What WE Think!

July 2018

Food for Thought...

Taking the SAT or ACT? Be Prepared!

It’s an understatement to say we live in a competitive world. Whether we like it or not, multiple arenas in life include some element of competition. The process of applying and being accepted to a desirable college also falls under this category. Schools naturally seek the most qualified, high-achieving students to fill their classrooms. This sets a cycle in motion.

High-achieving students bring prestige to the institution. The institution’s prestige attracts another round of high-achieving students. Attracting another round of high-achieving students creates a hallmark of enduring excellence at the institution. And enduring excellence is a trait every school aspires to establish and maintain. So it stands to reason the application and admission processes of colleges are competitive.

Simply put, when our children have their sights set on a college education, two criteria must be considered: GPA and an SAT/ACT score. The SAT and ACT, as you know, are the pre-eminent standardized tests and are widely recognized as reliable measurements of academic readiness. While other factors are considered for getting into college, a robust GPA and high SAT/ACT score are highly consequential.

With this basic understanding of the gravity of the SAT and ACT for college admission, your child’s test performance carries great weight. As a prospective student, how can your child take the SAT or ACT with confidence to maximize results? This brings us to test preparation! Professional SAT and ACT preparation courses have statistically raised the scores of those students versus others who self study.

At the USF Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education (CTPE), it is our goal to make test preparation for the SAT and ACT as effective, convenient, and cost efficient as possible. We offer both in-class courses as well as live online sessions.

Click here to find our “Test Preparation” page and learn more: USF CTPE Test Preparation

Ultimately, the most important competition in life takes place within us. When we work diligently to better ourselves through a constant pursuit of excellence—in anything we endeavor—there is no way we can lose; it’s always a winning proposition. Thanks for considering the CTPE office as your go-to location for academic and vocational advancement!

USF CTPE Test Preparation Program Offerings

Mark Koulianos is the Director of the USF Office for Corporate Training and Professional Education and has spent 20+ years working in the corporate world. Read Mark's Full Bio

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn

Have a Great First Day – Smart Onboarding

What makes a great first day? How does your company ensure that new employees immediately feel welcomed, ready to work, and happy that they chose to join your organization?

Here is a hint: piles of paperwork is not the answer. Who wants to spend the day signing their initials and reading fine print? Unfortunately, that is the reality for many new hires at organizations around the country. The first day is filled with forms, awkward introductions, and information overload, but it does not have to be this way.

Smart onboarding for the first day of work is key to boosting retention, accelerating new employees, and improving employee engagement across the board. One study found that companies with engaging onboarding programs retained 91 percent of their first-year employees and improved employee performance by 11.5 percent.

Why do onboarding techniques make such a big difference? When organizations bring in new hires, it is important to remember that they have come straight from the excitement of the hiring process. They are fresh with enthusiasm and ready to get to work, still on the high of landing a new job. If they start with a stack of forms to fill out, you risk losing that energy and enthusiasm, or worse—making them doubt their decision to accept your offer. Instead, you can use that excitement to launch your new hires into their roles and increase their time-to-contribution.

So how do you make sure your organization uses smart onboarding for the first day of work? USF’s Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education has a number of programs and certificates that teach how to make a great first day with thoughtful and effective onboarding techniques. Onboarding, when done right, turns engaged candidates into engaged employees and leads to many great days to come.

Please contact Kathy Barnes ( barnesk@usf.edu ) for more information.

An interview with Patti Gander

Can you tell me a bit about your background?

I spent three (3) years in the Marine Corp as an electronics technician. After leaving the Marine Corp I went to work for Coleco in NY for 3 years. I moved to Florida in 1985 working for a variety of manufacturing companies in positions of Quality Manager, Operations Manager, Plant Manager, General Manager and VP of Operations. I received an AS degree in Electronics Technology in the Marine Corps. I later returned to school earning a BS in Business, MBA and MS in Management at USF. I’ve been teaching for USF’s College of Business as an adjunct instructor for 13 years.

What drew you to learn about and implement process improvement during your career?

I started out in manufacturing in the mid 80’s for a company called Coleco. I was part of a team to bring the Adam Computer into production creating and documenting the processes. I saw how important good manufacturing processes were to bring a product to market. The outcome was not good for Coleco and later in my career when I learned about Lean & Six Sigma I saw how it would have been beneficial and potentially would have saved both the product and the company. I’ve utilized Lean & Six Sigma as an improvement and problem solving method for well over 20 years.

Why do you feel process improvement is important and how can organizations benefit from implementing a culture of continuous improvement?

Organizations that don’t have a culture of improvement miss out on growing the market for their product, increasing customer service levels and improving employee development. Overall, the organization will likely lose market share, have higher levels of employee turnover and potentially put the entire organization at risk. Customers continue to have higher expectations and a culture of continuous improvement helps organizations focus on these higher expectations while identifying opportunities to deliver them to their customers.

Why is training such as Lean Six Sigma Green Belt necessary to achieve process improvement goals within an organization?

Lean Six Sigma improvement is based on a standardized method utilizing information (data). By following a standardized method the outcome of the improvement is identified from the start with checkpoints throughout the improvement project. Students taking the training learn a variety of improvement methods as well as data analysis tools that can be applied to their organization’s improvement projects. As part of the training, students do an improvement project to help reinforce the learning and provide their organization with a ROI on the training investment.

CTPE offers on site training, at your convenience. Contact Dr. Kim Allison ( kmwheel4@usf.edu ) to learn more.

Kathy Barnes, M.S.Ed.

Kathy Barnes is the Associate Director of Business Development and Program Management for USF Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education.

Kathy holds a Master of Science in Education from Troy University and has been in higher education for 30 years, the majority of her career spent working with and advising non-traditional adult and military students.

Connect with Kathy on LinkedIn

Kimberly Allison, PhD

Dr. Allison's expertise is in the area curriculum and program development with impact for business.

Dr. Allison currently works as a Program Manager for the USF Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education. She has also taught Master’s/Ph.D. level instructional design courses for USF. She is skilled in curriculum development, instructional design, program management and evaluation. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Curriculum & Instruction with Cognate in Measurement and Research from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Emory University.

Connect with Dr. Allison on LinkedIn

Stay tuned for next month's pieces.

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