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The title of this week’s posting sounds a little odd. We don't think of education in that way. Education is a privilege and a lofty pursuit. It’s not a product. Lately, however, there have been a number of reports on certain “colleges” and vocational schools regarding their somewhat predatory methods of attracting students. Many of these schools purchase advertising time around daytime TV shows such as Jerry Springer, the various “court” shows, afternoon “talk” shows, Oprah, Ellen, Dr. Oz, and cartoons. Because of the reports, I decided to check out TV programming during the daytime to investigate schools and their advertising.
It’s presumptuous of me to declare I know who is watching these shows and why the colleges and vocational schools advertise in those time slots. However, advertising demographics don't lie. Many daytime TV viewers are watching TV instead of working or going to school. There are a few people who have shift jobs and who enjoy a little TV during the day, and there are shut-ins, people with medical conditions, seniors, new moms and dads, etc. But many are young people passing time with nothing else to do.
Just watching daytime TV for researching this blog I got the feeling that most people watching must be in need of education (and cheap dental work) because of the ads. Ads aren’t placed in front of people who are not likely to purchase products from the advertiser. The ads are repeated over and over and over day after day after day to their captive and stationary audiences.
Many of these schools, a disproportionate amount, advise viewers that if they need their high school equivalency, classes can be arranged and/or combined with their college/vocational courses. The final line is that financial assistance is available. Often attractive “students” tell their stories about life before their educations and how they have finally found financial security. I had planned on preparing a simple grid then counting the ads for each school and the programming and time slot and then I decided it wasn’t necessary. I got the picture loud and clear and this isn’t a thesis. It’s a blog. And I couldn’t watch those shows. I just couldn’t.
For some reason I was not encouraged to go to college by my teen educators and counselors. I was pushed toward a life of pink-collar office work. I believe it was partly an assessment of my home life. Hard working folks in business for themselves. It was probably a given, to the school, that I would join my parents in the family business, a restaurant. Maybe it was my uninspired GPA. At the time it didn’t bother me but I did secretly desire to go to college. My parents couldn’t afford it and financial aid was not the same as it is today. I was an ordinary student and there weren’t many scholarships or grants for us ordinary folk.
To save money, however, I did attend community college for a while but then I fell off a cliff (true story) and required surgery and then my dad got sick and died so I moved home and stayed with mom for a couple of years. When I left home that last time there was absolutely zero money to return to college and so I began the work world. My teen courses, designed by a counseling staff that believed I wouldn’t be a college candidate, prepared me with all the clerical skills necessary to make a living. And I did for many years.
Eventually, I married, had children, divorced, and finally returned to college. I worked full time and attended night classes. I obtained an A.A. at a community college (which was a lot more expensive than I thought it would be) and met with a transfer counselor at my next school, a four-year college to get my B.A. Right about this time both of my kids were in college. When I learned the cost of my remaining two years it didn’t take a math major to figure out I would not be getting my degree. I made too much to qualify for assistance, but not enough to pay for three family members in college.
At the time I had a secure job and made decent money and had established a pension plan and enjoyed health care benefits and safety in employment. During my employment not only did I complete my A.A., and received a promotion for it, but I took a variety of specialty courses and seminars needed for my career over the years. I was able to buy a house and travel and I was satisfied. Yet, whenever the topic of education comes up in a group I always say I have a modest education. It’s defensive. I shouldn’t be defensive because my life turned out fine, but we are a judgmental society and many things separate us from one another. Education is a huge societal dividing/class factor. I was not allowed to join a "friendly" book club at work once because I didn’t have a degree. After learning that I was thrilled I wasn’t accepted into such a group.
My experience is not the case for many of the young people today sitting at home watching Jerry Springer. Many of these people do not possess even limited employment skills. And even if they did, without some type of college or vocational degree they will most likely not be able to lead the life I did. At the very least, multitudes need their GEDs before beginning skilled training.
One report I saw on the evening news was about a young man who had spent $79,000 in school loans yet still had 20 units left to complete his degree. There are countless other stories similar to his. There are also many schools that suddenly close their doors over night. The students arrive in the morning and the school is gone. The courses they completed successfully are often not transferable to accredited colleges. Even some courses completed at accredited colleges sometimes do not make the transfer link. Time is often the enemy of transfers. Those who stop and start their educations often find many courses must be taken again to continue toward their degree. That’s more money. Lots more. Sometimes working students can’t qualify for money. Not enough money.
Institutions sometimes mislead the students. My daughter actually walked at graduation at a “real” university but at the last possible moment was told she would have to take one additional unit to receive her diploma. They explained she could easily whip that one unit out during the summer and they would then mail her diploma. Prior to that shocking news she had received her letter/form indicating she was confirmed to graduate. Did they discover it the week before? Yep, they did. Did they have the authority to waive that one unit? Probably but they wouldn’t. Did they want her additional semester money for one unit? Absolutely. Education consumer. Even at our prestigious schools.
She had already given notice to her apartment manager so she declined to give her hard-earned money to them because she was angry and instead moved home and took the course here (after carefully researching if it would be acceptable to her college and it was and she now has her diploma, a little piece of very expensive paper). A dear friend of mine who has had a career in higher education told me that it was ultimately my daughter’s responsibility to track her classes to obtain the needed units to graduate. Though she did that each semester with a counselor and though she did receive the letter/form telling her she was eligible to graduate, she did herself miss that one unit in her review of her units. Therefore, I will give her 1% of the blame and assign the remaining blame of 99% to her university. It’s about customer service.
And believe me, we were customers of that college. I filled up credit cards for books and other expenses. We were education consumers. If I sold baskets and I took an order for 100 baskets but only 99 were actually shipped, my customer would demand a discount or an additional basket, to be shipped at my expense.
The mainstream colleges and universities do have their problems and of course tremendous budget disasters along with the rest of the business world. But it’s important to know that education is indeed—a business. Colleges must employ staff, maintain buildings, health plans, pension plans, student expenses, etc. It is not some altruistic force on high that is only interested in broadening the little minds of our children. As we move down the stream of these higher institutions we get into education territory that isn’t as easy to navigate filled with so-called colleges and schools and vocational institutions. It becomes more and more a consumer issue and often leads to fraud and deceit.
Not everyone is cut out for college but almost everyone must receive additional training/education after high school. Of course, finishing high school or getting a GED is crucial. Depending on a person’s resources many students must take out loans and spend hours searching grants. Some grants are tiny and are available to restricted students such as women who are from Iceland, nationalized as U.S. citizens in 2008, but born in 1992 during a freak glacier thaw, who speak Swahili. (Those who have spent time researching scholarships and grants know I’m not kidding.)
I was divorced by the time my two kids went to college and it was no easy task keeping them at their respective schools. We were The Three Musketeers and did extraordinarily amazing things to keep them in college. Sometimes when my mom could swing it we got a little extra help, but that was it. Oh, yeah, student loans. I shiver thinking about them.
The sacrifices the three of us made were huge. They did not have the carefree college life many of their friends had. They didn’t go on ski trips, they worked. They didn’t join clubs, they worked. They didn’t travel on summer breaks, they worked. I didn’t go see them often and they didn’t come home often because it cost too much and we needed to plug the hungry education hole. Some semesters they started classes and for weeks went without all of their books purchasing one book per paycheck. But they were lucky that they did have me and as much financial assistance as I could manage along with all my credit cards and they both worked almost full time. And they were tough and determined and nothing would stand in their way. It took me a long time to pay off my credit cards which delayed financial planning for my life which has had a lasting effect even in my life today. I've never caught up. And my kids are still paying off their student loans.
Many of the young people watching daytime TV are home couch surfing because their families are either non-existent or are completely without means due to their own lack of education and/or skills. We chose to fight for it but not everyone is equipped to fight battles. Though it was very difficult my kids have both found life is better for them than it was before college. It was worth the fight. Life is uncertain and especially in today’s horrific economy. They have that one little edge that just might keep them employed. But it cost us dearly.
The potential student pool for TV is a prime target for mercenary “educators.” Young people can and do get sucked in due to despair over their lives which are going nowhere and all they have to do is sign up at one of these schools and take out thousands of dollars in student loans to change their lives forever. Maybe for some. Instead it would be best for these students to visit a local community college and have a heart to heart with a career/education counselor. Even taking one course a semester to begin with is an excellent start. One course. All journeys must start with the first step.
Most community colleges have many certificate programs that don't take too long and some offer employment placement services. GED programs are everywhere and fairly easy to get through. There are a variety of online courses but they must be meticulously researched because many of them operate on the edge of criminal conduct. All daytime TV watchers interested in school should at least do the legwork required to find out how to improve their lives. They may even qualify for grants or scholarships (if they are from Iceland). Most of all, however, consumer beware.
If a person started one class next month and they complete the class it would be a grand feeling. By December, depending on the semester or quarter structure of the school they choose, they would have one college course or training course under their belt. If they do not take a class come December they will not have a college course or training course under their belt. All that time will go by and they will be right where they are today. Watching Jerry Springer. If they take one course per semester, however, eventually they will have a certificate or a skill or a degree or who knows! And they must never forget that they are purchasing their education and they must demand quality and good customer service. They need to fight every step of the way and never give up.
Part of obtaining higher education is the struggle to get it. The aforementioned friend expressed that sentiment to me when I whined about my daughter’s missing unit. It isn’t just about the classes. It’s about getting through it all. It’s the journey. That’s an education in itself.
www.sharonstrawhandgarner.com
Each week in this spot I will report an instance of good customer service (if any) but without embellishment. Just a business or entity that knows how to treat customers at least some of the time if not always.
This week I received excellent customer service from:
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[No part of this content may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author. Blog series began in March 2009.]
