College for Working Adults

This season, Harrison College has teamed up with the Indianapolis Colts to support Indy Reads, with the introduction of the Tackling Adult Illiteracy campaign. In honor of its dedication to education in Indiana, we have pledged to donate $26 to Indy Reads for every tackle #26, Kelvin Hayden, Colts Defensive Back, makes at Lucas Oil Stadium or away.

“I’m proud to be a part of a great challenge that benefits such a worthy cause. I’ll be making tackles that will make a difference in someone’s life, which is great motivation for this season,” says Kelvin.

Indy Reads, a Central Indiana nonprofit, is dedicated to assisting the more than 100,000 adults in Marion County who are not functionally literate. The non-profit has been working to “make Indianapolis 100% literate” since 1984, tutoring almost 1,000 adults in 2009. For every $1 donated to Indy Reads, an estimated $33 is returned to the community through increased wages and savings.

“On behalf of all our students and volunteer tutors, Indy Reads is so thankful to be a part of this great new partnership with Harrison College and the Colts. It is a real honor to be tackling adult illiteracy with these great supporters of our community, and Kelvin Hayden too! We believe that one of the most effective ways of making Central Indiana a better place to live is to improve the literacy rates of everyone who lives here. Not being able to read and write makes it hard to keep a good job, compromises one’s health care and safety, and is a significant barrier to being a good parent. Being able to raise money and awareness with this great partnership will have an immediate impact. We’ve got over 40 adult students on our waiting list right now who want to learn to read and take control of their lives. Colts fans can really make a difference!” Travis DiNicola, Executive Director of Indy Reads. (Watch a video about Indy Reads)

“Since Harrison was established more than 100 years ago, we have been dedicated to providing relevant education programs in the communities we serve,” said Jason Konesco, Harrison College President.  “Partnering with Indy Reads, the Colts and Kelvin is a natural extension of Harrison’s core mission and values. We encourage our community to join the Tackling Adult Illiteracy team with Harrison College.” 

Learn more at www.harrison.edu/colts.

It's a safe guess that you want to have a happy, successful future. You probably have figured that the basis for that future is a successful career in a field you will enjoy. You've also realized that success doesn't just happen. It's the result of a plan, carefully designed and followed. You're headed in the right direction as education is a vital element in finding success in a career.

Each of us must be self-reliant: that means that we must seize control of our own destinies.  Consider your interests. What holds your interest today and what can you see yourself doing tomorrow? That's what you'll enjoy studying. If you're going to spend time, money and energy on an education, you want to be sure it’s one you’ll enjoy.

If you are interested in the opportunity of being your own success story, your plans for the future should include Harrison College.  Harrison College offers the ease and flexibility of getting your education on your time – offering day, night, and online classes – giving you time for family and work while still having the opportunity to gain the skills you need to get the career you want.

The adult education programs of study at the Evansville College include Health Care Management, Medical Assistant, Medical Office Assistant, Medical Reimbursement Technology, Criminal Justice, Accounting, Accounting Assistant, Business Management, Business Marketing, Business Finance, Human Resources, Office Assistant, and Administrative Professional.

So what are you waiting for? Start your own success story today!

A lot of people either don't know how or have forgotten how to write a letter.  Knowing how to write letters is important, even today with texting, cellphones, and email.  How a person writes says a lot about that person.

A good letter should have an opening that is interesting to the reader and a statement of what the letter is about.   The body of the letter justifies the topic of the letter.  This is followed by a conclusion which restates the point of the letter - and may contain a call to action on the part of the recipient.

Why is all of that important?  For starters, the ability to write well can give a person some measure of job security.  I have had several jobs where part of my duties was to write the letters the boss wanted written because he knew I was a better writer than he was.  This made me even more important than my job title might have indicated.  My job description did not include this chore, but it was one I accepted because it made my job more secure.

Anthony Balderrama of CareerBuilder.com says, "Between e-mails, texts and Tweets, our society spends a lot of time communicating via the written word. We spend more time writing in our professional and personal lives than we probably imagined we would back in school. What you may not realize is that these written exchanges can boost your career or hinder it, depending on how you treat them"  (The Importance of Good Writing). 

Often the choice to hire two equally qualified people is difficult.  Most human resource people then choose the better writer.  Communication problems plague the business world and businesses want better communicators... especially now that so much business is conducted online.  A solid writer creates clearer, more successful websites, writes better, more effective emails, and sends out stronger, more impactful memos.

A good reason to engage in an adult education program at an Indiana career college such as Harrison College is to learn how to improve your writing and gain the ability to represent yourself well on paper, giving the reader a sense of your professionalism.  Assignments in many of the courses are designed to improve your writing skill just as much as they are intended to help you learn the topic.

Are you looking for a college for working adults with flexible class schedules?  Visit the Harrison College website today and become an adult learner!
 

Most students take notes during lectures and some take notes while doing their reading; however, few students take good, quality, useful notes.  Having good lecture/reading notes can make a considerable difference in your learning.

First, a comment on highlighting.  I have been teaching for a bit more than nine years now.  Most students who use a highlighter still do not take good notes - and they highlight more than they need.  Indeed, some end up highlighting entire chapters or close to it (having more material highlighted than not).  This defeats the purpose of highlighting as a note-taking method.

Here are some tips on good note-taking.

1.  Don't try to write everything down.  Most of the stuff the instructor says is by way of explanation and clarification - or just down-right repetitious.  Just write down the main points and omit the descriptions and full explanations (you can look that stuff up in the book later).  Also, don't write down material or concepts you already know!  If you already know it, don't spend time with it.  Write down new stuff.  You don't need to write down what the instructor/book says verbatim (word-for-word).  Just get the ideas down in your own words.
                    A.  Write down dates of events you don't already know.
                    B.  Write down the names of people associated with the topics
                    C.  Write down any theories discussed - these almost always are on tests and are main points.
                     D.  Pro and Con lists need to be written down.
                     E.  Anything the instructor writes on the board should be written down in your notes, unless you already know it.  Even the names of related movies or books; these can be useful when looking for sources for papers or projects.
                     F. Write down your questions and the gist of other students' questions & comments.

2.  Use short sentences or key words.  When the instructor gets sidetracked (and if I am your instructor, it happens frequently), use that time to flesh out material you've already written down.

3. Take notes in an outline format, with indentations to show relationships of sub-ideas with main ideas.

4. Don't worry about missing a point.  You can usually pick that up later (instructors often repeat themselves, or summarize main points at the end of the class session), get it out of the book, or even figure it out with some common sense.  If you know you missed a point, just leave space to fill it in later.

5.  Don't take notes on strange, oddly shaped scraps of paper.  Keep a notebook just for notes, that are uniform in size.  Indeed use a consistent style for taking notes.  Many people like the Cornell system, which can be done easily on regular notebook paper.

6.  Use group notes.  Get a group of like-minded students and take turns taking notes.  When it is not your day to take the notes, be a good listener, so when the group goes over the notes (see point 8), you can add to anything the note-taker missed.  This way you can spend more time participating in class, and less time taking notes.

7. Attend class!  Even another student's notes are not helpful if you were not there. 

8.  When you are done taking notes, go back over them and rewrite them in complete sentences and look up in the text any missing words or concepts.  Budget time to do this, just as you budget time to attend class and do homework.  Type the notes if you can, and always do this step while the lecture is still fresh in your mind.

A final tip:  Use a different color pen than blue or black.  Strange, but often true - you will remember more if you write it in an odd color.

• What do you see ahead for your company in the next five years?  How do you see the future for this industry?
• What can you tell me about your new product or plans for growth or plans to compete stronger than your competitors?
• What is your competition like?  How would you rate them?  What strengths do you have over them?
• What successes has the company had in the past year or two?
• What challenges face the company in the coming years/months? 
• How would you describe the company's culture?

• How does this department fit into the overall company structure and mission?
• What improvements would you like to see in the department?
• What have been the department's successes in the last couple of years?
• What are the typical career paths in this department?

Of course, you can also ask about the position you are interviewing for.
 

• Could you describe a typical day or week in this position?
• Could you describe the typical customer I would be dealing with?
• What are the performance expectations of this position over the first year?
• What are the most important aspects of this job?
• What are the most immediate challenges of the position that need to be addressed?
• What are the skills and attributes valued most for this position?
• Where have successful employees previously in this position progressed to within the company?

Asking questions strengthens the interview.  Also, don't forget to ask, "What are the next steps in the interview process?"

Are you looking for a college for working adults with flexible class schedules?  Visit the Harrison College website today and become an adult learner!