Columbus Indiana Colleges

A recent op-ed piece appearing in IBJ.com highlights the importance of boosting education in this country to positively impact companies and the economy.  The author of the article, Jamie Merisotis, mentions that Indiana is far below the national 2025 goal of 60% of citizens holding a quality college degree.  Harrison College shares the opinions of Mr. Merisotis' article and continually works towards graduating students with viable degrees to positively impact local, regional and national companies in a wide variety of fields.

Harrison College is based out of Indianapolis, IN and has 13 campus within the state as well as one campus in Columbus, Ohio.  Harrison College campus locations beyond the Indianapolis area include Anderson, Columbus, Elkhart, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Lafayette, Marion, Muncie and Terre Haute.  In addition to onground locations, Harrison College has an online division that serves students in over 20 programs, including Business Finance, Medical Assistant, Accounting, Criminal Justice, Information Technology and Health Care Management, to name a few.

As the economy becomes more globalized, it is vital that individuals in this country have meaningful college degrees in order to compete in the ever-changing marketplace.  For a complete listing of programs offered by Harrison College, please visit the following link.

Did you know that Harrison College campuses utilize local advisory boards? It’s true, as career specific educators we find it very helpful to call upon local professionals so that we can keep our fingers on the pulse of local employment needs and opportunities as they relate to our students and graduates.

The Harrison College Columbus Indiana college campus recently held our semiannual advisory board meeting to discuss various programs. We asked advisory board members for suggestions for other adult education programs that they felt would be valuable in Columbus and surrounding communities. A couple of suggestions were degree programs in logistics and information technology. Information technology security degrees were also a very hot topic as the world and businesses become more and more technology based every day.

Other topics discussed were current curriculum and ways to measure student learning outcomes in all degree programs.

Working with local professionals gives Harrison College an edge when it comes to offering relevant degrees for local students wishing to remain in the area after graduation. The input of the following advisers was invaluable.

Pet Burgmeier, CEO, Insulation Marketing
Janene Stotts, President, Engineering Resource Division, LHP Software
Melinda Burton, Business Secretary, Columbus City Utilities
Denise Wirrig, Reference Librarian, Bartholomew County Public Library
Don Taylor, Owner, DR Taylor and Associates
Sam Aulick, Sales Manager, Lemley’s Catering
Lu Backensto, HR Director, Furecia
Joy Crandol, Practice Manager, Wellspring Pain Solutions

If you would like to be a part of a Harrison College Advisory Board, contact the Harrison College nearest you.

If you would like more information about the current degree offerings and campus locations, check us out online.

Harrison College currently offers the following degrees through the Harrison College School of Information Technology at the Indianapolis Northwest campus:  Help Desk Technician certificate program, Network Administration- A.A.S., and Information Technology  B.S.
 

When I first started looking for a college, I remember talking to a rep from a different school on the phone and the approach they took to trying to enroll me seemed more of a hassle than helpful. Then I got a call from Matt King, an admissions representative at Harrison College. Right away I was excited and eager to come to Harrison (then Indiana Business College) and find out what it was all about. As soon as I walked through the door I felt at ease and at home. The whole enrollment process was not frustrating at all. At the time, I did not realize Harrison was a private school and that tuition was more than other community colleges in the area, but even after comparing costs, I saw the value of being in a college that supported my goals and provided service directly to me. Everyone at Harrison made me feel welcome and relaxed my first few visits. This is something that is very hard to find now-a-days.
 
Now a graduate of Harrison College, I can give plenty of reasons why I chose this school over any other. Here are just a few:

• The communication between staff, instructors, and students is awesome, and that interaction is a big added value to me personally.
• They teach you how to network, work in teams, and overcome anything that comes your way.
• All of the instructors and staff are willing to help (or point you in the right direction) if you are struggling with a class.
• If you have a problem they listen, much like a friend would, and truly care about each and every student as a person.

Harrison is my other family! My time at Harrison has broken me out of my shell; I am no longer shy and intimidated. I love Harrison so much that I am staying to pursue my third degree in Business and even plan to go on to earn my Masters degree someday.
 
Harrison College has helped me become the person I was always meant to be.


Rebeca Pebley is an active member in the Harrison College Student Government Association at the Columbus Indiana college campus and an active supporter of the college and the community.

When was the last time you sat down and wrote a letter to someone? Does anyone have an old-fashioned pen pal these days? What about with our kids? Do we stand over them like our parents did, making them write thank you notes for gifts received?

While these practices seem like a thing of the past, one very important step in the job search that should not be ignored is writing a thank you note after an interview.

According to a number of studies, less than 10% of job seekers take the time to send a thank you note, even though employers expect that applicants take the time to do so.

When hiring managers were asked "How important is it for a job candidate to send a thank you note after the interview?" The result was as follows: 29% said it's extremely important, 41% said it's somewhat important and 20% said it is not important at all.

Now, I would say that in our area, with employers whom I work, those percentages are even higher. The biggest reason being, they have come to expect thank you notes from Harrison College graduates. Consistently, employers, HR managers, practice manager, and many others, tell me that our grads are among the few applicants who take the time to send a thank you note after an interview. This warms my heart as a Career Services professional and an educator!

The biggest question I am asked is: “What do I write?”

Here is one great example that would easily fit on any thank you card:

Dear Mrs. Miller:

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me about the Medical Assistant position with Columbus Medical.

This position seems like a very good match for my skills and competencies. I was impressed with your practice’s energy and overall positive attitude. I would definitely enjoy being a part of that, and know I could contribute to the group.

I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Katie Jones

“Sending a thank you note demonstrates that you are good with people. You employ the most basic of people skills---a show of gratitude”             - Author Unknown
 

Melissa Barnett is the Director of Career Services at the Harrison College Columbus Indiana college campus. For over three years, Melissa has worked with adult education students and graduates pursuing careers in Medical Assistant, Business Management, Accounting, and Medical Reimbursement Technology. Having a career services professional on staff to provide exceptional service to both student and past graduates sets Harrison College apart.

If you are interested in a learning more about Harrison College and the career services provided to graduates for their lifetime, contact us now.
 

Did you know that around 4.6 million people in the United States have learning disabilities? If you have been diagnosed with a learning disability, take note of people like Tom Cruise, Thomas Edison, Beethoven, John F. Kennedy and Agatha Christie—they each overcame some form of learning disability and achieved success.

Examples of common learning disabilities are Dyslexia—a reading disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)— an inability to stay still or focused for prolonged periods of time, and Dysphasia—a writing disability.

According to the National Longitudinal Transition Study, only 13% of the millions with learning disorders go to college. After all, to a person that had to struggle with classes in high school, college probably seems scary. But being successful in college and making good grades is definitely an option! It might take a little more dedication and you may have to work a little harder, but it will be well worth it!

There are a few things that a student with a learning disorder can do to increase your chance of being successful.
• Use the services your college provides for you. Upon proper documentation, colleges like Harrison College can provide accommodations for students with learning disorders.  Such as:

o The use of tape recorders for note taking
o Extended time for taking tests
o Free tutoring
o Test taking in an environment with few distractions

• Show up to class. Attendance is very important. If you attend every class on time, it will be hard to fall behind.

• Stay organized. Keep a calendar with your schedule, due dates for homework and project deadlines. Do your homework in a timely manner and do not procrastinate. This way, if there are issues, you have time to complete your assignment or to get help. The more organized you are, the more focused you will be.

• Join a study group or have a study buddy. This will keep you on track and you have someone to compare notes with and ask questions.

• Communication is key to success. Let your teachers know that you may need some extra help. Don’t wait until you are failing to reach out for help.

The important thing to remember is just because you have a different style of learning doesn’t mean you can’t be successful in class. Most colleges, like Harrison College, are willing to work with you, if you let them know your situation and provide proper documentation. Don’t suffer in silence. Take advantage of every opportunity you are given. Everyone has obstacles. You just have to jump over them and keep going!

Jackie Griffith is a graduate of the Harrison College Columbus Indiana college campus. While a student in an adult education program, Jackie realized that she wanted to be part of the admissions process and now assists others seeking education for career advancement and skills training in reaching their goal.

Click here to see what Harrison College has to offer you.
 

In a recent survey of my Columbus Indiana College classes last quarter, I discovered few of my adult learners were readers.  In one class of 12, only one student had read a book in the past year ("Twilight" was the book).  This is a real shame.

What is the value in reading books?  According to Damian Sofsian, helps in mental development - which helps in learning.  Reading also develops vocabulary and spelling skills, both of which are important in an educational setting and adds to a person's conversational skills as well, making them sound more informed.  Further, reading for fun enhances knowledge on a fairly consistent basis.  As Sir Richard Steele commented, "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body."

Brad Isaac also wrote a great article on the advantages of reading when he discovered 25% of adults read no books in a year.  He gives 26 notable advantages of readers - including that readers tend to make more money and experience more career advancement than non-readers.

Chukwuma Asala writes in his article that one of the best ways to forge leadership skills is to read a lot.  Chukwuma Asala claims reading enhances our self-image as well.  Our Campus President required all the staff and faculty at the Columbus campus read a book last year.  Excellent! Students need to be doing this as well.

One of the trends I see in my classrooms are students who are not strong readers who cannot understand the textbooks or the problems in the textbooks.  Picking up and reading a good book more often helps address this problem.  The more a person reads, the better reader the person becomes.  Reading also increases a person's attention span.

I have noticed, by watching students and co-workers post on FaceBook, that a lot of people have trouble sleeping.  Did you know that if you watch TV or sit on FaceBook before going to bed, you will have trouble sleeping, but if you read a book before going to bed, you will sleep better and easier?

I read 46 books last year.  I have been a heavy reader since I learned how to read.  I consistently score high in reading comprehension tests.  If you have time to watch TV or space out in front of FaceBook, you have time to read.  Read a little before going to bed.  You'll sleep better and grow your intelligence.

After I conducted my surveys mentioned in the first paragraph, I told the results to the night Communications instructor.  She promptly added a book report to her lesson plans.  I think the reader of the blog can see the value in her doing that.  More schools should be requiring the reading of books... and more students should find time to read more books on their own.

Even if the instructors do not make you read, make reading part of your own adult education program.  To enroll at Harrison College, either in as a traditional face-to-face college... or as a distance learning college.

Are you looking for a way to fund your college education? If so, consider researching things like Indiana scholarships and private scholarships. If you are considering attending an Indiana career college, you will want to check out the Imagine America scholarships. Imagine America provides scholarships for students who have chosen to seek an education that will lead to a career.

Harrison College is the only Columbus Indiana college that awards the Imagine America scholarships. Traditionally these scholarships have been awarded to recent high school graduates, but now there are Imagine America scholarship opportunities for students entering adult education programs and for those who have served in the military. Read about each of these scholarships now or come back and read about them in my blog. I will discuss each of them in the three blog entries that follow this one.

Contact Harrison College to learn more about why a career college can be the best answer to reaching your educational and career goals. And while you are talking with an admissions representative, ask them about Imagine America scholarships and other scholarships our students have received to help them reach their goals.
 

"Interactive computers and software will, I think, provide a less costly method of doing some kinds of inquiry, in knowledge acquisition and even reasoning and interaction."  ~Roy Romer.

This is the sixth entry in my point-by-point blog analysis of Mark Kassop's excellent article, "Ten Ways Online Education Matches, or Surpasses, Face-to-Face Learning."  I earned my MBA in an online adult education program at a distance learning college and found the ten points Mr. Kassop raised to be quite accurate.  Today's blog is on the sixth of those ten ways.

The sixth way online adult education programs surpass face to face learning is through on-demand interaction & support services.  As I mentioned in an earlier blog on online tutoring, help for your distance learning course is not far away - and often just a few mouse-clicks achieves the necessary aid.

The sheer volume of support resources and types of interaction available in an online class is astounding.  I teach face-to-face classes at a Columbus Indiana College, and am a former online instructor.  As an instructor, I recieve all kinds of teaching aids:  PowerPoint presentations; teaching transparencies; pregenerated tests; handouts; flash cards; lecture aids; and so on.  I cannot use them all in a classroom.  However, in an online environment, I can put all of those aids up for the students to use if they want.  Having trouble following the text?  Click on the PowerPoint presentation.  Need help on just one topic?  Aha!  There is a teaching transparency available!  Sometimes getting access to these materials from a face-to-face instructor who choses not to employ those materials is difficult - and a student may not even know those resources exist!  But those materials are usually made easily available in an online course.

In addition to course resources, an online student can contact the instructor or fellow students at any time, not just during the limited classtime available, or posted office/tutoring hours.  This can be done through email or the asynchronous discussion boards.

Most distance learning colleges include online academic advisors, financial aid advisors, online libraries, and tutoring services.

Begin your adult education program today at Harrison College!

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with Harrison College Columbus Indiana college campus student Ashley Carlock. Ashley is pursuing a degree in Medical Assistant and is nearing the end of her program.

Ashley started classes in 2006 but left to attend another college 9 months into her program. I remembered her leaving and asked her why she left and why she came back to complete her degree in 2009. Here is a little bit of what she shared with me in regards to her decision.

"I left because I thought that I could get the same education for less money. What I found was that there is a lot more to a college education than the cost. I found that many of the classes I took at the other college had 35 to 40 students in them. I realized how much I valued the small class sizes at Harrison College because I like the personal attention I could get from my instructors when I didn’t have to compete with so many other students for their attention. At one point I had to have surgery, and it really seemed like the teachers did not want to recognize that real life happens. I know at Harrison College I would have been treated better during that difficult time and that the staff and faculty would have had suggestions on how I could overcome some of the obstacles I faced to be more successful. I also missed the one-on-one financial aid I received at Harrison College. There came a point when I really just had to stop and think about what kind of environment was going to allow me to learn better and reach my career goal. That environment is exactly what I had at Harrison College so it made sense to come back to complete my degree. I realized that the value I found at Harrison College was service, quality eduction, and a degree faster so that I could go out and work in the medical field sooner. That is worth so much to me.”

Ashley is a new mom and takes a lot of pride in the fact that she has been able to spend the quality time with her son, Lucas, hold down a part-time job, and continue her education.  She is proud to be a role model for her family and looks forward to a career working in a local physician’s office before returning to college to pursue an RN degree after she has some working experience in the medical field.
 

I had a guest speaker in one of my classes recently who said something that truly stuck with me. She said that no matter what the question, the underlying question is always “Why should I hire you”? This makes a ton of sense, and I guess I knew it, but never really thought about it quite that way.

Think about it. What if they ask something simple like, “Tell me about yourself”, something common like, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”, or something more complex such as, “Tell me about a time when you had to work with a team to accomplish a task”?

What they really want to know is if you are the best candidate for the position. 

Unfortunately, job seekers struggle with the “Why should I hire you?” question. In turn, they struggle with the others as well. We have been conditioned from a young age to be humble and modest. When my daughter was little and someone said to her, “Little girl, you are so cute”, she would say “I know”. And, of course I would quickly correct her and tell her instead to say “Thank You”.

So, it stands to reason that we would, as adults, struggle with coming out of our comfort zone and really bragging on ourselves and our accomplishments.

However, there are a number of tools out there designed to help you tackle this tough question. A simple Google search of “sixty second sell” will direct you to a number of sites which explain how to write and deliver a convincing “self-sell” in about one minute.
It has been noted as one of the best tools out there to help you:

• Make the interview process easier
• Receive high ratings from the interviewers
• Streamline your response in an easy to remember way
• Avoid divulging personal details and stay on track

Amazon.com offers a book entitled, “Sixty Seconds and You’re Hired” by Robin Ryan, which further details how to use this one minute sound bite to your advantage. It’s inexpensive and an easy read that I have found to be extremely useful.

Interviewing is often a nerve wracking experience. We all want to make good impressions, and ultimately land the job of our dreams. The next time you are faced with the “Why Should I Hire You” question, remember the words of Lou Tice and “Waller in your successes like a pig in slop”! Step out of your comfort zone, don’t be so humble, and proudly tell them why you are the best candidate for the position.

Melissa Barnett, Director of Career Services at Harrison College, enjoys being a part of the adult education program and providing career development assistance to the students and past graduates at the Columbus Indiana college campus.