SUBMITTED: Friday, January 06, 2006
POSTED: Friday, January 06, 2006
AIU and CTU are wonderful schools.
FYI_ i worked for ctu online-colorado technical university which is a sister school to aiu. and they basically run the same way. My co admissions advisors who actually were put in AIU were trained in the same room as I was.
First of all, I am in complete agreeance with Geoff of Roselle Ill, and John of Texas. THANK YOU two. (There are also many other similar comments that are very much appreciated)
As an admissions advisor, I loved all of my students, and still do. I still wonder about them once in a while, I wonder which one of my coworkers is taking care of them, and what kind of grades they're getting. Of course I called my students many times because I cared about their well being. If they didn't do their paperwork, I was concerned about their dedication to their education. It is more important to the potential student to be pressured to get things done on time, because that reflects their performance as a future student!!!
As an admissions advisor, yes I did have a script. We can not simply just be laid back towards people who have expressed interest in going to school. Most of the people who inquire about online colleges are over the age of 30 and have never gone to college. THERE ARE REASONS FOR THAT!!! One of the most common reasons is that- they were not highly motivated to get their education in the first place after high school and even if they knew that education is important to get a good job and be able to support their family, they never put that extra effort into it. (yes yes there's other reasons that are out of their control as well.) If we just slacked off like that, then we wouldn't be sticking to our motto, would we? It's the FOCUS on education that we have that people just dont want to see.
As for the "Scripted interview process - first and second calls" When we ask the questions about how important education is to you, it is for a reason. EVERY question is for a reason.
--And BTW- for the people who don't like to be asked personal questions and think it's "inappropriate" to be asking about financial situations or marital status, etc- I understand your concern. However let me assure you that we ask this not to be prying sales people. we are not telemarketers! These questions help us get to know you. And find a connection with you to truly understand your situation. PERIOD! Again, I do not speak on behalf of ALL the advisors working for AIU, this is just the general feel of the company. Some advisors are very monotone and boring and sounded scripted, which of course would make it seem like they're just taking down your personal iformation like a prying salesperson. I hated listening to the voices of those advisors.
Anyway- going back to the "scripted interviews" -- We really are gauging the ability of the person to be a good student, as well as getting to know them better. ( Yes, part of it is also a good sales technique, but like a lot of rebuttal comments state, traditional schools having sales teams to try to get students too- they also want to make money! ) I have definitely NOT given my reccomendation to just anyone. I have brought out the confidence and commitment out of many prospective students who were over the age of 40 and 50, who have stopped belieivng in themselves and stopped trying or just dont want to put in that extra effort to get their education. But a lot of times, there are people who express interest in going to school for a reason, but just are lazy slackers and indecisive illogical thinkers and don't do their paperwork throughout the time I am trying to help them get into school, and I end up not enrolling them. the script and reccomendation process helps weed out people who probably won't do well in school. Some advisors just want the enrollment and don't care and will reccomend anyone. TRUE. However most of my coworkers were not like that. If they are not recommendation worthy, then we don't just give up though, we try our best to bring out that fire and motivation in them so that they CAN become good students. and also very importantly- Although the advisors are always there for the student throughout the entire enrollment, after they become enrolled, they will not constantly call the student and checkup on them. (the student can call them whenever they want though) What happens if the student has the same attitude while enrolled and responsible for their homework and studying? They will never get their degree if they are still slackers and not dedicated. It is true that going to school online is tough! it is really education, people! You can not just order your degree online and have it handed to you because you have paid money.
Also as an advisor, I spent at least five minutes to thirty minutes on each conversation just talking about their lives and laughing and joking around. I did this not because I was told by my Director, but because I felt like I owed it to these people to give them MY commitment to do my best no just as their advisor, but a reassuring voice in their life. Although I can not say the same about some others who work at AIU/CTU online (every organization has below average employees! That's why they get fired!)most of the admissions advisors DO care about the people they talk to.
we DO care about our students.At a regular university or community college, if you don't attend the first student orientation or don't do well on tests or go to school, they couldn't care less! If you don't continue with the application/paperwork, they don't care! At AIU/CTU, it is completely different. If you say that you need this degree, we take it to heart. We help you remember every day where your focus should be. I remember that around every single start time of a new quarter for brand new students, there would be orientation day. We would not rest until we made sure every student was in orientation online and had logged into class for the first time. And if they didn't we were very concerned and tried contacting them. We really wanted our students to be successful!!
My first student ever (God bless her, I will never forget her amazing personality and strive for education) would call me almost every other day if not every other hour, and leave me series of voicemails for me to hear at my desk every morning when she first started school. She would be a nervous wreck most of the time because she wasn't very computer savvy and was terribly aggrivated when she didn't know what to do when she had a computer problem or when she didn't know how to post an assignment or find the professor's audio lecture. I spent countless hours helping her and convincing her not to drop out of school just because she was nervous that she wouldn't do well. I believed in her 100% and she told me that she looked at me as a den mother and thanked me so many times despite all of her frantic calls. This was one of the greatest things that anyone had ever said to me. This woman was over 50 years old and wanted to move up in ranking as a nurse and needed her bachelors. She was over almost three decades my senior and she was looking up to ME! I was empathetic for her when she was worried about school and I was overjoyed when she was happy about something, especially when she called me one day ( I had not heard from her in a little bit after her BIG worry fit that I had finally eased after about two hours of advice) about two months into class and said that she was getting all A's and loved reading her books. I was ecstatic for her because she was one of the top students in class. We talked about the novel she was reading on her own personal time, the fall of the roman empire, and how her grandson always helped her with her computer problems. I could tell so many different stories about my students and why going to get their degree was one of the most important and greatest decisions of their lives. I will never forget anyone of my students and how much I believed in all of them.
I am getting off subject, I'm sorry... anyway..
Okay so you've read that we try to enroll a great number of students and are praised if we hit our budget at the end of the month. Well did you know that we also got praised even MORE so when we STARTED a large number of students? Which means that if you enroll ten students and only 3 or 4 logged into class and kept in contact and did their work, then you would be frowned upon and the directors would train you harder? We do believe in our students and care.
As an employee, I was never forced to work overtime. The job was stressful and full of pressure, but the work that we did was for good.
Kayla- I don't even understand why the heck you filed a report in the first place. There is no rip off. The fifty dollar application fee is laughable compared to what you pay at ANY other good college. Phoenix university i.e. makes you pay over a hundred dollars! And we DO mean what we say. Just because we use a script and interview you the same doesn't mean that we don't. It is very organized that way and everything you say, we keep note of because we care about you. so that we remember who you are and you're not just a number to enroll. I'll tell you that after I enrolled someone, I knew everything about them because I cared about them and I could ask them how their son is doing and if they are better from their cold. The script is there for the beginning so that we can be organized and detailed! If we didn't have a script, the university would be messy! Not everyone can remember important details!
Oh and I quit working there because obviously this is a full time job/ I worked about 50 hours a week (for a great pay), and my personal schedule changed and I can't work that much anymore. But I would love to go back if I had the time.
Only bad thing about the university- very high pressured. Many people got fired left and right and quit angrily. Those who did, of course will badmouth the company. Yes we care about you going to school and having a better future, but guess what- every university wants to make money!! Ivy league colleges want your money too! no matter how much you say that it's unethical, it's true. But you get your education from it. But all this talk about how they want you money makes it seem like that's all the college wants. That's not it. But if you're going to whine and complain about how that's what it seems like to you, then just remember that you're in turn complaining about almost every other accredited college in america as well.
AIU/CTU IS NOT EXPENSIVE!!!!! Compare it to going to a regular university for four-five years. Plus add up the room and board fees, text book fees, lab fees, and the gas to drive back and forth. Travel is not cheap! My friend who is attending U of I (illinois-champagne) a very good college on the same accreditation level, will end up paying over $100,000 for her bachelors.. when you can get your bachelors AND masters combined at CTU for less than that!! (I am not denying that she is getting a great education, she is not wasting her time. u of i and other comparable schools is a wonderful way to learn. I am simply stating that you can't diss AIU for the cost because you are ALSO getting a wonderful education as well for an even less tuition all together) Because you dont pay extra for your books/shipping for books at AIU/CTU, that is a big relief. Plus it seems like you're paying more because the cost is condensed into two 1/2 years. instead of a course of four or five.
And to anyone who thinks that going to a community college's night classes is cheaper and easier- You can not compare a junior college with a regionally accredited university. If you want to settle for a degree from a community college, it will not get you very far (you can't even get the bachelors) plus you would be spending so much more time- almost 8 years. I have spoken to many prospective students who told me that they spent about 5-8 years just getting their associates! because they had a full time job and kids to take care of they could only take a limited number of classes. there is no way you can compare getting a regionally accredited Bachelors degree with getting an associates from a junior college.
Jen from Hawaii- We don't purposely call people at three in the morning. It's time zones people! Humans make mistakes. I know I accidentally called someone in Hawaii/California, when it was 9am my time. I apologized and remembered to look at the time zone before calling.
"Locked us in a room and forced us to sign papers?!" What an exaggeration! puuhh-lease!
And for those who had complicated financial aid problems (gi bill, sallie mae, etc) you will have those same problems at another university, however they will not help you with them.
And Geoff- you are exactly right. I always explain to people that aiu/ctu has THE best financial aid team anywhere. it is non existant at most schools that you will get such quick and detailed information about f.aid. Anywhere else, if you don't know how financial aid works (most people don't) then the attitude is "F* you, NEXT!" I have spent countless hours with the same students I've enrolled helping them to the very last sweat and tear with their financial aid. Every department in the school keeps in close contact to make sure you know exactly what's going on.
Oh yeah, John is right- the scripts are for legal purposes as well, also to keep advisors on the right track. We aren't all walking dictionaries and rule books that can spit out facts like firecrackers in the most perfect conversational flow.
The application process actually is not complicated. We send detailed instructions to the student by email if they don't have time to write it down over the phone, and I have walked students through it with no problem. It's the students that are very hard to reach that may have trouble because they don't go home and do the paperwork when we advise them to and it stretches the process beyond the necessary time frame it takes to help a student get into school. One of my students was in the military and she didn't have time to write down my instructions for the FAFSA (federal financial aid) over the phone. so I spent an hour overtime writing out the instructions to her in an email so that she could print it out. I organized it so that she would be able to read it easily and I included lots of other information for her as well including tips for students in the military. I didn't mind a bit! Aiu/ctu advisors will go out of their way to help students understand every step of the way. If you never show up at the time you said you'd be available for us to contact you, and you fail to reach us back then that's your fault! If you don't sit down at the computer and check your email for our messages, that's your fault! We are doing these things to benefit you and help you, but if you don't appreciate that and follow the directions, then the process of applying and getting a financial aid plan is extended. Of course it would seem complicated!
As a final word- I always cared about my students and even while i was on script, I talked to them like they were human beings, not a number to enroll. My students loved me back because they always knew that I would go out of my way to help them. (I stayed at work until almost 11pm one time on a three hour conversation with one of my students because she was having computer problems. ) The bond between students and their own advisors are tight. Sometimes if my coworker was sick and didn't come in, I'd have to call their students to make sure that they were on the right track even if their advisor wasn't there for them that day. And I could tell that the student was concerned about their advisor, and didn't really want to talk to me and would rather wait till their advisor came back because they had that bond. think about it-- every report that is written by a student on this page is positive. Those who have graduated know that they got a great education and the communication between the different departments (financial aid, academics, admissions etc) is phenomenal.
After spending about three hours writing this post and editing and adding so much, hopefully this makes some kind of difference and means something. because I really do feel good about the education from these schools. and so do thousands of students.