Ohio Media School

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September 1, 2015 Revdex.com2800 Euclid Avenue, 4th FloorCleveland, Ohio 44115216-241-7678 Re: [redacted]ID# [redacted] ...

                                        ...⇄ Dear Ms. [redacted], Please accept the following response to the complaint submitted by [redacted] on 8/25/15, under the ID number referenced above. The Ohio Center for Broadcasting takes seriously any complaints lodged against our school and has an excellent record of addressing such complaints in a fair and professional manner. Upon review of Ms. [redacted]’s “Statement of the Problem,” we identified four separate claims: 1) a lack of dedicated instructors, 2) shortage of equipment, 3) a failing curriculum, and 4) no report card or progress report. We will address each one of these items separately. Generally speaking though, we stand behind our school’s track record over the last 29 years. The Ohio Center for Broadcasting is accredited nationally and is approved by the Ohio State Board of Career Colleges and Schools. A school attains accreditation by following a rigorous set of rules and regulations outlined by one of several accreditation bodies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. We, therefore, closely monitor our program and training equipment, our staff and faculty, and graduate job placement rates and opportunities to ensure that we are in full compliance with all of the various regulatory agencies and their policies. The school also maintains a Program Advisory Committee made up of members from the broadcast industry, including individuals from radio and TV broadcast stations who offer our students externships while in school and who employ our graduates. The broadcast training program and equipment we use is based on the advisory committee members’ recommendations, as is the curriculum that we continually update to provide students with relevant training and skills to qualify them for entry-level employment in the broadcast industry. As a result of the quality and scope of the entry-level training the students receive, the school’s career services department has consistently maintained an annual 70% or higher graduate job placement rate over the past 5 years. In fact, the job placement rate for the last completed reporting year was nearly 80%. At this point, it should be noted that, upon review of Ms. [redacted]’s academic student file, we found no record or documentation regarding any of the concerns or issues raised in the complaint letter being raised previously. A review of the file does show that Ms. [redacted] accumulated 757 “tardy minutes” in the first half of the program alone, spanning 19 of the first 45 class sessions. That averages approximately 40 minutes of missed time at the beginning of class for each occurrence, covering nearly half of available instructional periods. To date, Ms. [redacted] has also missed 9 classes in their entirety and attended only 20% of her online courses. The missed time, particularly on a consistent basis at the beginning of residential classes, is crucial when considering the structure of our class sessions/program. Our school’s training program is based on a “hands-on” method of training. Most of the interaction between the instructor and the class as a whole happens during the first part of each class session, typically the first 30 – 60 minutes. (This is the part of class Ms. [redacted] has often missed.) After initial instructions about the project at hand or discussion to answer general questions about the students’ progress, teachers release students to the studios to begin or continue working on their assignments. During the remainder of class, instructors are available for guidance and are typically moving from work station to work station to help students (along with Instructor Assistants). In regards to Ms. [redacted]’s complaint that the school lacks dedicated instructors, we would respectfully disagree. First, all of our past and current faculty members must be currently employed in the broadcasting/media industry and are required to have a minimum of 3 years of professional broadcast based experience. They must also meet strict criteria in order to be approved by both our regulators, to ensure they are qualified to work at our school or to teach our program’s curriculum.  To be sure, our faculty members cannot achieve nor maintain that level of professional success without understanding expectations and delivering results. Nevertheless, our school continually monitors the performance of our instructors. This is done through classroom observations by administrators, regular and end-of-program surveys completed by students, and professional development sessions with instructors to help them sharpen their teaching skills and discuss different methods to remain effective. The school places a high value on the feedback we receive from students through its surveys of classes and instructors. This feedback helps us guide future decisions about the curriculum and whether instructors need more coaching. If additional coaching is necessary, the instructor is subsequently monitored more closely and removed from teaching if he or she does not improve. We are happy to report that this has happened extremely infrequently. What’s more, the instructors that have been assigned throughout Ms. [redacted]’s program are consistently evaluated favorably by a vast majority of students. In regards to Ms. [redacted]’s claim that the school does not have enough training equipment for the students, this is simply incorrect. The school has 12 fully functioning audio studios, 9 video editing work stations, 1 television studio and 1 “green screen” studio, each with a separate control room, and 2 student staffed internet radio stations, with the ability to convert audio studios 3 & 4 into a third internet radio station. The school also has 10 professional video cameras available for student use, and a Learning Resource Center with 6 computer workstations that are used by students for broadcast research, show prep and graduate job placement activities such as applying to the many job opportunities the school’s career services department supplies to its graduates on a regular basis. Students may also use one of the 24 computer workstations in our computer lab (aka Classroom 4) whenever there is not a class in session (and many times even when there is). Given the average class size during the time Ms. [redacted] has been enrolled at the Cleveland campus, which is around 12 students, we believe the school offers all classes, students and graduates more than enough access to our staff, faculty and training equipment, both during class time and outside of class time. The school is open 6 days a week to allow students ongoing access to all of our training equipment. This includes free time between morning and evening classes, from 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., each weekday. It is important to note here that the equipment and facilities are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Therefore, students who attend class and are on time, as well as students who take advantage of campus availability during free time, will have first choice of the school’s resources. The complaint about a “failing curriculum” is a little difficult to respond to because the meaning of that claim is not well defined. We can say that the curriculum is reviewed constantly. Every campus convenes every Thursday at 4 p.m., on an Education Department conference call, to discuss appropriate and immediate responses to certain challenges as well as opportunities for improvement. This conversation includes observations about the program’s curriculum. We believe this system of regular introspection and review has been integral to our success over the past 29 years. The curriculum is modified when needed, based on changes to industry and education related standards, and input from students, accreditors and advisory board members. We believe placement rates that are consistently between 70% - 80% supply strong evidence that our students are learning what they need to know to attain employment in the industry. Our Director of Education, Mark Q[redacted], has amassed over 20 years of experience in the field of education and has also been one of the most popular teachers on our campus. In 2014, he was recognized by the Accrediting Commission for Career Schools and Colleges as its national “teacher of the year” for his commitment to instructional excellence and student success. Since taking over the Education Department at the Cleveland campus in March of this year, Mr. Q[redacted] has been diligently working on improving processes, including regular feedback to students in the form of progress reports. One such measure is a daily “reflection” that gives students the opportunity to relate what they learned during each day’s lesson. This practice provides important information to instructors and staff members to help identify possible gaps between instructional objectives and actual results. It also creates more opportunities for timely feedback to, and dialogue with, students who may not be meeting certain benchmarks, and identifies the need for immediate intervention in some cases. The effectiveness of this reflection process, though, relies on the student’s attendance throughout the entire class session and his or her sincere feedback. We are confident that Ms. [redacted], or any student, can achieve a successful career that will prove to be a sound investment in the program we offer. This has been demonstrated time and again over the years by former students, now graduates, who have and are flourishing in the broadcasting/media industry. However, we make it clear with students from the outset that earnest effort on their part will be required. We will give them the tools to succeed, including the advice and guidance of staff members and individuals who work in the field on a daily basis. But history shows that, in broadcasting as in any other field of study, the most successful students are the ones who take full advantage of those resources and opportunities, and the time provided to receive a proven program. Our staff remains available to assist Ms. [redacted] in her educational pursuit. We look forward to working with her to achieve her aspirations. And we believe, with the proper amount of effort, Ms. [redacted] will become another successful graduate of the Ohio Center for Broadcasting. If you have any further questions, you can contact me at the school at 216-503-5900 Ext. 1106 or via email at [email protected]. Respectfully Yours, Terry G[redacted] - Campus DirectorOhio Center for Broadcasting/Cleveland Campus9885 Rockside Road, Suite 160Valley View, Ohio 44125P: 216-503-5900 Ext. 1106Email: [email protected]