Career College Central

Subscribe at careercollegecentral.com 47 What advice do you have for fellow educators in the career college sector of higher education? My best advice for fellow educators comes from a lesson I learned the hard way, and that is to practice self-care. e career college sector of higher education is usually an accelerated, stressful environment because of the demographics of students served and the demands from various stakeholders critical to survival. Modeling self- care will allow for the sustainability of quality instruction, prevent burn-out and faculty turnover, and create a caring learning environment and culture based on relationships. Always remember that people are the reason we are here: don't get so caught up in the logistics that you lose sight of serving students and faculty; model self-care so those you are leading will emulate it as well; and be known for your kindness. Why are professional development and continuing education important to you? Professional development and continuing education are important to me because I know how this has worked in my own life and career trajectory, and I have seen the same in others. For example, with continual development year- over-year, if I am just 10 percent better in my role each year, at the end of 5 years I will be 50 percent improved— or higher based on compound interest! Imagine the incremental growth of a team over time through professional development and continuing education. Iron sharpens iron, and the more improvement with each team individual, the more improved the whole team will be. Growth is a normal part of nature and human beings crave it, so it should be a regular aspect to job performance and expectations—and not viewed as an ancillary feature. What's one thing you think career education leaders can do to improve institutional performance? Institutional performance improvement always relies on the continuous development of its faculty members. Faculty members with coachable attitudes and growth mindsets dedicated to their own improvement and the improvement of others will always improve the institution overall because their passion will be contagious. Students will feel pride in their learning, share their experiences through word of mouth, preserve the institution's reputation, and encourage others to follow in their footsteps, creating legacies. Having this kind of energy as the engine of an institution will drive high-quality performance in all areas. CHEP Certification The CHEP certification recognizes employees of career schools, colleges and universities who strive for excellence in their respective positions, with the ultimate goal of enabling institutions to develop high- performing, compliant and ethical employees to better serve students. CHEPs have successfully completed forty- eight hours of approved training in their area of concentration and are required to complete eight hours of approved training annually to maintain their certification. Visit www.cheponline.org to learn more about the CHEP certification.

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