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• Academic Excellence
• Administrative Excellence
• Effective Orientation
• Internship and Practicum
• Job Placement Assistance
• Personal and Financial Counsel
• Pre-Enrollment Assessment and Testing
• Sector Involvement
• Student-Centric Core Value

Summary

Academic Excellence

It is only fitting that any consideration of innovative practices toward improving student success in Canada’s private career colleges begin with a discussion on academic excellence. Private career colleges are a critical part of the country’s post-secondary education system. In the past, however, the private career college sector has been criticized for not providing the highest quality education to students. This perception is changing and the unique contribution of the private career college sector is increasingly being recognized.

There is a growing awareness among private career colleges of the need to provide high quality, world class education to students. College operators, administrators and faculty continue to demonstrate an exceptional commitment to achieving this goal. Qualified faculty, coupled with a high commitment to ensuring that students have every opportunity to succeed in their chosen field of study, are the key pillars of the first innovative practice: Academic Excellence. Two important criteria are commonly used to qualify teaching staff: 1) field experience in the subject matter being taught; and, 2) teaching training and skill. The goal of faculty is to ensure that every student be given every reasonable opportunity to succeed. Consequently, administration and teaching staff in colleges that focus on academic excellence often speak of a readiness to spend extra time, both inside and outside of class, to help students who are struggling.

The use of student peer mentoring can be an effective means of enhancing student learning experiences in some colleges. Peer triads, one-to-one peer mentoring and group discussions are often used to address student learning needs and to overcome possible barriers to learning. Private career colleges using these approaches have discovered that both peer mentors, and the students receiving the help, benefit from the experience

Case Study

Academic Excellence

The Saskatoon Business College (SBC) exemplifies commitment to academic excellence. The current ownership has operated SBC through three generations, each being trained educators. The school principal, Beth Shewkenek, having graduated from SBC during the years of first generation ownership, then attended University where she received her degree before returning to SBC as a teacher. Her career at the college has spanned all three generations of ownership. Julia Beuckert, who has been teaching Career Strategies at SBC for over 25 years, is also a graduate of the college. When we asked owner Blair Chapman what the greatest strength of SBC was, he thoughtfully replied, “Academic excellence!”. In interviews with staff and students, the response to that question was the same. Academic excellence was their “oyster” and it permeates everything they do. SBC helps ensure on-going academic excellence by actively surveying students as part of a continuing evaluation and improvement program.

Innovative Ideas

Academic Excellence

Here are some academic strategies and initiatives that your private career college might adopt:

1. Incorporating academic excellence into your program must begin with the development of and adherence to a set of policies and procedures covering instructor qualifications and expectations, evaluation, and ongoing instructor development. While such changes may take time and effort to achieve, the results can be very rewarding.
2. Consider developing a Guaranteed Learning Policy and then inform your students of how it works. A word of caution: Guaranteed Learning does not mean a guaranteed passing grade. Not every student will succeed by completing their program of study, but every student is worthy of exceptional effort being made using every available means to ensure their successful learning of the course objectives. Any guaranteed learning policy should provide for extra help outside of regular class time and the possibility of retaking courses or units at no charge to students.
3. Consider developing a peer-to-peer or buddy system and incorporating it into your academic policy, in order to help those students who may be struggling.
4. Consider conducting an in-service seminar with teaching staff to help them identify potential learning barriers. The seminar should also provide intervention strategies to better equip educators to help students who are struggling to achieve desired learning outcomes.