I heard recent campus visits by Heald execs have been to outline changes
to the curriculum, which are coming soon. Shorter diploma type programs are supposed to make us look more attractive to potential buyers, also soothe the CAL AG's thirst for blood (with shorter programs students will accumulate less debt and get into the workforce faster).
Has anyone gone to one of these sessions?
Heald is about to be shutdown.
YAY!!! HEald is going to take up the Everest diploma school mantle - and still try to call itself a college! What a way to F#$% up.
457: Yes. In most school districs, those clsses are called "elementary school"....
76573: If they are going to try another career college, what will it be? No lie, if Heald closes, I need a job, so I want to find a place before rather than later when there will be flood of people for a few jobs.
To 76457: I'm guessing you don't teach at Heald. The students I get need serious hand-holding. Many of them tried the local city college and couldn't make it there. These students are seriously lacking in basic skills, including basic critical thinking skills. They are also not the kind who take initiative to take cheap, or even free, classes to learn the basics. I really do feel sorry for these students if Heald closes. At best, they will go to another career college.
to 76317: I agree that having basic writing and math is important. I am just thinking that students shouldn't be taking the classes at colleges. It costs a lot and just clogs up the system. Don't high schools have night classes to help people learn the basics before they try college?
If a student can't do basic addition and write a grammatically correct sentence, they will have a very difficult time getting a job. Even the MA students need this. Hospitals and doctor offices don't want employees who can't write basic information down clearly. Don't even get me started on the critical thinking skills employers want.
It seems like most of the students at Heald (and really at all colleges with no admissions requirements) need below college level classes for math and English. It would be smart for these students just to get a quick degree and move on. If a student can't do addition by 18 or 20, it is probably not smart to force some academic degree on a kid. Let him/her get some training and a job.
A certificate is not fine for ACCT. Most those students want to move on to their VA and it's much easier if they have the AAS.
We had a sit-down with corporate about that and we addressed our concerns to the 'man'. Heald is already struggling because we're living in a B.A. requirement world. A year is nowhere near enough time to give students a firm grasp on some of the program SLOs. We suggested that while a certificate might be fine for some programs like BA, ACCT, ENT, and CJ it's a BAD idea for things like PT, MA, and IT. Also, who said that diploma graduates don't get career services assistance? All graduates get career services assistance and are counted toward the end data, even certificate programs like OS. That's part of the problem.
Sorry about the double post.
If we're supposedly going to offer B.A.'s shouldn't our emphasis be on helping students get degrees so they can continue on with a B.A. at Heald or another school? This diploma idea is making our mission so murky? Are we a career "institute", a career college, or what? This is feeling like a mess, and it feels like it's just a way around gainful employment. And a diploma at Heald is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE - I love Heald, but I would send students to community college if that's all they wanted. It's just not enough, unless you want to work for $10 an hour and are happy with that.
If we're supposedly going to offer B.A.'s shouldn't our emphasis be on helping students get degrees so they can continue on with a B.A. at Heald or another school? This diploma idea is making our mission so murky? Are we a career "institute", a career college, or what? This is feeling like a mess, and it feels like it's just a way around gainful employment. And a diploma at Heald is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE - I love Heald, but I would send students to community college if that's all they wanted. It's just not enough, unless you want to work for $10 an hour and are happy with that.
In a nutshell, writing research papers teaches critical thinking skills. I think that this would be very important skill for someone working in a pharmacy.
I don't know 764. I'm torn on this one. If we could just train people in what we say we're training them in, that would be great. I can't imagine that a pharmacy technician would be successful without a strong knowledge of math, but do they really need to know how to write a research paper?
No one should be surprised by this development. It’s the natural next step in the devolution of Heald from a once reputable two-year college into a diploma mill. Those who see this as a good idea (737) are truly delusional.
The Gen ed people should think of writing a letter of concern to the academics department. This smacks of playing the system by becoming a diploma mill and ignoring the reason we got WASC senior accreditation in the first place.
@737. Stop. People are trying to figure out what's going to happen with our livelihoods. When we need somebody to blow magic bubbles up our asses and take us on a unicorn ride to the end of the rainbow we'll let you know.
If a adjunct gets cut from heald is there unemployment?
This sounds like a promising model, and I thank the OP for sharing some of this information here. Just when people thought Heald was down, she gets right back up. Stronger than ever, better than ever, Healder than ever. Let's go grab the future now!
Heald is becoming Everest. And we know how THAT turned out.....
547, quit blaming the attorney general. If Heald didn't do these things, there would be nothing for the AG to go after.
OP is full of shit. We've always had diploma programs; they're intended for people who drop out after a year instead of staying for their whole degree, so they still have something to show for their time. They receive no access to career services, and it's never been advertised or marketed as they are programs of last resort.
Sounds like some of the same mindset that got Heald in trouble. Again, consider rallying the most competent and ethical workers to organize a cooperative. One that can have a long term vision of helping all of the People of the local community. Cooperatives have a history (usually with industry), and more people are looking at this as a viable alternative to cutthroat and crony business practices.
Anyone who thinks that the AG does not have a "thirst for blood" has their head up their A$$ or maybe it's the AG A$$ their head is up.
OP is correct. They will be piloting this at two campuses starting in April. The lower cost for the diploma program is also a way to get around gainful employment. The GE staff left the meeting feeling their days at Heald are numbered, but really, they should have been feeling this way already.
none of this is true
Not going anywhere.
Cal AG doesn't have a "thirst for blood." We deserve what we're getting. The shorter programs aren't going to get students in the workforce. And you didn't "hear" anything.
Somebody told me the new program would eliminate most of the Gen Ed requirements, which would seem to mean far fewer instructors. Sounds a little scary, having a "student" out there (particularly in medical) who can't do basic math or demonstrate basic literacy, but whatever. We're so desperate, we'll do anything at this point. God forbid we should do things the right way rather than continually looking for ways around the system.