Leading a for-profit school with a student body of more than 1800 students across 10 locations throughout the country may seem exhausting to some. But for president and CEO of InterCoast Colleges, Geeta Brown, it’s energizing.
“This is my passion. It’s my baby,” said Brown. “Nothing makes me more excited than hearing about the students’ successes.”
InterCoast College is a private career college designed to provide associates degree and diploma level career programs that prepare students to succeed in specialized fields of allied health, legal, business and trade industries.
According to Brown, there are a variety of differences between a for-profit schools like InterCoast and traditional state universities or community colleges.
One of the biggest differences is the personalized, one-on-one attention students receive at a small vocational college.
“We take the time for each individual student to determine what their interests are in order to assess their ability to succeed in the field they’re exploring,” said Brown. “Because of our small class sizes and the individualized attention that we provide, students have a much higher chance of success.”
With all the positive aspects that accompany for-profit schools like InterCoast, there are bound to be public misinterpretations. In her more than three decades of experience working in education, the college president says that the following misconceptions are ones she feels particularly strong about.
- It’s all about the money: Brown says that statements claiming that for-profit schools are only interested in money couldn’t be farther from the truth.
“We do a lot to reinvest back into our institution to ensure that the students have what they need to be successful,” said the college president. “From the equipment being used to the updated materials and curriculums, this is a process we take seriously and it takes place frequently in our organization.”
- Unqualified faculty: Often times in the industry, it’s common to hear that the faculty and staff at for-profit schools are not qualified to carry out certain responsibilities and tasks. Brown says that InterCoast faculty members exceed those requirements.
“We have a very strong faculty in every one of our institutions that far exceed minimum standards put in place by various governing and regulatory agencies.”
- Inadequate management and leadership: Another common misconception according to Brown is that the management and leadership teams at for-profit colleges, including presidents and CEOs, are inadequate or unqualified.
“We have an executive team that consists of seven extremely strong leaders in our field-representing career services, financial aid, business services, operations and education with a combined experience and education that goes beyond any executive team that I’ve been affiliated with.”
- Students are not a priority: According to Brown, many detractors feel that students fall well behind in the list of priorities at for-profit institutions.
“Students are the number one priority at InterCoast and for many other institutions across the country,” said Brown. “We are student focused and I believe many institutions are student focused because they’re always looking at ways to improve the education and to be a top education provider in the field.”
Brown and the faculty at InterCoast pride themselves on getting to know the students personally and professionally, which continues beyond the school years. In fact, after graduating the college maintains relationships and tracks success.
“When I say the students are number one, I mean that in a variety of areas. Not only in their education but student support services, loan default and loan debt, following up with the students and conducting surveys after the students graduate,” said Brown. “We want to make sure we do the right thing and we want our student’s feedback, faculty feedback and advice report feedback because it provides us with information we need to provide a better product and better services to our students.”
SOURCE: InterCoast College
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