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When Black Widows Fail

DeanKeith — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:45:36 -0500

Most people know that after a black widow mates, the female will eat her mate. For the mate, it is a sad and totally unappetizing end to the relationship. For the female black widow, lets call her Nettie, it is her method of continuing the species and ultimately releasing a bunch of future psychopaths into the wild.

What if Nettie were human, and attempted to kill her mate, but the mate escaped? The rest of Nettie's life would be spent in an attempt to bring the escaped husband back to nature's justice. Let's call the poor sucker that got away, Willie. (Do you know a Nettie and a Willie?)

What will follow over the next several days is the story of Nettie and Willie. Nettie's attempt to cut off Willie's fly supply. The poison fly incident. The thing with the crow, who did in the end decide it was safer not to eat poor Willie.

All while this is going on, the kids, the cute little black widow spiders are learning about how their dad did not obey the rules, how he refused to follow the path Nettie had laid down for him. Their little minds are poisoned against Willie and they will have nothing to do with him.

Even so, Nettie gets more and more bitter. She snaps at everyone around her. She bites all she can. Her wrath and the destruction are in constrast with her expensive and opulent silk web. Future installments will discuss how Nettie meets her untimely demise.

A New Beginning

DeanKeith — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 23:55:19 -0600

It is easy to fall into the trap of being mad at misfortune. Being angry at misfortune and wanting revenge is the common response. Even when that revenge would be well placed it is far easier to judge and to seek destruction than to place the prior events in a greater context.

I will say this, because of the change in the career school approach to education, seemingly less quality, more focus on serving those that can't complete the basic first year requirements, more focus on online education without the true skill transfer that hands on labs provide, and an over-zealous pursuit of the dollar it is unlikely that I will ever again work in that market.

Yet there is a silver lining, a set of facts that frees me from disappointment and sadness as I see what is now promoted by the school as 'meeting its obligations'.

When I left the school it was like a marriage gone bad where the other spouse had a steamy affair and refused to cut it off even when it was obvious that the affair was ongoing. It terms of work it really was more of an affair of greed, not sex. Why train 30 or 100 people in twenty area where the different groups can suceed. No, lets stop training 5000 students 30 to 200 at a time and move on to training 7000 students but only if we can train them 500 at a time.

In order to do this, it is important to kick the smaller groups under the bus to make way for the larger, more profitable numbers. For what it is worth, that is one perspective.

Yet, just as in a bad marriage, there was a time when the benefits far outweighed the negative. In the case of work and career it is possible to cut the cord and move on, not looking back.

So, what did my prior employer provide. Skills, sufficient to work in the IT industry for the rest of my life. Friends. a few life long friends. Knowledge, a much greater knowledge of people and business than I had had previously.

Knowing what I know now, I would never again be a customer or employee of that company. Yet personally, at a time when that company took a different view of career education, it was a place that truly gave as much as it got. And, it got a lot of money because of the dedication to small groups of students.

Sweet and Sour Career Education

DeanKeith — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 21:34:33 -0600

Over the last couple of years many career schools have down-sized or eliminated many of the IT programs which 7 years ago launched those schools in to the limelight. Now, some of those schools are regretting that choice. Some others are benefiting from their commitment to maintaining quality.

In one case, ITT has seen dramatic growth as they appear to have maintained their programs even when those programs had few students. If fact tremendous effort has gone into preserving the quality of many of the programs ITT offers in the computer security arena.

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/jan/26/technology-boom-helps-itts-newburgh-campus-grow/

Other schools such as Computer Learning Centers went out of business leaving many students without the promised education.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/clc_closes.html

The value of the job you get when you graduate from a career school IT program is directly related to the quality of that program. If your school has deemphazied that program, lost its in the field instructional staff, or eliminated classes that people in the field say are needed. Then your choice of program needs to ba carefully considered.

Career School Closing - Virginia College

DeanKeith — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:03:05 -0600

One of the founders of Virginia College said, 'There is nothing worse than going to a school and sometime after you graduate, that school closes. We have a responsibility to be here long after each student graduates.'

When Virginia College quit taking students into the Virginia College School of Construction, or taught out one of the automotive programs, or closed the welding program, even with students interested in the program there was a clear change in school philosophy.

Has your career school ever closed a school because it was not making enough money? Did it deal with the students in good faith? Does profit defeat doing the right thing? When you select a career school, its history does matter.

Career School Puzzler- What is Education About

DeanKeith — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 21:04:29 -0600

Whether traditional, or proprietary, education is first about achieving stable, sustainable employment. Beyond that it may be for knowledge's sake, for research, or for enjoyument. As an old boss of mine used to say, its not about a PhD, its about a J.O.B.

Unfortunately some schools, both proprietary and public have forgotten that bit of information. A graduate that can not perform the tasks for which he or she was trained is an embarrassment to the school that trained them an someone who is doomed to failure for many years to come. If the school permitted that person to graduate without the appropriate skills, then the school has done a major disservice to the student.

Schools without the proper equipment for students to train on are guilty of this. Schools without qualified staff to maintain, develop or preserve their curriculum are guilty of this. Schools without qualified advisory boards that keep the curriculum are guilty of this. Schools that attempt to teach online courses that require hands-on in person labs are guilty of this.

If as a student you are evaluating your education. Talk to people in your future field and evaluate whether you are getting the instruction you need. Some questions to ask would be:

What are the most important skills that I will need for this job?

What are the qualifications that I should expect my instructors to have?

What kind of equipment are you currently using to perform this job?

Is being an intern required in order to get hired?

What licenses are required to practice this job?

What certifications are required to be hired for this job?

What soft skills are required for this job? (Writing, Social, Communications, Math)

If as a student you are not getting the things that those in the field indicate you absolutely must have. Challenge the school, write to the accrediting body. Insist on the quality you are paying for.

A degree in only worth what you put into it and that only has value if the degree has sufficient quality to launch you along the path to your dreams.

Career Education - Success Story and Failure

DeanKeith — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 19:25:59 -0600

One of the students I had while I was involved in the IT program used to come to school stoned. We could never quite prove the suspicion but there was no doubt that this individual had a problem. Even though he was often disruptive, constantly being counciled, on probation for misbehavior and came very close to being kicked out of school, he managed to get a diploma as a Cisco Network Associate.

When I saw the student a year after graduation, he was well dressed, clear eyed, and presented a completely different demeanor. He was working as a network technician for a hospital complex and doing very well. When asked what has happened to him, he said, 'I grew up.' His coming to a career school gave him the means to change his life, income and outlook.

The school did not do it for him, he did it himself. The school helped by providing a framework to follow. This is what career education is all about.

On the other hand I had a student who came and went from class over the course of several years. This student would fail two out of three of their classes. When confronted with this information the student would readily admit that they did not want to be an IT student. They were made to come by their parents while their lifestyle, habits and desire to put an effort into their future remained uncommitted to change.

Unfortunately, the financial aid eventually ran out as even the government won't pay for failure forever. This student wound up with $30,000 of debt, and no skill to fall back on. Here career education failed the student. The student also failed themselves.

The first student got sufficient skill and in the end had enough motivation to change. The second is probably suffering even today.

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Financial Aid - Career Education and College

DeanKeith — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 22:52:59 -0600

The two most important words in career education today for both the student and the college are 'Financial Aid'. Most students in career colleges fund their training for a new life through the use of Federal Financial Aid. This means that the graduate will have $10,000, $20,000, or even $40,000 in loans at the time he or she graduates.

If the job does not pay enough to pay back these loans then the graduate will have a miserable future with this financail burden haunting them for years to come.

Many career colleges have raised their tuition even past the point where Federal Financial Aid covers the cost. In addition to the Federal Loans, the student gets 'Gap Funding'. These are loans which are far less favorable to the student but which pick up the gap between Federal resources and the actual cost.

The school's goal is to finance as many students as possible so that cash flow and profit can be maintained. The student should be aware of the educational quality and the future obligation. It is easy to wind up over one's head. Most admissions and financial aid departments will paint a picture that in rosy. Careful consideration must be given to this feature of career education.

Making $10.00 per hour as a medical assistant will hardly pay back $20,000 in loans. Know the cost, know the benefit, make wise choices.

Career Education - Graduation?

DeanKeith — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 22:08:36 -0600

What does it mean to graduate from a school that specializes in career education? It may mean that you have a great skill, a great job and a great future.

It may mean that you owe $25,000 or more and are employed at a McDonalds. Would you like fries with that?

The role of the accreditors is to evaluate how a school performs in terms of providing the education they promise the students and in terms of seeing that that education is sufficient to enable the student to realize the career he came to school to obtain.

Basically, if the school, the student, and the accreditation body all do what they are supposed to do, then most students should realize their career dreams.

Since some accreditation bodies are run by those that are accredited, their is real chance for the accreditor to overlook infractions.

Here are some places the accreditor might overlook issues.

When authorizing new curriculum that provides the students less training, yet is sold to the accreditor as a way to improve student
outcomes. Many of the online programs have done this, sometimes to the detriment of a school's onground programs.

When verifying that the school is maintaining a qualified staff to teach various subjects. Programs are sometime taught by people with little industry experience and little in the way of credentials.

By overlooking when a school becomes essentially a high pressure sales organization with commission based compensation plans.

The value of a career eduation is only as strong as commitment of the organization offering it. Those organizations can only be kept in line when they have independent frequent accreditation reviews. The trend these days often seems the opposite.

Career Education - Who Is Running The Show?

DeanKeith — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 13:52:20 -0600

Ever wonder where the curriculum for career schools comes from?

Some career school pay big dollars so that other vendors can create top knotch training material.

Some career schools pay for a quality staff with industry expertise to write and compile training material.

Some schools buy canned training material from vendors but lack the in-house expertise to evaluate or implement it.

Some school fire their in house experts to save money but fail to retain sufficient expertise to understand how the training material is put together or how it trains the student for careers.

Like anything else, there is good, bad and aweful out there. It is essential that you ask the department heads what their credentials are and what are the credentials of their staff. Many career schools have found this is an area to cut cost. It also reduces student success.

What school are you attending?

Culinary Schools - Career Education Trends

DeanKeith — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 00:08:51 -0600

At one time there were some great Culinary Schools where students could, in two years, become great highly paid chefs. These young graduates could leave school and go directly to the high end eateries and establishments. These schools had great chefs as instructors. These school had lots of kitchen space and lots of lab time for student learning and experimentation.

For some of these schools, the graduate is no longer the prize. For some of these schools, the schools have decided that the great chefs/instructors are too expensive. Providing venues where the students could prepare real entrees for real clientele is no longer important. Providing enough kitchen space is no longer important. Perhaps the most disturbing trend is that the amount of lab time, time actually spent cooking and in the trade is diminishing. It is hard for a chef that has not cooked to create great meals.

Worst of all, some schools are proposing or actually trying to teach people to be culinarians online. Perhaps a dash of reality would be helpful to these students. The school save money on kitchens, utensils, labs, food, etc. The student gets less training but is spending the same amount of money.

There is nothing wrong with a great Culinary education, but shopping for those schools that still offer this may require a discerning palette.

Career Education/ Career College -Measurement

DeanKeith — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 08:50:24 -0600

In order to do well in life, (those of us who did not inherit wealth) need to have some sort of career education. Now that may mean 'on the job training', or traditional school, or a career college. The next couple of entries will be about how to evaluate a career college. Sometime what you see is what you get. Sometimes what you see is very much not what you get.

Without expertise in the field that you are entering it may be difficult to fully evaluate a program. Nevertheless there are things that can be investigated. One of the first items has to do with the modernity, or how new the curriculum and the equipment backing that curriculum is. Here are some examples of questions and what you might look for.

If the career education you are exploring is:

Sonography:
How new are the sonograph machines you will be working on?

How many students are there and how many machines, particularly
new machines?

What percent of the class time is lab time working with the
machines?

Computer Networking:
How new are the PC's you will be working on?

How new are the routers you will be working on?

Does every student have a PC to work on themselves?

What percent of the time in class is lab time actually on the
equipment?

Generally, if most of the equipment in these types of programs is more than three years old, it requires a close look at the quality of the program. Hospitals and businesses want people capable of working with the current equipment.

As a matter of course, a minimum of 40% lab time should be provided with most of these courses. Less means that the student may not be getting the hands on practice they need.