Let’s Talk About Best Practices and Regulations!
Have you seen what’s new in our compliance corner? Each week IntegriShield President, Jennifer Flood, is answering your compliance questions about marketing for lead gen, higher ed, finance and more.
To submit your questions please email Jenn directly or leave a comment below.
Click here to watch more compliance tips from the experts.
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VLOG: Unauthorized Landing Pages – Free Advertising or Conversion Killers?
You could be missing tens of thousands in missed revenue every year.
Unauthorized publishers are taking advantage of your brand and your inquiries. Put a stop to it. Watch the clip below to discover what this “free” advertising is really costing you.
https://integrishield.com/unauthorized-landing-pages-free-advertising-or-conversion-killers/https://integrishield.com/unauthorized-landing-pages-free-advertising-or-conversion-killers/https://integrishield.com/unauthorized-landing-pages-free-advertising-or-conversion-killers/https://integrishield.com/unauthorized-landing-pages-free-advertising-or-conversion-killers/
Vlog: TCPA Ruling
All marketers are familiar with the wide-sweeping TCPA legislation that has been consumer focused regarding unwanted calls and text messages. Now, the FCC wants to close loopholes and has indicated more restrictions are on the horizon.
Are you unsure of the impact this may have on your organization? Watch the short 4 minute clip below as IntegriShield President Jennifer Flood answers the questions we frequently get from marketers and clients.
Behind the Lines: Short Stories of Mystery Shopping Admissions Reps
We often get to come up with great characters to play during mystery shops to admissions representatives. I have done some of the mystery shops myself. I’ve done them for a couple of different reasons. No, it’s not in my job description, but as the President of this company, it’s my responsibility to know how each product works and how each are performed. Yes, I have even used my handyman skills to fix a toilet at the office. In a small company, everyone has to do what it takes to get things done. I have some fun stories of things I have heard while performing mystery shops, and wanted to pass them along for your enjoyment.
Free Money!
I called into a school posing as a local employee of a Walgreens. The rep was very personable and helpful. Of course, we are trained to ask about employment post-graduation and the cost of attending the school in question. This is usually where it gets interesting. This particular gentleman asked again where I worked. I told him I worked at a local Walgreens that was close to the school. His response: “Oh, girl! You could probably go to school here free!” I was excited for my pretend alter ego. We had to immediately report this back to the school and that became his last day. I hope he’s back on his feet with lesson learned!
Let Me Call You Back…
Admissions reps usually know that all of their calls are recorded for quality and auditing purposes. When we pose as potential students, we also record the call on our end to report back to our school clients. On one occasion, an admissions rep was sure she pulled a fast one on the school. I was on the phone with a very nice and helpful person who was truly looking out for my best interests as a person. I told her I was a single mother and might be unable to get transportation to the school for classes. She asked if she could call me back from her cell phone. I obliged. Once we were back on the phone, via her personal cell, she informed me that with the grant money offered by the school, I could buy a new car and get to class every day. With the call recorded on our end, it was a rough day for this otherwise very sweet lady.
Do You Really Want To Go There?
Another way to get a call into an admissions rep is by online lead generation. We fill out forms, and wait for them to call us. It helps us determine the speed of the admission department, the quality of the lead generator and the behavior of call center based operations. I placed my lead information on what seemed to be the school’s landing page and waited. A few minutes passed and I received a call from a call center based rep. She went through the information I provided to make sure it was accurate and then asked what I was interested in. I had filled out a form for a particular school, but once we spoke about my interests, she pointed me to 3 others schools, none of which were the school I originally posed interest in. Yes, she was helpful to me as the person, but did she help me find the best school for me, or was she encouraged to find the school that would pay the highest lead amount? We will never know. https://integrishield.com/behind-the-lines-short-stories-of-mystery-shopping-admissions-reps/ https://integrishield.com/behind-the-lines-short-stories-of-mystery-shopping-admissions-reps/ https://integrishield.com/behind-the-lines-short-stories-of-mystery-shopping-admissions-reps/ https://integrishield.com/behind-the-lines-short-stories-of-mystery-shopping-admissions-reps/The school, however, was notified that potential students were interested in their school and being directed elsewhere.
I hope sharing some of these stories was helpful. We certainly learn something new with every call!
Questions? Contact me at jflood@integrishield.com
Jennifer Flood
President
IntegriShield
Minnesota Increases Scrutiny of For-Profit Colleges
In the past year, for-profit schools in Minnesota have been coming under increased scrutiny. The state’s Office of Higher Education has created a new watchdog which sends out “secret shoppers” to monitor whether schools are misleading or dealing honestly with prospective students. Schools giving misleading information about job-placement rates or how much money graduates could earn in their field are just a couple of examples that would raise concerns with these shoppers.
The new state watchdog has started to compare notes with Minnesota State Attorney General’s Office. This this office can suspend or shut down a school that gives students misleading information, including institutions that a court or government proceeding concludes they have engaged in fraud or misrepresentation.
Monitoring your staff can shield your institution from potential fines and penalties. Some areas to proactively monitor for compliance may include:
- Scripts: Providing scripts for your representatives to follow enables them to touch on key benefits of your institution and direct the conversation toward enrollment.
- Citing Statistics and Job Placement: When a prospect inquires about job placement or expected salaries, statistics provided must be accompanied by an official source such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment can never be promised.
- Financial Aid: Not every student will qualify for financial aid. It is important to provide this clarification and transfer prospective students to a financial aid representative to receive further information.
Get more tips for analyzing and improving the performance of your admission staff, email Shawn Graybill or call 888-547-7110 today.
Fraudulent Advertising: What Nobody Tells You
Your company is liable for what others do on your behalf. When your business hires an advertising agency, you might very well be paying for a third-party marketer too—even if nobody told you.
That’s because many agencies will subcontract with third-party firms to handle Internet advertising, landing pages and the digital side of promoting your company. These marketers can help you obtain a huge number of client leads very quickly. https://integrishield.com/fraudulent-advertising-what-nobody-tells-you/ https://integrishield.com/fraudulent-advertising-what-nobody-tells-you/ https://integrishield.com/fraudulent-advertising-what-nobody-tells-you/ https://integrishield.com/fraudulent-advertising-what-nobody-tells-you/They can position your business in front of literally millions of consumers. In most cases you and the third-party are not responsible to each other because a direct contractual relationship doesn’t exist.
So what happens when this third party marketer misrepresents your brand through fraudulent advertising? Click here to continue reading the full article on demystifying third party marketers and what you can do to protect your business.
Originally Published in: Thinking Bigger Business magazine – July 2015 (Vol.24 Issue 7)
Vlog: The FTC and Updated Rules on Testimonials
Do you use bloggers and social media to promote your company, school or products? The FTC has released new monitoring method requirements.
Watch as our president, Jennifer Flood, explains how that may impact your organization:
Follow IntegriShield on Twitter and LinkedIn for more compliance news.
Is Your School Prepared?
Career Colleges have been called into question by the policy community regarding the quality of data used to estimate the value of student outcome. To restore credibility, ACICS has introduced an improved placement verification and quality assurance process. The largest fundamental change is member institutions will be required to record and maintain placement information and meta-data beyond what is required in the ACICS Campus Accountability Report.
Key ACICS Council Changes to Implement:
- Maintain sufficient supporting data for placement verification. This information must be submitted to ACICS upon request
- On a recurring basis, maintain supporting documentation to provide to an ACICS visit team, state or federal agency; should minimally include the following:
- Placement by Title – the student’s job title, the published list of titles for which the program prepares students, and a list of the skills required by the graduate’s job.
- Placement by Skills – a description of the skills taught in the program and a list of the skills required by graduate’s job.
- Placement by Benefits – Student attestations are required only for students whose placements are based on “the benefit as a catalyst in obtaining or maintaining the position.”
In addition, ACICS has modified the visit team process to be more robust to verify files of graduates who are classified as placed or unavailable for placement. IntegriShield can help your institution manage the new robust files with:
- Written documentation such as Verification of Employment form, Waiver of Placement etc…
- Recorded MP3 audio of all phone calls
- Email correspondence and detailed notes about each graduate
Contact IntegriShield (opens in a new window) for more information on how we can help with these new changes. Call us at 888-547-7110 or send us an e-mail at sales@integrishield.com.
Big Data Talks at APSCU
Professionals in the education industry gathered earlier this June for the annual APSCU Convention. Hopefully you were in attendance and took advantage of the unique opportunity to collaborate with the sector’s leaders and executives. Whether you attended our breakout session or received a free compliance audit at our booth, we thank you for taking time to meet with the compliance experts at IntegriShield.
Did you catch our posts on social media about the golf ball cannon? We had the privilege of sponsoring a hole in the pre-conference golf tournament, hosted by the Imagine America Foundation (IAF). We are thrilled to announce our efforts helped to raise over $3k in student scholarship funds for IAF.
During the conference, a dialogue was ignited within our session on “A New Look at Big Data in EDU.” Presenting with Pinnacle Career Institute, we talked to a packed room about new technology that can make us better and faster with our operations in the classroom and from an administrative perspective. Attendees also learned how schools are becoming equipped to better track hundreds of graduates from enrollment through employment verification.
As a vendor we are constantly developing new products for schools to better serve students. What can you do to defend the EDU industry and advocate for the sector? Don’t wait until the 2016 conference to start these discussions. Message usand we’ll share new ideas to overcome challenges and help you understand what your institution’s growing role is in compliance and education. You can also request a free electronic copy of our APSCU presentation slides.
We look forward to speaking with you again soon!
Industry Insight: New Placement Verification Research
If you have difficulty connecting with graduates for placement verification, you’re not alone. From a recent poll we hosted of a sample of proprietary schools, we found that most institutions spend a significant amount of time in contact attempts to graduates.
Often, graduates may have changed their primary form of contact. When accreditation and Title IV funding hang in the balance, not having the correct information is frustrating.
Poll Results
- 62% of our sample said that it was difficult to verify employment for graduates 15-25% of the time.
- 32% said that it was difficult to verify employment for graduates 25-50% of the time.
- 3% said that it was difficult to verify employment for graduates greater than 50% of the time.
- 3% said that it was difficult to verify employment for graduates 0-15% of the time.
Next Steps
If verifying employment for graduates in a timely manner is an area of concern, download your Verification Playbook to gain insight on how to improve contact rates and increase accuracy.