Dianne,
Hi, welcome to the forum. Would you mind sharing how your school resolves complaints?
Cindy Bryant
Ted,
Great point, students are consumers and without consumers businesses and schools fail. Valuing the students for their quest for knowledge and their opinions will assist in retaining students.
Cindy Bryant
I feel it is important to address student complaints and concerns in a timely fashion for several reasons. First, you build trust with the student because he/she feels that his/her concerns are important so we should also find them important and resolve them as quickly as possible. Second, if we wait to respond then we not only lose the impact we have upon the student but we may also forget the concern/complaint in its entirety. We must address the entire issue and not part of the issue. Finally, addressing issues promptly allows us to assist the student to his/her satisfaction, resolve the issue quickly and evaluate the results for further improvement (if necessary).
The potential outcomes to ignoring students concerns is lack of trust, the student feeling that he/she is not important to the school but instead a number/statistic or just money, unsatisfied students complain and thus create a negative environment for the entire school. To illustrate, an unhappy student will enter his/her classroom and complain. This then becomes a subject matter between several students which then results in a disruptive learning environment. This then creates more students that are unhappy because he/she cannot concentrate due to the other issue and so forth. I am sure you understand where this is all leading.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Addressing student complaints and concerns in a timely fashion is important because
A) there are timeframes mandated in policies that must be followed related to student complaints. It is a compliance issue.
B) it shows students that you are genuinely concerned with their wellbeing and may ultimately reflect upon the institution in a positive light (through word of mouth reviews).
Ignoring student concerns could potentially invite legal action.
It can also create a bad atmosphere for all current students if they find out that complaints are managed so poorly. It could affect enrollment.
Students are the heart beat to your school and when it stops beating you know the rest. They have very valuable information that is very time sensitive that ultimately could help your school.
It is important to address student complaints and concerns in a timely fashion because we want them to be successful and we want them to know we care about them and they count. Providing students with a clear understanding on who they can share complaints or concerns with is essential in resolving their issues. Addressing these concerns as soon as possible helps refocus the student back to their career training program and assisting in providing them the supportive services they may be needing when addressing their concerns. Not addressing their affective needs definitely impacts their academic success. Our goal is completion and employment and barriers to this goal must be addressed.
Jeanette,
Great point! When complaints are ignored students tend to voice their concerns in other ways, such as social media and in the hallways. This impacts not only their ability to focus on education but others around them. This creates a landslide of additional problems for the institution. Addressing the complaints quickly and effectively is a win/win for everyone.
Cindy Bryant
James,
Students are a wealth of information that can assist schools with implementing needed changes. Through listening to your students comments or concerns you can find out what is really important to them. It could be as simple as changing the food selection in the vending machines or as complex as an instructor who is not following the curriculum. Always be available to listen to your students.
Cindy Bryant
it is important to address a student's complaints in a timely manner because this shows your commitment to not only the student but to the mission of your school. By avoiding the student you lose the trust and maybe the potential of lsoing that student and future referrals.
It is important to address complaints and concerns in a timely fashion because that is a standard all consumers expect. A school wants to address any and all concerns with a student directly to show the student respect and keep their trust.
The potential outcomes of ignoring students' concerns are endless, but include the student complaining to the school's accrediting agency and complaining to other potential students (in person, over the phone and online).
LAUREN,
I believe everyone agrees with you, student complaints are an area that must be addressed immediately. The longer the student awaits a response the more frustrated they become.
Cindy Bryant
It is important to answer all issues and concerns in a timely manner because you show that you care about the student. It is excellent customer service and you show the student is not another number. You can difuse a situation that might have gotton worse otherwise. You are servicing the student and they appreciate and feel better when you help them. They feel ignored otherwise and you did not mean the things you said we are about.
It is important to address students complaints and concerns in a timely fashion because I think it shows that students that you are willing to help them, be honest with them and show them that you are really there for them. I feel if employees let things go as if it is no big deal then what does it say about everybody else? It may give a bad impression not only on that individual but also the school as a whole.
Potential outcomes to ignoring students concerns could definalty leave a bad taste in their mouth, they could possibly withdraw from school or loose interest.
Allison,
Hi! Are you able to share a few best practices in resolving issues?
Cindy Bryant
Yes, Having compassion, being honest and doing everything possible to help out the students the bet that I can that is in my power to do so.
allison,
Thank you for your quick response to my question.
Cindy Bryant
Its important to address a students complaints/concerns promptly since this is a student's right. In order to build trust and care. Ignoring those concerns could have consquences such as negative public/media exposure.
Failure to address student complaints quickly erodes their trust in us. It can also get us in hot water with our licensing and accrediting agencies. A satisfied student may tell a friend or two about us. A dissatisfied student is likely to tell anyone who will listen.
As the campus executive director it is my responsibility to assure that every student has the best possible education experience, beginning with the admissions process and continuing through graduation and beyond. Every student complaint must be reported to me, even if the staff person to whom the student complains is able to resolve the issue. This allows me to track trends in student complaints that may be improved by proactive activities. It also allows me to forward complaints that by policy, law or rule must be reported to our home office and/or other oversight agencies.
Every business should address complaints quickly because their clients and customers are their source of revenue. Schools are no different. If I am not happy with the way I am being treated, I will look elsewhere. I will also make complaints to those around me. So if a student is not happy, two things could possibly happen. They could either drop out, or they will have a bad attitude while in class. That negativity will spread to the other students. This could cause the other students to have a negative attitude. It could also spread to the community. Word of mouth advertising can be one of the best forms of advertising; however, it can also be one of the worst.
On the other hand, when you do address and resolve complaints, it builds trust with the student. They feel like they are being taken care of, and in turn, will have a positive experience. The student tells a friend, and that friend becomes a referral. All of this culminates in more revenue for the school.
Greg,
There was a time when students didn't have the luxury of choice but not anymore. It is very simple for an unhappy student to withdraw and drive a few blocks and enroll in another school. The goal of any campus is to build a strong foundation with the students, if they are able to achieve this they will impact all of their outcomes.
Cindy Bryant
