Institution Involment
When it comes to graduate outcome I am 100% sure that everyone in the institution needs to be working together for a positive outcome.
Daniel,
I respect that. How do you engage your staff so they are active participants in these meetings?
Sheri Leach
as the director of the school; I hold myself accountable for making sure that our grads come back and continue utilizing the resources that we provide for them.
I hold 3 yearly meetings with my entire staff of both of my campuses and figure out an action plan on how we can continue developing the students knowledge and enhancing their student experience; I believe by doing this we can continue having successful graduates and they in turn will help the future students that enroll into our school with job opportunities and serve as mentors for years to come.
Joey,
Agreed. Is there one example you can share?
Sheri Leach
It is must be a collective effort. If everyone is involved you not only expand your reach, you allow the students to see great team work in progress.
Mario, it is true that many of our students develop a special bond with their Admissions Representative. What best practices exist on your campus where Admissions Representatives are partnering with the Students and Career Services to help with the students' employability? What new processes can you recommend?
Ruth, thank you for making a great point- the students should feel that all of their interactions with Career Services are positive ones. Students should know and believe that we have their best interests in mind. This can be hard to do sometimes who we need to place many students and have to worry about placement outcomes. Remember, we are here first and foremost for the students; if you let that guide all that you do, the rest will follow.
Yes most definitely ….. It starts with Admissions, the students feel compelled to seek them out when in crisis mode. Although, Student Services, Instructors, Career Services and Directors are available and willing to help a student in time of need. The seed in planted in admissions and maintained through-out his tenure in school by each department. The harvest is the reward, a job in the chosen career studied.
It varies with the programs, but an advisor has "touchpoints' with the students...they interact at least 8 times during a 9 month program starting with orientation and their first mod. The advisor helps strengthen and maintain the relationship by always making it a positive interaction..that the advisor is here to assist them..making sure their sample application is done, working with the student on their resume, portfolio, or mock interview, making sure they have everything they need before going out on externship.
Ruth,
You described a great best practice. How many times will a student meet with their advisor and how does the advisor help strengthen and maintain the relationship?
I agree, it takes the whole school working together to achieve graduate success. Every student is assigned a career advisor at orientation and they meet with their advisor one on one during their first mod. The students meet at certain times with their advisor while in school and not just during their last mod. There are weekly meetings with the program chairs/clinical coordinators to discuss any issues with students, externs, or graduates. If a CS Advisor can not find a graduate, they reach out to the student's admission rep for their assistance. Everyone in the school aids in the students success to obtain their new career.
Felicia,
So true. How do we turn a negative experience into a positive one?
Sheri Leach
You are absolutely correct, everyone should work together for the success not only of the school but for the students as well. Because it is the students who will refer another student to the school and so on. But when a student has a bad experience with the school it can tear your program down. I have worked in customer service and the one thing that I've learned from that is when 1 customer had a bad experience with the company they will tell 20 more people and that company have to try harder to regain the 20 that was lost.
Missy,
Since all institutions and employees are different, this may be easier for some companies than others. Participation starts with one champion. The career services department can be the campus cheerleaders and involve facility and administration I. Their events, workshops etc. Even if you encounter resistance, be enthusiastic and persistence, you will start to win over others little by little. Don't give up, your students are worth it!
Sheri Leach
I completely agree!! We need more participation from administration as well as faculty!!
Cathy,
Thank you for sharing your experience. Changing the minds and mind sets of anyone is not easy nor does it come quickly. . Changing one's viewpoint can happen but is an ongoing process. You have to show them that your proposal can be successful (in your example that taking a lower salary at a good company will benefit the new graduate) and this will change their experiences, which will help change what they believe.
After several successful students, the instructors will now see the benefits and will work with you and not against you. This can be applied to any challenge that you might face at your campus.
Sheri Leach
Yes, we actually had several teachers who were not supportive of taking positions below a certain starting wage at a particular company. The employer hired many of our graduates and provided an opportunity for them to get experience in the field.
We addressed the issue at our faculty meetings by dispelling some "myths" that had popped up surrounding this company and reminding the faculty that this employer desired to hire our graduates and was giving them opportunities to gain experience at a decent starting wage.
Staff also worked hand-in-hand with this company to provide opportunities for company personnel to interact with faculty members on a professional level.
This approach seemed to be beneficial and most faculty have changed their viewpoint.
Cathy,
Have you ever had an experience with an instructor that did not support what career services was teaching? For instance a teacher that was advising students not to take positions below a certain wage, or had different thoughts on how a resume should be prepared? If so, can you share how it was handled.
Sheri Leach
Department managers attend our faculty meetings where we consistently discuss and outline the importance of staff and faculty presenting a united front in working together for the best positive outcome for our students.
Students recognize and acknowledge how our staff and faculty provide a solid support network in which they can excel.
Everyone in our school is on board with getting grads to the final placement. We even go as far as to have other departments make outboaund calls to graduates that career services may have had trouble communicating with. We sit in on faculty meetings and discuss with instructors the students that are giving us challenges so that they may help out too. It is a campus wide approach.
