Weeding out the weak schools

By Sharon Gaudin
Network World, 03/25/02

Finding not just a good school, but the right school for you or your employees, will undoubtedly fall on your own shoulders. Do some investigative work before you sink any money into a training center or a university. Here's a list of suggestions from IT students, training professionals and high-tech recruiters:

Check out the school or training center's background.

What's the job placement rate - if everyone who went there is a taxi driver, look somewhere else.

What's the school's financial and certification standing?

How current are the materials being used? Last year's textbook could very well be outdated by now.

Ask to be connected with former students so you can talk to them and get their take on the school and the courses they took.

Talk to former students' employers to see how much they benefited from their training.

Check out the instructor.

Has he actually studied this area?

Has he actually worked in the field? Make sure students are studying with someone who has had day-to-day experience and not just book knowledge.

Meet the instructor.

Does he speak fluent English?

Does he communicate well and have good interpersonal skills? Just knowing the subject isn't enough - the instructor needs to be able to communicate it to his students.

Talk to other companies and see where they've had the best luck with employee training.

Check out articles in the press about the school or training center - are they getting attention for problems or accomplishments?

Find out if the school incorporates hands-on time in the classroom.

Make a list of which training centers and schools employees can use.

Set up policies for choosing training centers or educational institutions employees can use.

For students studying networks, make sure there actually is network gear there to work on.

For students looking into IT training on their own, follow many of the corporate guidelines and make sure you also:

Find out if the center or school has business partnerships so students have opportunities to get internships and gain practical experience.

Find out if the school has a strong and active alumni organization that can help you network and find a job.

Talk to companies where you'd like to work and see what they're looking for.

Find out if students will receive assistance with job hunting.

If an IT school you're attending closes:

Call the U.S. Department of Education.

Call your local District Attorney.

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