Work Learning Experience

Work Learning Experience

As an enrollment advisor at the university, my job is to assist and guide students towards their degree goals from the minute first voice contact is made and through their graduation day. The challenge that I am currently working on is how to conduct effectively a face-to-face appointment or initial interview. The process in enrolling a student is simple, yet involves psychological perception and processing on both ends of the spectrum, as the enroller and the enrollee. Being only one month young in the field, many new things to are to be learned.
The enrollment process begins when a student requests information on a specific degree program from an online advertisement. They are then connected to me, an advisor, who asks the prospective student a series of questions with a goal of booking a face-to-face appointment. Once the appointment is booked, a sense of accomplishment is experienced because the right questions were asked to uncover the student’s motivation in returning to school thus, assisting them in taking the next steps towards graduation.
About a half an hour before the student arrives, a folder is prepared with the proper materials based on the students needs. This also allows time for mental preparation. Anxiety, in the form of excitement, overcomes me knowing that this initial interview could possibly change their destiny. Meeting with me could mean more income in order to take care of their family or it could be a personal goal of theirs that they have been putting off for years. As the time draws nearer, my heart rate increases and palms become sweaty with anticipation.
The appointment consists of 5 steps; 1) building rapport, 2) breaking down the required classes and credits in order to complete the program, 3) going over the tuition and costs, 4) financial aid and out of pocket expenses, and 5) filling out the application for enrollment. During the appointment, the goal is to provide enough information about the degree program of interest and uncover any underlying concerns or fears the student may have before taking them through the application process.
One obstacle I continue to run into is not being able to read in between the lines as to what program best suits the student according to his or her career goals upon graduation. This is due to my lack of program or degree knowledge. When the student fills out his or her program of interest online, they are not fully aware of what the program entails. They consider me to be the expert because I am their “advisor.” For example, a gentleman was interested in advancing his career in Information Technology with the IT firm he was currently employed with. He mentioned during our phone interview that he did not want to emphasize too much on programming and wanted to obtain his Masters in Information Systems, not knowing that the course description consisted of programming classes. After consulting with a coworker, an experienced advisor, I discovered that the Masters in Business Administration with a specialization in Technology Management would be a more favorable route for him. Had I known this information, it would have saved us 30 minutes of a conversation and embarrassment. Luckily, the student was understanding about being new to the position.
Hundreds of degree programs are offered at the University of Phoenix. Studying the different programs would be to my benefit. The most effective solution to enhance my learning experience is through observational learning. This allows me to take notes freely, completely evaluate the psychological process between the student and the advisor, and add my own personality in the appointment. Based on my personality type, interpersonal being my dominant intelligence, I learn quicker when engaged with a student and overcoming challenges as they come. Observational learning is also linked with a specific scenario. Having a real life experience, as opposed to just reading about it, makes the information retainable, especially when it’s associated with an emotion. In the situation with the student, I have learned that the Master’s in Information Systems focuses on programming and databases and the Master’s in Business Administration in Information Technology focuses on management and problem solving using technology as a tool. Had I not associated an emotion in learning this, it would have probably taken a while longer to understand the difference. Reference
Lahey, (2007). Psychology: An Introduction (Ninth Edition ed.). : Tim McGraw- Hill Companies.