that compensation may be, going home happy and knowing you changes lives in a positive way is all that really matters.
Alain,
I was extremely shocked to read about what your former DOA said, glad that you resigned and went on to work somewhere else. I am sure that the 5 days were closely related to whatever refund policy they had over there.
These forums are extremely educative, and for what I learned the most important goal for an admission Rep is to enroll students that will have all the skills and abilities to complete the program, and also to encourage those who lack these, to work on whatever they need to successfully complete the program before enrolling.
I definitely agree with this statement. I once worked with a school in the recent past that only cared about start number. Their motto was, "as long as their a_ _ is in the class for 5 days, I don't care what they do from there on out" and that was my DOA speaking. Once that was said, I resigned vowed to work with a University that actually cared. Best choice I ever made...
Norma ,
Admissions needs to look at every prospective student as a graduate. Success is measured by those that complete not just sit on the first day.
Patty Aronoff
