Student Outcomes Lessons Learned on Employed and Satisfied

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Student Outcomes Lessons Learned on Employed
and Satisfied

• EAB Approved Schools Conference November 9, 2006

Patrick J. Sweeney, School Administration
Consultant Educational Approval Board
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Session Overview

• EABs 2-year Focus on Student Outcomes
• EABs Process for Analyzing Employed Narratives
• Employed Assumptions and Best Practice Components
• School Groupings Explained
• Overall Findings by Group
• Given Findings, EABs Actions and Requirements
  for Next Year
• Questions / Discussion

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History of Student Outcomes Focus

• Regional Meeting I Focus, Definitions,
  Electronic
• Definitions Last Years Conference
• Met with Accreditors (DETC, ACICS, ACCSCT, and
  ACCET) about Student Outcomes and Lessons Learned
• Regional Meeting II Electronic, Definitions,
  Survey, Modernization
• School Renewal Process Employed Narratives

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Analyzing Employed Narratives

• Looked for Best Practices Placement
• EAB Admin Rule on Placement
• Settled on Best Practice Components in Placement
• Grouped Schools for Analysis
• Reviewed Narratives with Best Practice Components
• Summarized Overall Findings by Groups of Schools

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Placement Assumptions
A well-designed graduate placement process
produces good student outcomes and usable program
and institutional information. Some basic
assumptions must be built into the schools
gradate placement process

• Adults enroll in EAB approved schools to start
  careers and/or enhance existing careers.
• The employer of the schools graduates is the
  schools ultimate customer.
• Schools need to have verifiable data from
  employers about graduates to ensure the schools
  program is up to date and the school is an
  effective institution.
• Placement of graduates must be part of the
  schools mission and placement activities start
  at interview and orientation.

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Placement Best Practice
A well-designed placement process will have these
components

• Placement is part of the schools mission and
  purpose.
• The admissions interview and orientation process
  will include all functions identified in the
  schools Graduate Placement Contract.
• Throughout the schools program, all students
  will be trained how to execute a professional job
  search.
• The program is likely to include an
  internship/externship/job shadowing component so
  students are in real career/occupational
  settings.
• The school will hold a formal exit interview for
  all graduates.

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Placement Best Practice (Continued)

• School conducts a formal exit interview of all
  graduates.
• The school will conduct systematic graduate
  follow up for all graduates including a survey of
  all graduates about employment at three months,
  six months, and one year a verification of
  employers reported by graduates and an
  evaluation by employers of the graduates skills
  and abilities.
• The school will have an active Program Advisory
  Committee to evaluate the schools program based
  on employer feedback and curriculum review.
• The school will have an institutional process to
  evaluate student outcomes data and employer
  feedback so the school and its program(s) can be
  improved.

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School Groupings and Findings

• 8 Groupings of Schools
• Proprietary Non-degree
• Truck Driving and Heavy Equipment
• Massage Therapy
• Teacher / Administrator Education
• Non-profit Institutions
• Proprietary Degree
• Nationally Accredited
• Regionally Accredited
• Findings by Groups of Schools

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Proprietary Non-Degree

• Largest grouping with 71 schools 64 in-state
  and 7 out-of-state.
• Generally, these schools education and training
  programs are short-term and focused on
  entry-level employment. Historically, these
  schools represent EABs core business and reason
  for being.
• Most schools are small, are an owner/operators
  dream, and have few instructors and staff.
• A few schools are large, multi-state operations
  which offer non-degree and associates degrees,
  and are nationally accredited.
• Massage therapy and truck driving and heavy
  equipment are part of this grouping but were
  separated for analysis purposes. If these two
  groupings were included, the totals would be
  101 schools with 90 in because of numbers of
  schools with specific focus 101 school with 90
  in-state and 11 out-of-state.

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Truck Driving and Heavy Equipment Schools

• 9 truck driving schools 2 heavy equipment
  schools, 10 in-state and 1 out of state.
• 5 associated with truck firms
• Midwest Driver Development
• Millis Training Institute
• Roehl Driver Training Center
• Schneider Training Academy
• Wolding CDL School
• Other 4 have their own niche.
• Diesel Truck Driver Training Schools
• Dairyland Diesel Driving School
• Midwest Truck Driving School
• Professional CDL Training Institute
• Diesel is accredited by ACCSCT Elise Scanlons
  group
• Associated Training Services Corporation
  affiliated with Diesel Truck Driver Training
  Schools
• North Country Heavy Equipment School is out-of
  state.

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Massage Therapy Schools

• 21 massage therapy schools 17 in-state and 4
  out-of-state
• Within state-required 600 hours program great
  diversity in program focus and school size
• Program Eastern to therapeutic to
  spa/beauty/relaxation
• Size Small, owner-operated to COMTA-accredited
  with multiple locations Blue Sky (3) and
  Lakeside (2)
• 8 massage therapy schools are accredited
• Blue Sky and Lakeside COMTA
• Minneapolis School of Massage, Sister Roselind
  Gefre, and High Tech ACCSCT
• Institute of Beauty Wellness, Martins College of
  Cosmetology, and Professional Hair Design
  Academy NACCAS
• Wisconsins massage therapy law is title
  protection not practice protection. Since
  Wisconsins massage therapy certification is
  voluntary, schools have limited leverage in
  ensuring graduates take the National Exam and
  become Wisconsin certified. Voluntary
  Certification affects employed/placement focus
  data gathering.
• Massage therapy is most often self-employed and
  part time, also affecting employed.

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Teacher / Administrator Education

• 17 out-of state institutions offer advanced
  degree and licensure programs to more than 2,500
  Wisconsin educators.
• 13 institutions are non-profit 4 are for-profit,
  16 are regionally accredited.
• Most institutions offer a masters degree for
  teachers. Some offer degree programs leading to
  teacher and/or administrator licensure. A number
  of institutions offer doctoral degrees.
  Traditionally delivered programs are often cohort
  model in evenings and weekends. Eight
  institutions offer distance learning / online
  programs.
• These regionally-accredited, degree-granting
  institutions served employed educators
  therefore, the focus has been on degree /
  licensure completion and not on what happens to
  graduates after degree / licensure completion.
• Regional accreditation does not have the focus on
  graduate placement / follow-up as does national
  accreditation.

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Non-Profit Institutions

• EAB approves 22 non-profit institutions 19
  out-of-state and 3 in-state.
• 21 of the non-profit institutions are degree
  granting 10 focus on education degrees and the
  others focus on degrees for working adults.
• 21 of the non-profit institutions are accredited
  19 regionally and 2 nationally.
• Most EAB-approved, non-profits offering degrees
  operate in multiple states.
• Some programs with business focus do graduate
  follow-up and have strong advisory committees.
• These regionally-accredited institutions seem to
  have evolving processes to follow-up graduates
  but do not have the defined processes of
  nationally accredited institutions.

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Proprietary Degree-Granting

• 18 proprietary degree-granting institutions 9
  in-state and 9 out-of-state.
• Greater focus on associate degrees with 15
  institutions offering at least an associate
  degree and 6 offering a degree beyond associate.
• 14 proprietary degree-granting institutions are
  nationally accredited and 6 institutions are
  regionally accredited.
• 17 proprietary degree-granting institutions
  operate in multiple states.
• The proprietary degree institutions which are
  nationally accredited are likely to incorporate
  best practice components of placement.
• The regionally-accredited, proprietary degree
  institutions which were first nationally
  accredited and/or maintain duel accreditation
  tend to incorporate best practice components of
  placement.

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Nationally Accredited Institutions

• 31 nationally accredited institutions 16
  in-state and 15 out-of-state.
• Great diversity in focus of programs.
• National accrediting agency and number of
  institutions
• Accrediting Bureau for Health Education Schools
  2
• Accrediting Commission for Acupuncture and
  Oriental Medicine 1
• Accrediting Council for Continuing Education 1
• Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and
  Colleges of Technology 13
• Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and
  Schools 6
• Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation 2
• Distance Education and Training Council 2
• National Accrediting Commission of Cosmetology
  Arts and Sciences 3
• National Center for Construction Education and
  Research 1
• National Accreditation has job placement as part
  of schools mission, requires active advisory
  committees, tracks placement through graduate and
  employer follow-up, encourages schools to have
  placement departments, and requires schools to
  evaluate placement data.

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Regionally Accredited Institutions

• EAB approves 26 regionally accredited
  institutions 1 is headquartered in Wisconsin
  and 25 are headquartered out-of-state.
• 19 Institutions are non-profits and 7 are
  for-profits.
• All 26 regionally accredited institutions offer a
  variety of degree level programs with 10
  institutions focusing on education degrees and
  the other institutions on degrees for working
  adults in business, health care, management, etc.
• Regional accreditation lacks a focus on having
  member institutions evaluate what happens to
  graduates after they obtain a degree. Most
  regionally accredited institutions have follow-up
  processes focused on alumni.
• Regionally accredited institutions do regular
  end-of-course surveys and often have program
  advisory committees, but lack the graduate and
  employer follow-up processes of nationally
  accredited institutions.

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EABs Actions and Requirements for Next Year

• Next Years Renewal Process Focus on Graduate
  Follow-up, Advisory Committees, and Schools using
  data for evaluation
• EAB Sponsored Workshops for Categories of Schools
  on Best Practices for Placement
• Satisfaction Category will have EAB-specified
  Questions, Audience, and Timing
• EAB School Visits Focus on Employed Process.

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QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION