instructor

hvac technician

faculty

admission representative

admissions advisor

Fortis College

What is the best part of working at the company?

I appreciate working at Fortis College Richmond Virginia . The leadership, especially our campus president, is supportive and genuinely cares about our team and students. It’s great to be part of a place focused on quality nursing education and professional growth. I’m proud to contribute to our campus and organization mission .

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
One of the most stressful aspects of working at Fortis College can be managing the demands of a fast-paced educational environment. Balancing administrative responsibilities with student needs and expectations can be challenging, especially during peak enrollment periods or when addressing student concerns. Additionally, navigating compliance with regulations and accreditation standards can add to the workload and stress. However, having a supportive leadership team can help mitigate some of these pressures.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment at Fortis College is typically collaborative and supportive. There’s a strong focus on teamwork, with colleagues often working together to ensure student success. The culture emphasizes professionalism and dedication to education, particularly within the nursing programs.

Leadership is generally approachable and values open communication, which fosters a sense of trust and community among staff. There’s also an emphasis on continuous improvement and professional development, encouraging employees to grow in their roles. Overall, it’s a mission-driven environment where everyone is invested in making a positive impact on students’ lives.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?


As the Director of Admissions at Fortis College, a typical day involves:

Morning:
Team meeting to set daily goals and discuss challenges.
Review new applications for completeness.

Midday:
Reach out to prospective students via calls and emails.
Collaborate with financial aid and academic departments.

Afternoon:
Monitor team performance and provide support.
Conduct training sessions for advisors.

End of Day:
Analyze admissions metrics and prepare reports.
Quick check-in with the team to review the day.

You’ll balance team management, student interactions, and administrative tasks throughout the day.

Never knew what to expect when I got to work....always something negative, could never do anything right. I learned a lot about adversity in the workplace and how it can really sour your attitude. I came in with the experience to do the job without much training needed to do on their part, which they liked. After learning the ropes and how they did things, I noticed things that wasn't quite right, and yes I took it to their attention, and boy why did I do that. I was bringing what they already knew to the attention of the ones who were responsible for doing it. That's when everything took a turn for the worse for me. There were quite a few problems, but the main problem that tugged at me was taking advantage of individuals who they knew could not meet the requirements for completing the courses, and enrolling others in courses they clearly didn't want to meet your weekly enrollment quota for profit is just wrong, and I REFUSED to work under those conditions. Some co-workers were a joy to work with, and most were scared to talk, to just say "Hi". Going to the dentist to have a tooth pulled was much easier to do. The way most of them acted, you would think it was against company rules to socialize with one another. No matter how hard I worked, going the extra mile to complete a project and staying over to get the job done was even disparaged. Hardest part of the job was keeping an upbeat attitude. I moved to Houston to help care for my mother who was fighting cancer at the time (they knew this, now deceased Aug-2012). Generally I am a happy, delightful, always smiling person, but this company nearly took that away from me. Most enjoyable part of the job was going home to have a glass of wine to unwind and spending time talking and laughing with my mother. Took all this to the attention of the Branch President (which I found out in the process of reporting was part of the problem) and to the President of Fortis (who did not respond). The best thing I could do to keep my sanity, was leave, because I was definitely losing it.

Instructors are hired from other institutions with the promise of a substantial full-time salary and benefits. After giving up their former positions and teaching a heavy schedule of daytime and night courses,  the faculty members are reduced to part-time status on the grounds that there are not enough courses to teach. Other instructors are hired in a similar fashion, and eventually the older instructors are told that there are no courses available for them and are simply let go and all courses are taken over by the newer faculty members. This process is punctuated by frequent resignations and periodic dismissals of faculty. Students, many of whom are unable to get into other schools, pay tuitions that are ten times that of not-for-profit institutions, and take on enormous debt to do this, for which they are responsible when they drop out or are dropped by the school for non-payment of tuition. Laboratory courses in the health professions have no laboratory facilities or equipment. The institution is not regionally accredited but is accredited by a national organization that credentials for-profit schools, and a number of programs are on probation.  Successful career placements are rare and are announced to staff and faculty, and local health care facilities reportedly maintain the policy of not hiring the graduates of this school. Once in the school students are stuck, as credits cannot be transferred elsewhere. Faculty work night and day but receive no raises or bonuses, there is no vacation and those who give up other positions find after conversion to part-time status that they have no benefits either. It is no surprise that there is almost no interaction between the administrators and the faculty, and that the president of the institution is almost never present on the campus.

I enjoyed the challenges related to curricular and clinical learning of students. As the clinical coordinator, I planned the clinical assignments of students and faculty ahead of time to prevent issues during the day, but there were the usual issues of students being late and faculty sending them home for the day. The huge learning I had was to make the rules of clinical as clear as possible and allow for thorough orientation prior to beginning clinical rotations. I love working with the faculty, more than any other school because they cared a lot about the students' success and were willing to extend themselves to help them along. 
The hardest part of my job is realizing that sometimes, the upper management does not understand the goal of the program in detail and thus undermine the strategies of the department. It is very frustrating when they do not support your efforts all the way due to this lack of understanding. The other most frustrating is lack of salary increase for more than one year. The most enjoyable part of my job was teaching students in classroom or clinical. I enjoy "finding the student" when I am able to figure out what his/her difficulty is and able to find a solution for it. I truly believe in helping each student as each is unique in their ways of learning. Love it when student evidence an "aha' moment! Lastly, the most enjoyable of all was working with faculty who were inspired and creative to do their best for their students.

When I was hired as program director the department was in bad shape. The prior PD quit as well as the instructors. Only 1 out of 6 students passed the state boards. The classrooms were a mess and every student was about to walk. The state board passing rate was at 0%. The program had the worst reputation of most of the surrounding schools. The students called it “Ghetto” on a regular basis. I explained to the DOE that it would take at least a year to completely turn this program around. 8 months later passing rate was at 50%, better than 0. We were getting there. But then they hired a new president. 3 months later I was the bad guy. He and the DOE pulled me in for a last minute meeting where I was blindsided and reprimanded for the poor job I was doing. Wanted to know why it was taking so long to turn the program around, and that my punishment was to be taken down to 20 hours a week. It was a joke, completely blindsided me. When I explained that I wasn’t sure if I could make my finances work on 20 hours he informed me that I was “giving notice”. I said I did not give notice and that he was putting words in my mouth, and he became slightly belligerent, and then pulled back. It had become very clear that his intent was to bully me and create a hostile work environment in which it would be impossible for me to do my job effectively to which I would be blamed for and fired down the road. 
This is now the culture of the school. It’s sad, I loved my job and felt like I was making a difference, but I won’t work for someone who thinks they can control through intimidation. 
I don’t recommend anyone working for this school. 

I learned a lot working at Fortis.  I learned that it is the worst job I could ever imagine and I usually excel in sales.  The management is fake, greedy and self-serving and they did not attempt to hide this once I signed my offer.  Rude behavior, intrusive micromanaging, conflicting messages, and highly disorganized processes, as well as tricking and manipulating students to enroll is the norm.  You may receive the pay you are looking for but in my experience, it is not worth it.  It is a reflection of the fact that they are desperate to get someone to fill the slot of Admissions Representative in order to drive their enrollment numbers, but they will mistreat you severely in the process.  Additionally, management is never satisfied and if you become successful, they will only want more.  They make no attempt to do anything genuinely motivating or positive with the reps, nor do they provide additional training when reps are struggling.  In fact, they offer incomplete training in the first place and leave out entire programs that are offered at the school.  Therefore, it becomes almost impossible to assist students meaningfully and to reach the numbers they desire in terms of sales.  The people who have been there the longest and are very successful Senior Admissions Representatives are extremely unhappy, never cease to complain about how miserable they are, and sometimes even take it out on the newer reps.

My typical day at work consisted of making about 75-100 phone calls.I interviewed prospective students and assisted them in enrolling in one of our programs. I gave tours and showed them
the classroom environment and had them speak to instructors.
I made sure that they were solid students who were ready to enroll
in school and make a commitment to graduate. I spoke to their parents and asked them to stop by with their sons and daughters 
in order to make a decision and to show them the campus. I walked
them over to financial aid to get their overviews. I called them after
they left to see if they had any additional questions and also spoke
to them before they left the campus.  

I had meetings with our Director of Admissions either in a group setting or as an individual to discuss ways to improve our jobs.
I always tried to communicate to the director any suggestions that
I had or that others suggested to me to improve the quality of our
jobs and to help others.

I loved working with my co-workers and got along very well with
them. I learned techniques from them. I went on job fairs to 
try to bring in leads with a couple of them on different occasions and \
enjoyed working with them.

The most enjoyable part of my job was meeting with one of my
students that returned to give us the good news that she or he got 
hired.  I enjoyed going to the classrooms and seeing the students
when they were so happy that they chose the right program.

This position should be regarded as a job rather than a career, as the company does not prioritize individual personal advancement. Unless one strategically plans their professional objectives at each stage, opportunities for promotions and salary increases may be limited. The organization often fails to recognize the true value of its employees, focusing primarily on numerical data. There are numerous indicators of potential issues within the company culture, and the value placed on educational qualifications is notably lacking. Therefore, it is advisable to devise an exit strategy and not to become complacent like others. It is essential to remain within the organization only for the necessary duration and to plan for an exit as soon as feasible.

Pros:
- The opportunity to positively impact students' lives while engaging with exceptional individuals on a daily basis.
- The educational department and career services demonstrate a genuine commitment to supporting their students.
- The admissions team also prioritizes the needs and well-being of their students.

Cons:
- Compensation is below industry standards.
- There is a perceived lack of appreciation for the value of education.
- The payment schedule is bi-monthly, which may pose financial challenges.
- The current policies and practices do not align with the realities faced by students, nor do they reflect the regional context of the Admissions and Financial Divisions, Campus President.

I was hired as the Director of Admissions for the Norfolk Virginia Campus in March 2013.

 Before I was hired I found  this school had been without a DOA for more than 6 months. The four reps working in admissions had not made a solid budget in over a year, they made a reduce budget in April 2013 but not the actual budget.

I knew I had a challenge ahead because the admission reps were allowed to keep their position and not produce. The reason: Fortis could not afford to hire new reps was because of the low salary they were paying. The current reps were allow to fail again and again without any repercussions.

Every time I had a performance meeting with any of the reps they would tell the School Director. The School Director would get in my case and tell me the reps were complaining about me for asking them and directing them to do their job.

This went on for about 10 weeks, the company decide to let me go because they said and I quote "it was not a good fit". It will never be a good fit until someone realize after going thru three DOA's in a year, that it is not  a DOA's  issue, but the quality of reps they hired and refuse to let go, due to financial issues concerning hiring better qualified reps. I was there only 10 weeks.

The Fortis College in Norfolk is in Dire straits, financially and is blaming managers and not themselves for their current situation.

A typical day at Fortis College included an atmosphere of professionalism and friendliness of the staff and students. 
I have learned that there are people who come to work willing to serve in their capacity and students who have a strong desire to learn their field of study.

Management is on top of their role fulfilling the institution's objectives in providing the highest in quality education and training. They were always willing to help assist and answer questions which arose. That was a perfect way to send the message; "Your Life Powered by Learning"

My co-workers are the best. The person who is Director of the department was also my professor at another college. We have become good friends. The experience has been like show and tell. Now I am in the showing and telling position.

The only hard part of the job is fighting the stressful traffic getting to the college. Once on the grounds everything was down hill and fun.

The most enjoyable part of teaching is interaction with some of the students who are already working in the field of computer maintenance and repair. They tend to be more advanced in computer knowledge and bring to the class a plethora of information that amazes me.

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