Qualified Students
With the increased pressure on graduation and placement rates, has your institution made any modifications to its program admission requirements or admissions interviews to ensure students are qualified to succeed?
The college that I work for the students have criteria that must be met prior to enrollment to include but not limited to a background check and the mandatory health immunizations that are required for their specific programs. This ensures that we are not enrolling students that will not be able to obtain employment after the completion of their program.
I use to work at a school that offered an interview with all candidates to insure they knew what they are signing up for and they have all of their priorities in line.
I think that is a fantastic idea! We get many students who have not been in school for at the very least a couple years. They are nervous as to how they will do in the classroom setting and with all the work that comes with it.
We just make sure each student is aware of the graduation rates. We have accurate records and we are honest about our placement and graduation information
It is vitally important for a school to ensure that students are qualified to succeed. Too often I have seen students who needed considerable rememdial work in Reading Literacy, English, Composition and Math allowed to be enrolled in colleges.
Mindy,
At a minimum, students should be advised that any type of criminal record may affect their future emplyment prospects. Of course its difficult to say what type of criminal conviction would automatically disqualify a student from certain types of future employment. For example, some employers may use a DUI convidtion as a disqualifier but others may not.
John Ware
A thorough vetting is done to ensure that the student finds the right program, knows all the relevant information about it and has the academic know how to be successful in the program. The latter is enforced through minimum requirements that potential students must have.
While it is good to set expectations, when working as an Admissions Representative sometimes you can get caught up in the numbers. I pride myself on not looking at any individual as a number. Sometimes, even after the student has passed the entrance assessment, you have to make the decision to show the student how they could excel in a different school/program.
The college I work for has talked about having all of our students complete a background check. We currently have students complete a background check for our Nursing program only. Truth being told, it will be next to impossible to get a job in the medical and criminal justice field what-so-ever with anything on their record.
I agree that we should do everything possible to ensure the success of the student by offering tutoring, and evaluations of the students performance every 4 weeks so they know where they stand and can get the proper support early on which can be very motivating in keeping the students on track and helps with the retention of the school. We are a clock hour school, our students are here 6 months and then placed on their externship for 240 hrs. At nite there here 1 year and 240 hrs. on their externship. Our programs are accelerated and the pace is rapid so we place strong emphasis on attendance and punctuality.
We also have previous graduates come back and talk about their experiences and work expereience in the field that they graduated from. It's important that the students are surrounded by positve thinking people that appreciates the opportunity togo to scool and understands the value of their educational journey.
This information has been added to the admissions forms so all applicants see it and receive a copy of this information.
I agree that entrance exams are a necessity. All schools should have a standard by which they initially assess a student's ability to be successful. Some students do need remedial preparation prior to starting college, and this will show the need up front and help them be more successful in the long run.
We have an assessment test that students have to pass with a certain score. SAT and ACT testing is not a requirement for acceptance into our college.
My role is as a re-entry specialist, and all returning students need to be both academically and financiall approved before they can return. For students who have not met Satisfactory Academic Progress (as clearly outlined in my school's catalog) during their previous enrollment(s), an appeal process is involved that requires the returning student to complete electronic documents outlining the reasons for their previous struggles and an outline of what steps they will take to find success once back in classes. These answers are then reviewed by the appropriate Dean, who then makes a decision on approval or denial.
Asking difficult questions during the admissions interview is part of building a foundation for finding success in college. This can be done without turing qualified students away. There is nothing wrong w/ saying that "College should not be easy. You'll need find ample time each week to work on your classes. Let's discuss different time management strategies that might work for you."
The instituion I work for recently switched versions of our nursing entrance exam, making it more difficult for students to easily pass. This ensures that the students who do pass have a good foundation and understanding of material. It also helps make the student aware of the difficulty level of testing they will be entering into.
Prospective students must have either a HS diploma or GED from an accredited institution. So called "diploma mills" are not recognized, and do not allow students to enroll in our school.
The school I work for has had an entrance exam in place for many years. I think that has added to our success. It has increased the graduation and the placement rates. Employers know that our students are qualified to enter the program and learn the required knowledge for the career.
I believe that the heightened awareness of student success will contribute to better graduation rates. Just being aware that not all students may be a good fit for our school will make admissions agents more careful about setting expectations.
