Dr. Susan Schulz

HI Deloris Sounds great. Suggest you put in various survey and assessments to measure how well you are doing and where areas of improvement and opportunity are. Best wishes Susan

HI James Sounds like you have a very comprehensive placement department. Have you done any studies on the types of jobs grads get, their salary ranges, how long they stay on the job, employer satisfaction? Also, can you tell us how you manage to get enough externship sites so that externs get jobs? Or are the sites so large that there is always need for new hires? Thanks Susan

HI Nate All great ideas. The more employers visit the school the more both employers and students learn about each others. Placement rates can help to sell school. So the more Admissions knows, the better. And definitely get the Placement Director out into the community. Placement staff can be the best PR people and impact on enrollment as well as jobs. Best wishes Susan

Hi Jim How true. And hopefully managers and owners will realize that when there is a problem at a school, just ask your staff. Most faculty and staff have the answers and solutions to most challenges. You just have to ask them. Best wishes Susan

Hi Maybe the idea of growth can be extended beyond just adding new occupational programs. Growth comes from more students, increased outreach, additional services, other sources of revenue producers ,etc. Best wishes Susan

HI Nan Interesting situation. School growth can occur in a variety of ways. It doesn't have to be from adding new programs. If you do decide to add new programs there has to be a demand from the students and/or the workplace. Implementing research could uncover what is needed. Perhaps it is continuing educaton courses. Or perhaps other student services to ensure students are successful. Or more involvement from employers. You are in a creative industry so use your creativity. And you are wise to keep looking at your mission. Best wishes Susan

Hi Nate What a great success story. You opened the flood gates of ideas and they keep coming. Great. Why not have each group of employees work out the implementation plans for all the ideas. Let them continue to take ownership for making the ideas happen. You might provide a format listing what you want such as task, timelines, budget, people involved, deadlines, etc. Best wishes Susan

Hi Deloris Great that you require the surveys before you hand out the degrees. It's a way to keep up with student's contact info. Continuing to send surveys provides info and helps to keep up with new addresses. It's not fail safe but helps. Best wishes Susan

Hi Dorothy Really great points. There is more to developing emplyoment skills than learning to write resumes. Building a personal work ethic is important. Also learning life skills helps to increase success on any job. Best wishes Susan

HI Krista Great survey plan. You're getting students used to completing surveys. Maybe it helps to motivate them to have something good to say. What's also important is to evaluate the surveys, distribute results, and make changes using the data. Best wishes Susan