Q&A with Rick Yaconis, Chief Operating Officer
The following conversation focuses on how students can take full advantage of the support from the Westwood College Success Teams.
Westwood’s Success Teams are pretty unique, aren’t they?
Who is on the Success Team?
Do students meet their Success Team right away?
What about after the enrollment process and the start of their time at school?
What are some specific ways that the Success Team can help a student?
When students run into problems and need help, is it common for them to be reluctant to ask for help?
What about the Education and Student Services members of the Success Team?
And Career Services?
Westwood’s Success Teams are pretty unique, aren’t they?
Rick: It’s one of the things that makes Westwood College special, and I think it has a big positive impact on our students. I do believe it is unique, but the idea didn’t originate from a desire to do something different. It is an outgrowth of the people and the culture that we have at the College.
One of the strengths of Westwood is that the staff genuinely wants to get to know students and have a personal connection with them individually. They feel personally invested in the success of each student, and there is a long history of the staff at Westwood going above and beyond to help students. The Success Teams simply channel that energy and commitment into a College-wide initiative that teams up every student with a group of five people that provide support before, during and after a student’s career at Westwood.
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Who is on the Success Team?
Rick: A representative of the Admissions Office is on each Success Team to help students early on with the process of enrolling and making a successful first step toward their degree. Taking that first step is often a nerve-wracking process, and our admissions staff works hard to help students understand the process, make informed decisions, settle their nerves, and most importantly, start to feel at home as quickly as possible.
The Success Team also includes members of the Student Finance office, Student Services, the Education Department, and the Career Services Department. Additional people such as the Campus President and the Program Chair serve as an extension of the Success Team and play equally important roles in supporting students. All of these people work together to help each student at Westwood to make the successful transition from to student to graduate.
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Do students meet their Success Team right away?
Rick: We arrange face-to-face meetings with the Success Teams for each student during his or her very first tour, making it possible for the student to meet as many members of the Success Team as possible the first time they step on campus. Because many Westwood students are the first in their family to attend college or have overcome many challenges to enroll in school in the first place, going to the campus for the first time can be emotional and a potentially scary and lonely moment.
Introducing students to as many members of their Success Team as possible reinforces that they are not alone and that they have a big group of people rooting for them who will help them every step of the way. When we ask graduates to reflect on their time at Westwood, it means a lot to me that so many specifically mention Success Teams and the support they provided.
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What about after the enrollment process and the start of their time at school?
Rick: In many ways, the first few months at school are the most critical for students, and the Success Team can play a big role during that time. Those first months and the first year are important because that is when a student is learning how to balance schoolwork with the other responsibilities in their life, whether they include a job, kids or other things outside of school. The Success Team can offer strategies for creating that balance and getting into a rhythm with schoolwork that lets students build positive momentum.
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What are some specific ways that the Success Team can help a student?
Rick: We’ve talked about the role of the Admissions representative on the Success Team, particularly when a student is getting started at Westwood. Alongside Admissions, the Student Finance member of the Success Team can help with everything ranging from applying for financial aid* to providing guidance about how to improve a student’s credit score. One of the most important ways they help students after enrollment, though, is adjusting the student’s finance strategy as circumstances change during their time at Westwood. They simplify that process in a way that is intended to remove the stress and confusion for students.
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When students run into problems and need help, is it common for them to be reluctant to ask for help?
Rick: It’s human nature to want to try to solve something yourself, plus our students are so busy with school- and non-school-related responsibilities that it can feel like there’s no time to even ask for help, whether the problems are academic, financial or personal. It’s important for every student to understand that they are not alone and they have help. Success Teams provide a central resource for the help that is available to students and I strongly encourage students to have an open line of communication with them.
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What about the Education and Student Services members of the Success Team?
Rick: The Success Team member from the Education department helps students create a clear path to completion of the degree program, helping students understand which courses to take and how to maintain momentum toward graduation. This member of the Success Team works closely with the Program Chair to help students get answers to any academic questions they have and help them to deal with any academic challenges they face.
The Student Services representative on each student’s Success Team has a mission that spans from the day the student first enrolls to the day he or she graduates to help successfully steer the student through his/her degree program, eliminating any obstacles that pop up along the way. Sometimes that involves personal coaching, sometimes it involves assistance with obtaining childcare, sometimes it’s just identifying the right member of the Westwood team to work with on a given issue. A good rule of thumb for students is: When in doubt, ask Student Services. They know the school inside out and they have lots of tools and solutions for solving problems that students encounter.
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And Career Services?
Rick: Yes, last but not least is the Career Services member of the Success Team. The Career Services person can start helping students prepare for their careers well before graduation with assistance such as internships and externships, networking with employers who have close relationships with Westwood, and more. They can provide students with access to databases and other resources with a wealth of information about career options, and they also help students prepare their resume and portfolio to prepare for job interviews. They provide so much more than job search assistance, and one of the smartest things that Westwood students can do is to build a relationship early on with the Career Services member of their Success Team and take advantage of all the help they can provide.
Success Teams are dedicated to not just helping students get started with school, but helping them finish school, earn their degree and get the job they are aspiring to. The key is for students to talk to their Success Teams, be open about what’s going well and what’s not going well, and take advantage of the help they can offer early on in their career at Westwood.
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* Financial aid available to those who qualify.