admission representative

assistant instructor

support specialist

hvac technician

director of career services

Charter College

A typical day at work - almost everything, projects, course planning, lesson planning, reviews, hiring was last minute and due in 5 weeks max, usually a lot less. Corporate in Reno constantly changed everything. The result is a culture of fear. Fear of losing your job.

What I learned - this was a great place for source material for Scott Adams' Dilbert. I did learn a great deal about myself and grew a lot as individual, mostly through adversity.

Management - local campus management was great. Corporate management in Reno, well, their style is best described as one reviewer put it "Believe or Leave". Just prior to an accreditation review by ACICS, one of the C-level execs met with me and my staff and said 'get on the band wagon or find another job'. Dissent was not tolerated. It may not have been immediate but any disagreement would eventually cost you. Lots of pressure to pass on students whether they knew the material or not. The level of education for the students was not what it should have been, but what can you do in 5 weeks? I would say Corporate was concerned about profit and very little else. They would not do what was right. Annual performance reviews Were done rather quickly, but any wage increase that came with the review might take months or even a year, which at that point they could roll it into the next year's review and split the raise over two years.

My co-workers - at the local level they were great, incredibly hard working (you have to be if you want to survive), friendly, ethical, nice to be around. At the corporate level maybe they weren't unethical but I do question their motives. The CEO constantly changed corporate strategy, goals, profit sharing, etc. Corporate would 'lay off' a bunch of people due to profit margins being down, then a month later they hire more than they let go. Unfortunately what corporate does completely overshadows the good of the local staff. 

The hardest part of the job - the constant fear of losing your job despite stellar reviews and performance. The 50-80% turnover that reinforced that fear. Large scale HR massacres were not uncommon. According to corporate, we had more A students than Harvard; how did that happen? Did everyone leave Harvard?

The most enjoyable part of the job - Looking back on it, for years I was pretty much the model employee, had a lot of responsibilities, respect, did my job, etc. Then corporate asked me to do a significant project. They had weeks to deliver the contract to me, I had just 4-days to review and make it happen. After looking closely at the contract, I determined their demands were totally unreasonable and ridiculous. I  said no, I can't deleiver a quality product. I had every right to say no, And I stood my ground. They never forgot that. Leaving with my integrity intact was the most enjoyable part of the job.

I literally wouldn’t wish working here on the person I hate most in the world. You get in, you work hard, make the company hundreds of thousands of dollars and in return you just get micromanaged and blamed for things that are honestly out of your control. There’s no stability because the company is hemorrhaging money so fast they can’t afford to actually keep employees. They try to make it seem like it’s because people aren’t working hard enough but in all reality it’s because the company has no future and continues to “restructure.” They think it’s the employees but in all reality they don’t know how to run a company. They lie to students to get them to sign up by not giving the price (25,000 for a certificate) until they enroll which causes students to cancel after enrollment, They’re careless with student information allowing  employees cellphones out while their students SSNs, phone numbers and credit card information is on the screen, they are so focused on the money they make off the students they don’t care about what the student actually needs, and they have terrible management. You’ll see the pay rate and think oh maybe it’s not actually that bad and people are bitter but in all reality it’s terrible. In a months span they’ve lost 15 out of their 33 people in the Sandy location. They’ll try to make it seem like people just weren’t a right fit but being there for over a year I’ve watched people (THEY TRAINED) perform so well they get promoted at an alarmingly fast rate and they either quit because management in salt lake is terrible or they get fired because the company can’t make goal. The CEO is commenting about high “attainable” standards but in the last two years the company has only made budget one time and most of those people in Sandy who helped them make that budget are gone now. I could go on for hours talking about the terrible things that happened there but Ill save it for the compliance hotline.  Seriously DO NOT WORK HERE, I know 21-25 dollars an hour seems good but trust me not that good.

Your first weeks with the company will be filled with enthusiasm and excitement.  "I can make a difference in people's lives!", you'll say.  And then, after you've learned all the programs and details, you see the reality of this job:  You're basically a telemarketer.  You'll be expected to call 'interested' prospects up to three times a day, in addition to emailing and texting them. You'll be expected to make 100-130 calls in a day if you don't have students in front of you. You'll get hung up on a ton. 

You'll quickly realize that a combination of factors contribute to the fact that you won't hit your goals. Charter charges more than any other similar school in the area.  Your bosses will tell you how to spin that and build value, but prospective students do care about costs, and there are other more reputable schools that charge WAY less. The entire for-profit college sector is under fire from the Fed. government.  Goals are unrealistic as well, as you are promoting programs to students that don't always have the best record of decision making and follow-through. 

Don't hit your goals?  You're out.  No additional training, no figuring out why you're not successful.  You're out and they bring in someone new, and repeat the process. That's their business model. You're lucky if you get 3 months.  A very special few seem to have things figured out there, but you have to be super pushy, put your conscience aside and basically make students feel like the only good decision they can make for their life is to attend Charter.  

The school cares about making money above all.  That's not a bad thing for a business, necessarily, but as an education institution it will come at the expense of students and truly good people who work there.  Don't say you weren't warned.

After working there for 3.5 years and watching good, dedicated employees fired for not having their "goals" met ( not enrolling xxx amount of students per "mod" (semester), not having xxx amount of students passing or not dropping out of a class), the same thing happened to me. I was "promoted" after 2.5 years to a better position, and let go after the position was eliminated; I asked for my old position ad back, (someone else had been hired 6 months prior) and was told that seniority does not count here. Even though I covered other peoples' shifts for 3 years if they were sick or on vacation, and worked 12 hour shifts, and received an award and a trophy from Corporate a year prior for outstanding service at an employee company-wide gathering,  I was not allowed to have my old job back. One year later, the new campus president who let me go was let go after  he relocated his family from 200 miles away. 
Admission representatives are only glorified salesmen, and if you earn a degree, it is not transferrable to a State college or University. It is a ruthless environment and money-making machine. Students are placed into high student aid  debt and most cannot get jobs that pay enough to manage that debt and make a living. 
It is really quite sad to see how students and employees are treated with the only goal desired by the upper management is how much of a profit they can make, It reminds me of  working in a convalescent home that just wants Medicare money and does not care about the patients' health or employee morale. But,  as my mother used to tell me: "The bigger they are, the harder they fall"!

Realistically, if you want to work at Charter based solely on the pay for a limited amount of time it's the right place to work. If you are looking for a long-term and consistent career, however, Charter is not a good fit. There is a lack in job security - in fact, in the last 3 or so years they have done two mass-firings in which they terminated most in office employees. (Ask about this during your interview!) They also don't follow consistent termination processes as seen elsewhere (verbal, written, final, etc...) Instead, they will suddenly give you a goal that you must hit within the work week to avoid termination or terminate without any warning. The coworkers are fantastic but very stressed about losing their jobs as well. Management is also known to belittle and berate employees in public formats as well so if you have social anxiety I would also avoid. Since they are unable to offer financial incentives, they operate by using fear to "motivate." Lastly, management is not taught on how to coach. They do not understand the effective feedback processes nor do they have a uniform understanding of the tactics needed to effectively do the job tasks. The school itself has also faced numerous issues with accreditation in the last 10 years due to non-compliant behavior, including losing a previous accreditation as well as facing the loss of programs/discounts on their latest accreditation review. The tuition offered is not comparable (much higher) to institutions that have higher career placement rates and better learning environments. Overall, I would not recommend working at Charter - I hope that they improve as an employer and begin to operate with more "integrity." 

This company is a mess.   Leadership is only concerned with numbers.   How many enrollments did you get?  Where did you score amonst others with your same or simular jobs?  How many hours did you work?   According to our IT guy, even the IT team has goals they need to meet each quarter, and they don't sell anything!!!!

As for my department, the three leaders in admissions are always changing their minds and then stabbing each other in the backs.   The turn over is crazy.    I worked at another college for 7 years and never felt pressure like I feel here.   Every morning I wake up, listen to up beat music on the way to work and try to get in the right mind frame.   I walk in the door and within ten minutes, someone has ripped that happiness away from me.   Frankly I don't think the managers in the company are happy unless everyone under them and around them are miserable.   

Students pick up on this.   There are constant changes that impact students but most of those are poorly communicated.  We recently had a visit from a group of corporate employees who spent more time complaining about stuff, gossipping and giving us the "We know better than you" speech then helping us.    Frankly I can't figure out why they were on campus for a week.  

Everyday i walk in an wonder "will this be the day they fire me"?  Well it won't.   Mass terminations are hidden under "Reduction In Force" or "Realighments", but they happen all of the time.   For a company with so few postions they always seem to be hiring. 

In conclusion, if you are looking for a place to stop and collect a paycheck for a bit on the way to a real job, come work here, just don't plan on it being long term.    

I love working for Charter College. My co-workers are very competent and friendly. I have a lot of respect for those in charge, and feel that I am respected for my part time role as well.
Over the past 3 years I have witnessed a high level of integrity. When I read through the comments and saw the negative ones, I felt I had to reply and say that I believe those who are so negative are actually reflecting on themselves. The employees who perform their jobs well and produce postive results are the ones who stay. The college is nationally accredited, so the accrediting body does not intersect as well with the regionally accredited schools, but one is completely incorrect to say it is not an accredited college. The college gives an opportunity for people to further their lives and to have a career rather than just a job. I have the pleasure of seeing graduates working in their field and feel complete satisfaction knowing that the majority of students who come to Charter are actually doing what they came to do. There are some who are not successful, but I do not see the fault as being the college's. It has much to do with the work ethic of the individual. One cannot deny a person an education based on a hunch that they might not be successful. It's not for us to determine whether or not someone else is going to rise to the occassion and learn how to be successful. The college does its very best to train students to be professionals in their chosen career paths. If you are a positive, other-centered person considering a job at Charter, please apply and come see for yourself.

Work day started anywhere between 7:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and ended anywhere between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Usual work day was 14 hours. School grew from 200 students (when I arrived) to over 500 students six months later; from 10 teachers (when I arrived) to 30 education employees (when I left) without supervisor allowing me to increase my management staff. High absenteeism among teachers - as I usually ended up covering for them, that again substantially increased my work load. School management was poor - school president was not good at getting her managers to work as a team to manage the school. Corporate management was very poor and not at all supportive of school managers nor open to suggestions from school managers. Education Management staff at the corporate level did not really interface with school managers and anything we got from corporate was poor quality, especially the curriculum. Many of the corporate people were extremely rude to school employees. The hardest part of the job was trying to do your job in a non supportive environment. Many of teaching staff were almost illiterate - their writing was incomprehensible, impossible to understand; and sometimes their oral communications were the same. Most of the school employees were constantly trying to undermine their fellow staff members. It was impossible to try to get them to work as a team. The most enjoyable part of the job was working with the students who wanted to get started in a new career.

In the latter half of this review, I am quoting a previous post because I feel it could not have been better stated from my point of view. I would only change "Manager " to President" during my tenure. The President is a complete "drama Queen" and cannot be trusted whatsoever. She would be a great actress. She clearly operates by favoritism and her own motives to please the CEO of the company to ensure her own job security because she knows they let dedicated employees go at the drop of a hat. You cannot deny this as I have been around for many years and have personally witnessed this over and over.

So, here is a previous post that I totally agreed with word for word except for my manager (after my other supervisors/managers/Dept. heads were let go), seemed really supportive and very nice. She too has since been let go, there's a surprise!

"No matter how good you are or how long you have been there, you could get let go at any time. In addition, there are others that are game players and want someone to go that they eventually create a reason for upper management to make it happen, (Save some money, they didn't fit into their local "cliche", or otherwise)."

There "seems to be too much drama for what otherwise should be a very professional environment in higher education. Lots of favoritism and lack of supporting each department's contributions into a cohesive "whole" so there aren't issues between various departments. After all, we all are working toward the same total outcome/goals."

Run!!! This company does not value its employees. Good, effective employees are not seen as an asset, even though they can do many times the work of inexperienced representatives. Even hard-working, loyal, and long term employees are treated badly. Most employees come and go within one year. If you can hang in there for 3 years you'll be management because no one else will know how to do the job. Unrealistic quotas. I think in the past several years the company only reached their quota as a whole for 2 of the months, so the message is "Not good enough. Do better." no matter how good you or your team are. Some good managers made it to 5-10 years in the past and were fired for knowing too much and having differing opinions. Maybe they had too many loyal employees and it scared the executive team. Good managers who actually know what works are not encouraged to stand up for what's effective. Everyone is scared they'll be fired with no notice. When you give notice in a positive way, two managers will stand by you while you pack your box and escort you out so you don't communicate with other employees. Really two-faced upper management. Brow-beaten middle management who execute orders. I can't say enough about how you can do better and you'll regret ever working for this company if you start. Keep looking or enjoy being a number! There are much better companies out there for your emotional health.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Admission representative 2 salaries reported	$28.85 per hour
Assistant instructor 22 salaries reported	$26.11 per hour
Support specialist 15 salaries reported	$18.14 per hour
Hvac technician 7 salaries reported	$29.93 per hour
Director of career services 50 salaries reported	$21.28 per hour

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