Calculating placement rates on a program basis helps the institution know how a particular program is doing. Accredidation is usually per program. Calculating placement rates for the institional level helps know how the school is doing as a whole and the needs of the community.
The institution level will involve every aspect of every program on campus and the program basis is typically the individual grad and job placement of each specific program
It seems that a school could cover up a low placement rate in a certain program by reporting for the school and not for certain individual programs.
I feel it is more accurate and honest to state the rate program by program.
The difference between calculating placement rates
on a Program Basis versus an institutional level would be in the criteria used in the denominator of the equation: total students which
graduated a particular program versus all students which graduated at the institution
A school could apparently conceal low placement rates in a program by reporting the entire school programs combined and not for one individual program.
Therefore I feel it is more truthful and reliable to state the placement rates program by program.
Which ever we choose to use...calculating placement rates on programs or calculating placement rates at the institutional level, all data is important, however students are most interested in getting a good picture of the job market in the City or State in which they reside in.
In addition to the benefits of disclosing placement by program, there are mulitple programs depending on the state/or county that provide tuition assistance to eligible students. Most of these agencies (WIA, Vocational Rehabilitation e.t.c)require placement stats by program. Overall, by program reporting provides clear information to a prospective student so he/she can make an educated decision.
I believe each program should be reported individually. Every program has different statistics.
Each institution is required to report by program, not by the institution as a whole. By reporting on each program, you can identify which programs are doing better than the others
Yes and there are some exceptions to placement rates but the reasons require documentation. If a student has left for health reasons, military or died they do not count for placement. Accurate reporting helps everyone in regards to true placement rates.
Reporting placement rates by program gives the prospective student an accurate picture of available jobs and gives them an opportunity to seek out tuition assistance where available.
I totally agree that each program should be reported individually.
Reporting placement rates programatically or as a group can be misleading. I think that it is best to disclose placement numbers by programs, this gives the student a clear picture of the outcome.
Yes, the numbers and percentages can be made to take advantage for students not "in the know"
Martha
Great point! I would like see a mandatory reporting for graduates. Maybe as they pay back the loans they would have to report, or some other idea along those lines. However, it needs to be a mandate as important as paying back thier loans. Life gets very busy after graduation and students become involved in thier familys and new found positions. Reporting or answering a call from the school is the last thing oon thier mind.
Contacting students on the recruitment end and retention end is hard enough, placement has a hard task to report information needed.
I agree, we want our students to know everything up front. So they can never say we did not tell them.
Reporting placement rates are difficult when working in a school that when you graduate you have to be certified before you can work in the industry. With the new policy we have to help all graduates not just the ones who went on to take the exam and get the certification they went to school for.
