Lucy,
Most Admissions Departments are great examples of teamwork. Each individual knows their numbers and they all tend to be on the same page. This is probably due to weekly meetings and huddles. In my opinion, all departments should meet regularly and invite folks from other departments to attend, from time to time, as well.
It is very important for team members to understand the same information so they are able to work toward the same goals and have a common understanding.
Hi Andrea,
Excellent comments! All departments working toward the same goal results in some wonderful benefits: (1) departments will be more than willing to help each other; (2) there is spirit and atmosphere of success and accomplishment among the staff ... which impacts the students; and (3) work is not work any longer ... it is a life experience.
One of the things I was a part of was to provide the best customer service like Nordstrom does in their line of industry. We wanted to be the Nordstrom of all vocational schools. Every single employee is trained in providing excellent customer service. We take pride in providing our students that satisfaction they are looking for. We praise each other for "jobs well done" anytime we obbserve it. We have one goal and we know what to do to reach that one goal.
We also pride ourselves in the quality of education we are delivering in the classroom. Our motto is "None of us is as smart as all of us." We are a "team" and we have an organizational goal. And everyone believes in the goal; "we talk-the-talk" and "we-walk-the walk." Our students see it and we see the results of it in our very high referral, attendance, and retention rates.
Lito,
This is great! Thanks for sharing. I love the motto, "None of us is as smart as all of us." I am glad to see everything in this post is "we" not "I". A team can do so much more than one person.
Hi Jeremy,
Glad to hear that you found something that you can use at your school. If you want to contact me, my email is jcabrera@newbridgecollege.edu.
Lito
We have a great staff that gets along well and works well together; however, I am concerned that we are not on the same page when it comes to goals. Our Admissions Department is gung-ho on enrollments, casting a very wide net and enrolling every possible candidate. Our Retention Department gets very frustrated trying to keep students in school that they perceive as 'problem children'. Some in our Academic Department prefer to teach the 'good' students and don't always give the struggling student their best effort.
Bottom line - we need to do a better job of focussing on one common goal - the success of our students. When our students fail, we fail; when our students succeed, we succeed...and there is no paycheck on earth that can quite match the experience of helping a struggling student "get it" and thereby become a successful student. That's how lives are changed...for both the student and the mentor.
We can follow the Hippocratic oath form healthcare and apply it to education; Above all else do not harm the educational motivation, emotional intelligence of the student, before it gets too late, and they loose all further interest in an education and pay the price of patients.
Thanks, Peter. This is an interesting take on what our responsibility as educators needs to be.
Thanks for your question. The answer is easy. The organizational goal and motto should be "Never stop learning and always take classes to better yourself at any cost."
I have also heard comments from staff about the "quality" of the student. Getting EVERYONE to understand that what we are doing here has the potencial of changing lives would help keep the focus on why we do what we do.
Monica,
Comments about the "quality" of students are common in career colleges. Sometimes faculty members wish that all of our students were from the top 10 percents of their HS classes.
The reality is, career colleges serve a different demographic. CCA statistics show that over 2/3 of our students are the first in their families to go to college. We are changing the lives of many students that may not have otherwise had a chance to go to school and learn things that will position them for success.
It is helpful to remind folks what our mission really is.
Every student should be given the opertunity to succeed.Some students need more help & motivation than others.We should not let any student slip through the cracks.J.P.
Thank you, John. I agree.
What are some things that you or your team does to prevent students from "slipping through the cracks?"
Student advisements & follow up with students at a later date to make sure they are on track. J.P.
Well Don I like your thinking!
