GAO Strikes (Out) Again

December 16, 2011 in GAO Report

The hunt for anecdotal evidence continues! The GAO, after getting rid of the entire team that botched its first attempted hatchet job on career colleges, sent in team #2 in search nasty stories to tell. All on the taxpayer dime, of course.

What did they come up with?

Well, they tried to send fake students into 15 different online college programs. Three schools caught on that the high school diplomas were fake and denied entry. Another six did absolutely everything right. In fact, they even went above and beyond, reaching out to those fake students outside the class to help them succeed—not knowing, of course, that the “students” were intentionally flopping the class. (I’m sure the instructors are thrilled to know they were wasting all that time and worry on fake students.)

So, that’s 9 out of 15 schools that passed this little attempted “gotcha” sting with a perfect A+.

What about the remaining minority? One of them gave a student who turned in shoddy work a C-, which is a pretty shoddy grade. But it should have been worse, I guess? The GAO seems to think it’s a big deal. Two other schools caught fake students plagiarizing (good on those schools!) but didn’t kick the students out of class. That doesn’t mean the students got away with it; it just means they didn’t get kicked out.

So there. That’s the anecdotal evidence the GAO came up with. And the GAO itself is quick to stress that it’s all anecdotal. “The experience of each of our undercover students is unique and cannot be generalized to other students taking courses offered by the for-profit colleges we tested or to other for-profit or nonprofit colleges,” says the GAO report.

So a minority of schools did some things the GAO didn’t like. Nothing illegal, mind you. And nothing you can make any generalizations about. Just some things the GAO thinks should have been handled differently. Think they’d find anything different if they pulled the same stunt at 15 state-run community colleges?

Think they’d ever dare to try it?

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TAICS for the Holidays

December 14, 2011 in Community Involvement

In keeping with the holiday spirit, TAICS recently held its monthly board meeting at Second Harvest Food Bank. Working together in assembly line fashion, 10 representatives from five different career colleges put together 1,470 food packs for school children in the Nashville area.

These packs are given to low-income children who otherwise might not have enough to eat at home. More than 6,000 such children receive a pack to put in their backpack every Friday.

Food Pack

Each pack contains a heat & eat can of beef lasagna, macaroni-O’s, fruit cereal, corn flakes, two fruit cups, a milk box, and a juice box.

Rich Wechner, president of International Academy of Design & Technology (IADT), came up with the idea to devote the monthly meeting to volunteering at Second Harvest. Representatives from National College of Business & Technology, Nashville Auction School, Nashville Auto Diesel College, and Daymar Institute also joined in, alongside TAICS Executive Director Anne Landis Jetton.

Second Harvest always needs volunteers! To sign up, visit secondharvestmidtn.org.

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THIMA Taps Madison Student for $1,000 Scholarship

November 14, 2011 in Student Success

Congratulations to Les Hatfield, who recently won a $1,000 scholarship from the Tennessee Health Information Management Association (THIMA), the leading professional association for individuals in the Health Information Technology sector.

Les won the scholarship in part due to his 3.83 grade point average, along with a brief essay and three letters of recommendation from his instructors at the Madison campus of National College of Business & Technology.

After he graduates in 2012, Les plans to one day start his own medical coding center business with his fiancée, who currently works in medical transcription. “I’ve enjoyed pursuing my HIT associate degree at National because I know when I graduate I will have lots of job versatility and options,” he said.

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Tuition vs. Inflation

November 9, 2011 in Tuition

When it comes to four-year programs, the average cost of tuition at a career college increased by less than the rate of inflation this year – something state-run colleges and universities can’t even come close to saying.

For 2011, inflation in the U.S. has clocked in at 3.9%. At the same time, tuition at a public college jumped a whopping 8.9%, well over double inflation.

Private non-for-profit schools did much better, overshooting inflation by a much smaller margin. Students there saw tuition rise 4.5%.

While tuition did go up at career colleges, it stayed solidly below inflation at only 3.2%.

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Save Student Aid!

November 8, 2011 in U.S. Department of Education

The clock is ticking for the “Super Committee” to come up with a plan to reduce our federal budget deficit. The deadline is Nov. 23, and sadly, student aid could very well be on the chopping block.

That’s why the Student Aid Alliance is collecting signatures right now to show the Super Committee that the American people don’t want to balance the budget on the backs of college students by stripping them of Pell Grants and other programs!

If we want to fix the economy in the long-term, we need to make it easier to get a college education, not harder! If you agree, please click here to sign the pledge!

Here the pledge in its entirety:

Our nation sorely needs to power up its economic engine. Work force projections show that by 2018, there will be jobs for as many as 22 million new workers with college degrees, but on our current trajectory, we won’t make that goal—in fact we’ll miss it by 3 million workers. 

 Recent budget deals have already cut $30 billion from the student aid programs, sacrificing some students’ benefits to pay for others. States across the country are cutting higher education from their own budgets. 

That’s why it’s more important than ever to preserve, protect and provide adequate funding for the core federal student aid programs—such as Pell Grants and student loan benefits. Together, these programs offer students an opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills our nation demands for a strong recovery. 

Tough budget decisions in DC have put pressure on all federal spending, but cutting student aid, a long-term investment in our nation’s future, doesn’t make sense.

I support protecting federal student aid. Keep college within reach for our nation’s students and families.

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Day of Difference: Giving Thanks

November 7, 2011 in Community Involvement

National College of Business & Technology recently celebrated its 125th anniversary with a “Day of Difference,” giving students an opportunity to give back to their communities. In Knoxville, students and staff joined together in writing letters of thanks and support to members of the military currently on active duty. The campus collected 182 letters expressing appreciation to our service members and letting them know they are not forgotten.

“I know firsthand that being able to receive a letter from the states can go a long way with a soldier when he or she is out on the battlefield,” said Marcellos Smith, a National student in the medical assisting degree program. “As a retired soldier of 17 years in the Army, being able to come and be a part of [this event] is a very personal thing to me.”

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Listen to the General

October 31, 2011 in Student Choice

“Active-duty servicemembers and veterans have defended our liberty. We should defend their freedom to choose among the various alternatives for higher education,” said Gen. William R. Looney III (retired) in a powerful op-ed piece for Stars & Stripes.

In particular, Gen. Looney wants to ensure politicians in Washington don’t limit the freedom of members of the military to choose a career college if that’s what suits their needs best. And, according to the General, career colleges often are the best choice because they are far more flexible and accommodating than state-run schools, while providing clear and direct pathways to graduation and employment.

General Looney is concerned that Washington will overreach and harm students, especially servicemembers and veterans:

Our elected officials must also understand the need for options to remain open to our servicemembers — and for those options to be unencumbered by the thinking of the past. The popularity of private-sector colleges and universities has recently been called into question, primarily because these schools are just that: popular among military service and veteran students. Like any private school, these institutions do not receive government subsidies. Therefore, tuition at a PSCU [private sector college or university] costs more than tuition at a public college or university. Private institutions, regardless of their tax status, may simply do a better job of meeting the special interests and requirements of military service and veteran students.

Certainly there are lapses in PSCU education, as there are in traditional higher education. These should be isolated, analyzed and corrected. With unemployment rates for veterans running in the double digits, however, we should tread carefully among our higher-education policy choices. Stigmatizing PSCU education generally for the actions of a few harms military service students and veterans. And building barriers to the delivery of higher education by conjoining federal student aid and military veterans’ earned benefits policies, a step currently contemplated by members of Congress, is counterproductive.

Let’s honor our servicemembers by keeping their postsecondary education options and our thinking open to what works for them.

Check out the full article here.

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Miller-Motte Hosts Spa Day for Cancer Patients

October 28, 2011 in Community Involvement

The YMCA’s After Breast Cancer (ABC) Outreach Program was able to provide cancer survivors with a luxurious spa day, thanks to Miller-Motte Technical College in Clarksville.

Twenty breast cancer survivors enjoyed a wide range of beauty services including make-up, manicures, facials, lip repair, facial waxing, hand repair, and more.

“Survivor’s Spa Day allowed Miller-Motte students to give back to the community by helping those who have suffered through and survived breast cancer. The students were very excited to get the opportunity to pamper these special clients,” said Kristy Jenkins, director of the Beauty and Aesthetics program at Miller-Motte.

The students involved in Survivor’s Spa Day are enrolled in an 18-month cosmetology program designed to prepare them for careers in the beauty industry, and events like them one provide them with real-world experience.

“The students and employees consider it a great honor that the YMCA of Middle Tennessee allowed them to take part in this event.  One of our former employees is just now finishing her treatments so the campus has embraced raising awareness of Breast Cancer in the community,” said Gina Castleberry, assistant regional vice president and campus director for Miller-Motte.

Pat Karren, an 11-year cancer survivor, says events like this are an important part of the post-treatment process. “It’s nice to see that there are a lot of survivors out there, and we get the opportunity to socialize with each other at events like this,” she said. “It’s also nice to be pampered for a little while and not have to worry about our cancers.”

“It is very rewarding to be able to help these survivors restore their sense of inner and outer beauty after recovering from this serious illness,” said Lauren Stalnaker, a Miller-Motte student who helped provided spa services. “These beauty treatments can help give self confidence to women who may feel that their illness has taken their femininity from them.”

“The Miller-Motte people have rolled out the pink carpet to us tonight and have made us all feel fabulous,” said Lilly Lawhon, a five-year cancer survivor.

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A Flood of Support

October 27, 2011 in Community Involvement

What’s the benefit of having a career college in your community? It goes far beyond the educational opportunities and the jobs created on campus. Case in point: When a record-breaking flood brought unprecedented destruction to Nashville last year, the Art Institute of Tennessee-Nashville said, “Let’s get cooking.”

Yes, cooking. The college’s many culinary students and instructors were quick to team up with Second Harvest Food Bank after the flood, helping the charity organization raise funds and continue to provide food assistance to flood victims and other people in need, despite extensive damage to Second Harvest’s own headquarters.

First up, the catering class at AIT-Nashville and instructor Bob Umberger hosted a pasta luncheon that raised more than $1,200 for Second Harvest and Hands On Nashville. Then, Chef Robbie Piel’s Senior Culinary Practicum class helped organize a fundraising dinner that brought in another $800 for Second Harvest. Not to be outdone, Chef Chris Chapella’s Advanced Patisserie class created eight gingerbread houses that raised $700 for Second Harvest at a silent auction.

And then, the piece de resistance, Chef Anthony Mandriota and a team of five students joined seven other area chefs for the 4th Annual “Cooking Wild with Jeff Fisher and Friends” event, which brought in a whopping $20,000 for the charity organization!

“With the scale of the devastation from the flooding in this area, our college community was eager to do whatever we could to help those in need,” said AIT-Nashville President Carol Menck. “This was the right way for us to express our care and concert for the community.”

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Operation Backpack

October 26, 2011 in Community Involvement

Having a community college in your neighborhood means having a student body that’s motivated not only to take charge of their own lives but also to improve their community. The students at National College of Business & Technology in Madison are living proof. When they got a visit from author Lisa Wysocky and heard her talk about why she found Colby’s Army, they were quick to join the cause.

Colby’s Army is named in memory of Wysocky’s son Colby Keegan, who had a passion for helping the homeless. The organization provides the homeless with backpacks filled with hairbrushes, soap, toothpaste, non-perishable food, and other personal items. In recent months, the students at the Madison campus of National College of Business & Technology have filled and donated 30 such backpacks to Colby’s Army. The backpacks are now being distributed in the Nashville area.

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