It Can Be Good to Say No

Ahhh .. I've got a blank screen but a little extra time to fill it! I am sitting in front of my Technical Communications class as they're hard at work on their midterm exams. The class is small so as well as already correcting the writing section of the test, I've gone through a large pile of marking from our recent program placement exams.

I'm very grateful that we can enforce strict standards for entry. A relatively high percentage of potential students are told they're not ready for our upgrading courses. We can afford to be picky and choose only those whom we feel will be able to advance rapidly through our classes and into regular, BCIT programs. We are able to better serve the students with whom we work.

I've mentioned the idea before but will add again that I cannot help but contrast our situation to private ESL training programs. No matter how professionally managed, most all private sector schools, for financial reasons alone, are forced to accept just about anything that walks by. This can create conflicts that affect the program efficiency and its eventual results.