Books vs. training
When a complaint is made that the instructor did not teach all the information needed (though a majority of the information was covered) but the specific information IS available in the courseware provided with the training, is the school at fault for not teaching all of the required information?
Angela,
When a complaint is made, the TWC relies on, first the representation of the course description in the school catalog. Next, was the information contained in the syllabus covered? If an instructor chooses not to cover the course as it is represented, then the school would have a challenge to overcome the complaint. It depends on the content of the complaint as to how the TWC would act. When you say "required information" do you mean information that is represented to be taught? A possible solution to such a complaint is to offer an educational solution to provide any content the student feels they missed at no additional cost and at a mutually agreeable time. With any complaint, if you are aware of it early, it is best to try to resolve and take action before it escalates to the TWC (including the issue of: did the student follow the school's grievance policy before making a formal complaint.?)
JP Mehlmann
The issues tend to come up when the students are taking certification exams, or prepping for them. The will come across a question that was not covered by the instructor (whether Traditional or video)but the information is covered in the related courseware. Is it the school's responsibility to teach what is on the certification exam, or to teach what is on the syllabus or outline associated with the class?
Angela,
Unfortunately, many students grew up being "taught to the test". They expect to be provided all the answers even though that is not realistic. I believe the school must teach to the syllabus and course outline which, if the course objective is to prepare the student to pass a certification exam, then the course material must also be test-specific. If this is a common complaint, perhaps one or more instructors may need to enhance their instructional methods/content. I suggest also, making students aware early and often that: 1) you don't have access to the exact certification test and that some questions may be worded differently than is covered in the course and course materials; 2)certification means they can think critically and therefore must problem solve to answer some of the test questions; 3) they must thoroughly review the course materials since time does not permit 100% of the materials to be covered during class time; 4) certification tests do not require or expect a 100% score to pass, just a level of mastery to be certified; and 5) Any other explanations you or your faculty can suggest prevent this complaint from coming up later.
Thanks,
JP Mehlmann
