Catalog Information
Every Friday, the admissions team reviews a page of the catalog in the morning meeting. Program specifics and admissions/accreditation information is reviewed regularly.
To be honest, in the admissions department, I use the catalog every day. Primarily for program information, student services as well as academic information including but not limited to: transfer ability of credit, attendance policy, internships etc. Our Catalog is a great tool for prospective and current students. Not only does it keep me up-to-date on information but also provides a clear written understanding of policies that I have verbally explained to the student.
We have a meeting once a month to review the catalog. But I regularly check what has changed on the Commission for Independent Education website and bring it to that meeting.
With the amount of questions I receive daily I am very pleased to have a catalog! I use our catalog most to help answer questions about our course offerings in each program, costs, and credits. It is a very helpful tool.
Marlin,
The catalog is a great tool to review with prospective students who are considering enrolling in college. It offers them the opportunity to compare programs side by side and the catalog should be up to date and compliant since it must be approved by state and accrediting agencies.
Cindy Bryant
The part of the catalog that I frequently use are the curriculum or study guide of the different careers programs offered at my university. I also used the course descriptions, program objectives and outcomes. I think is a great tool for prospective students and also for enrollment. It gives the complete scope of each program.
As the Admissions Director I reference the applying and enrollment process from our catalog daily. I reference our attendance policy which includes absences, tardy policy, and make up hours. Lately I've noticed that I haven't made our refund policy clear enough so I am making sure to explain it in depth in the enrollment meeting as well as the orientation and if there are still questions I am happy to make copies of documents the student should already have (multiple copies of)!
This is a great idea. We usually do it once a month. But I honestly think this is the best way to be up to date with the admissions/accreditation information.
Mirtha,
Attendance is an importance topic and very closely intertwined with federal aid and compliance regulations. It is critical that students understand the attendance guidelines and how it can effect their funding.
Cindy Bryant
The topic I most refer to would be the attendance. I can not tell students enough how important it is to follow their schedule and maintain thier cumulative attendance percentage and how it is important to graduate on time so no penalites on overcontract fees will apply.
Accreditation (notice), consumer protections, responsible FA guidelines, program updates/changes, state regulations across multiple states
The learning outcomes for each course are listed in our catalog, which I refer to often in discussing what learning outcomes must be achieved. Perhaps, my role is different than a traditional admissions counselor as I also teach courses. Thus, I likely have an academic leaning that leads me to focus on academic elements of the catalog (more than the administrative).
Thanks,
Matt
We have a very specific curriculum and the only school of our kind in the state of Florida, so our Program Objective, description and details are reviewed, referenced and discussed most often.
the reason for this is that we want our students to fully understand the requirements of the program.
I frequently reference to the attendance policy. I can't tell students enough about how important it is to follow thier schedule and make up their hours in a timely manner. I also spen alot of time talkng to them about their graduation date, max time frame, the SAP Policy and how it affects the financial aid.
Anauris,
It is very important that the admissions team have an understanding of the information in the catalog which includes program details. Many campuses hold regular meetings where Program Chairs are invited to speak about their program in depth.
Cindy Bryant
I am constantly looking up the transfer of credit policy,including time elapsed for validity and the language used in determining the number of credits accepted by programa and also depending on the institution the student is coming from.
In our Institution every single Monday we have a meeting with all the school departments. We discuss a little of everything, but the main thing is the school catalog. Making sure that is good with compliance and if something is wrong it gets fixed. Basically, I read it every day to be ready for my input for that Monday meeting.
The admissions team should read the information you need to know about the degree programs, course offerings,policies and procedures, student services and more. You can also look at past versions of the academic catalog and any addendums to the current academic catalog information .
Shannon,
It is always a best practice to have someone on the campus thoroughly review the catalog material. No one knows an institution or state regulations better than than the faculty and staff.
Cindy Bryant
