Paula Caceres

Excellence in Career Services
CHEP Status: Active
CHEP Awarded: 12/13/2024

Badge Evidence | Completed Courses (4 Hours Each)

This course "pulls back the curtain" for schools to help them better understand the principles and purposes of the ACCSC Standards of Accreditation. ACCSC101, along with the accompanying course ACCSC102, lays out the standards in line with the way schools are typically structured to better help you comprehend the important relationship between each standard and each aspect of running a compliant, accredited school. This course addresses the standards on the administrative side of your school, such as standards that relate to operations, admissions, and financial aid.

This course is sponsored by ACCSC


This course focuses on the ACCSC Standards of Accreditation which directly tie to the academic areas and program requirements for an accredited school. The course includes information on program development and design, educational policies and procedures, faculty, student services, and educational delivery methods.

This course is sponsored by ACCSC


This course is designed for employees of all roles and levels at institutions that participate in federal financial aid programs. The course provides an awareness of prohibited acts which could adversely impact operations, and covers the requirements which must be adhered to in order to maintain good standing with state* and federal regulations as outlined in the Program Integrity rules. Emphasis is on areas of misrepresentation related to advertising and recruitment activities, interactions with prospective students and appropriate communication of disclosures and other publications. *This course currently covers the regulations for the following states: AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NM, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA. Course participants can select specific state(s) at the beginning of the course to customize the training content to their state.
This compliance training course is designed for admissions, financial aid and career services employees of accredited institutions participating in federal financial aid programs. The course provides a clear and practical understanding of the federal regulations that govern the conduct of your institution and correspondingly underlay the performance of your job. The purpose of the course is not to train you to become a regulatory expert, but to provide the information you need to do or say the right thing when interacting with both prospective and enrolled students, as well as the consequences of doing or saying the wrong thing whether by mistake or with intent. More importantly, the course emphasizes that 'Doing the Right Thing' ensures that we provide an environment of trust where prospective students receive the information they need to make informed decisions about their education.
This course is designed for either an institution's full or part time staff and faculty members. The course focuses on building and sustaining a campus-wide culture of compliance as opposed to simply providing a multitude of standards and regulations. In short, CM107 hopes to provide the information staff and faculty need to say or do the right things when interacting with both prospective and enrolled students about their education - online or face-to-face - as well as the consequences of saying or doing the wrong things whether by mistake or with intent. Components on ethics, customer service and fostering a culture of compliance in the new normal of educational delivery are also included.
This course is designed to assist personnel at all levels of an educational institution in the understanding of the provisions of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ("Title IX") as amended on August 1, 2024, and the Clery Act as amended in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 ("VAWA"). These laws require that all individuals in an educational institution understand and comply with the laws in terms of what is prohibited behavior in relation to sex-based harassment and/or sexual violence, and what steps are to be followed when such prohibited conduct occurs. This course gives the participants information about the laws, as well as procedures to follow, to provide for the rights of all individuals under the laws. It also provides additional resources to assist educational institutions in continuing to build and strengthen their Title IX and VAWA policies, procedures and training throughout the year.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA or the Buckley Amendment) is a federal law in the United States designed to provide students with access to, and the privacy of, their educational records. The law applies to students in higher education and educational institutions that receive funding under a program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. This course is designed to provide participants with a working knowledge of FERPA guidelines to ensure proper handling of educational records and other institutional requirements.
This course will review Title IX, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, and the Violence Against Women Act. In addition to the background of each topic, victim rights, support system implementation, and grievance policies will also be explored. The goal of this course is to help develop a better understanding of the topic and produce tangible resources to help implement plans, strategies, and ideas at your school. In addition to lecture videos, links to resources, and assessments, you will be able to utilize the Journal and Learning Activities. Take advantage of a method that works best for you.
In this course, using your accrediting body's criteria, you will study the language and intention of accreditation. Participants will develop a different perspective on the self-study process and an understanding of how to craft the self-study report to effectively communicate how present practices meet the standards. Discover what the standards really are and what it takes to meet them, interpret and communicate your institution's current operating practices in the context of the criteria, and develop a more accurate understanding and expression of how your institution can provide the evidence needed to demonstrate compliance.
Is your campus ready for a full unannounced visit at any time? Onsite visits are becoming more frequent in recent years and unannounced visits even more so. This training is designed to aid campus leaders to be prepared, using best practices and practical tools, to host an onsite visitor at any time, including visits that are unannounced, by any organization such as state agencies, veterans' organizations, regional, national and programmatic accrediting agencies and the Department of Education.
This course provides faculty, staff, and administrators with an understanding of the legal mandates regarding equal access for students with disability. More importantly, it provides a practical framework to help institutional personnel know what to say and do in the context of their defined role and interactions with students with disabilities. Topics include the civil rights nature of applicable Federal law, definitional issues, the impact of disability on traditional education activities and pursuits, reasonable accommodations, and the unique responsibilities of faculty, staff, and administrators as prescribed by their position.
This course offers strategies to provide employment and job search skills training that enables students to seek jobs in the field for which they are trained. You'll learn how to offer comprehensive career services regardless of whether your career services department is staffed full- or part-time. The course provides strategies for an institution to set up a Career Services Department, enhance and run it, and measure results. It describes how a successful career services department can ensure that your students have the skills and self-confidence to succeed in the workplace. You'll learn techniques to increase placement rates and reach out to the community to meet and maintain relationships with hiring decision-makers.
In this course, you will be given tools to help your students find the job that's right for them, present themselves impressively on paper, and interview with ease. This course is designed so you can successfully support your students in four phases of their job search: doing a targeted job search, writing a powerful resume and cover letter, presenting professionally, and developing effective interview skills.
Social media is critical tool for career services professionals to interact with and reach their constituent groups yet many career professionals aren't aware of how to develop a purposeful social media strategy. Without a social media strategy, career services departments risk losing relevance with their audience, and they also lose the opportunity of harnessing social media to achieve department goals. This course describes the phases of planning and implementing a social media strategy for your career services department. Each module is based on the fundamental steps of preparing a comprehensive and measurable plan to achieve the goals of the career services department.
Educational institutions have opportunities to create unique alumni associations which will look and feel more like alumni communities. This course will show you how you can create active alumni communities to increase enrollment, retention and placement for your entire institution. You will learn how to provide your alumni with valuable services and how to seek their help to enhance your educational programs and career services, as well as marketing and admissions. From getting started to setting up an alumni data base management system and determining the institution's return on investment, this course provides you with operational strategies for establishing an effective alumni association.
Although job developing requires a mix of critical skills, many career advisors are forced to learn them through the "sink or swim" method. They're often asked to immediately make a specific number of cold-calls daily. They learn that "job developing" is synonymous with cold-calling. It isn't. This course covers how to properly prepare for job developing, how to prospect, prioritize employer contact, and communicate with employers to address objections, get job orders, manage them to completion, and continuously engage employers and candidates to develop long-term partnerships. Job developing should be more comprehensive than a simple list of employers to cold-call.
In today's world where jobs are posted online, matching algorithms screen digital résumés, and recruiters source candidates online, students must market themselves online. Writing a résumé and cover letter alone is no longer an adequate skill set for career seekers to successfully find and secure employment as well as manage, advance, and transition their career throughout life. Students must know how to digitally market themselves, and 21st century career advisors must know how to advise them. This course will help you advise students on developing digital career-marketing strategies for career success.
Military veterans represent a unique type of non-traditional student and must overcome distinctive challenges to reintegrate into the civilian workforce. With an influx of over one million veterans projected to enter higher education in the next several years, career services personnel must be prepared to provide the level of service these students need and deserve. This course helps career services practitioners understand the unique obstacles veterans face in the reintegration process, how to help them translate their military experience into civilian language and provides strategies & tools that can support veterans in becoming gainfully employed.
Securing gainful employment for students with an arrest or criminal conviction is filled with unique challenges. This course introduces many of the challenges your students have (and will face), not only from the student's perspective, but also from the employer's. Upon completion of the course, you will be in a position to counter potential stereotypes and 'negligent hiring' fears. Topics of study include reviewing effective interview practices and the importance of honesty, how attitude lays the foundation for success or failure, the value of developing a letter of explanation, as well as reviewing techniques to mend a problematic past.
Students with disabilities represent a unique minority group within higher education. Despite being the largest minority group in the world, all too often their access to and inclusion in programs and services comes as an afterthought. Career services practitioners pride themselves in their ability to serve diverse populations, yet many remain untrained in working with disabled students. This course helps career services practitioners understand federal legislation basics as they relate to disabled students, the unique challenges they face, and characteristics of the population as well as practical resources and career services strategies to help overcome their unique barriers to employment.
**While the course addresses interaction considerations for those with deafness, blindness, learning disabilities, acquired brain disabilities, and physical disabilities, it shouldn't be expected that the course will cover all possible disabilities you may want to specifically learn about. It provides a broad overview.
There are millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) job seekers struggling to find careers and even hold down a job, due in part to their sexual orientation and gender identity. What amplifies this issue is the fact that many college career advisors who are supposed to help struggling jobseekers are not trained to address the unique struggles their LGBTQ students face in their career development. This course equips career advisors with the perspective, knowledge, and practical skills necessary to provide quality career services for their LGBTQ students, who greatly need their assistance.
In the most competitive economy ever, crafting powerful job search documents, communicating strategically with employers, and presenting evidence of one’s qualifications won’t even necessarily get candidates jobs—it’ll barely get them interviews. This course covers advanced writing techniques, shows examples, and offers detailed strategy explanations to help career professionals enhance their ability to teach students how to craft modern job search documents and strategic employer communications. You'll be able to more effectively advise students on how to use impactful strategies that differentiate them from competitors through résumés, letters, portfolio evidence, and strategic post-interview correspondence. *This course also contains several downloadable resources to be used in your career center.
Effectively coaching students to achieve their goals in a way that builds autonomy, confidence, and accountability is fundamental to the role of a career services professional. Despite this fact, many career professionals have never engaged in professional development to build their coaching skills. This course helps career services professionals develop fundamental coaching skills so they can act as a catalyst and facilitator in assisting students to work towards their self-identified goals, with the belief that self-identified goals lead to increased student buy-in and motivation for attainment. Learn to put practical coaching techniques into action to maximize your results with students. *This course is relevant to a variety of career support professionals regardless of titles such as career counselors, advisors, coordinators, or "case managers" serving a variety of populations which may include students, out-of-school youth, or dislocated workers (youth or adults).
School hiring events are staples for many institutions, whether ground-based or virtual. They are a large undertaking. However, when done correctly, these events should yield many positive results for students, employers, and the school. This course examines each part of the process involved in a school hiring event: from the planning and ideation phase, to budgeting, staffing, logistics, marketing, student preparation, and a complete process for post-event surveying and follow-up. Beyond practical tips, ideas, and strategies, this course will provide a resource of documents that will help support a robust and dynamic school hiring event.
Help students ace the interview with successful tactics to showcase their qualities and make them the best fit for the job. A career management specialist will be able to master the appropriate actions for students to take before, during, and after the interview. These tactics can then be implemented in a career management class or during the preparations for prospective job interviews. The goal of this course is to help develop a better understanding of the topic and produce tangible resources to help implement plans, strategies, and ideas at your school. In addition to lecture videos, resource links, and assessments, you will be able to utilize Journal and Learning Activities, which will continue to be useful after successful completion of the course.
Derived from the feedback of over 100 institutions, empirical research, and case studies, course participants are presented with specific strategies and best practices that promote graduate employment. This course is for all education professionals seeking to understand the institutional practices that maximize graduate employment outcomes. Because employment outcomes are as much a function of institutional behaviors as they are of student behaviors, this course is based in systems thinking, which challenges participants to examine the interdependent relationship among institutional infrastructure, student career-readiness, and graduate employment rates.
Accurate representation of graduate outcomes is critical to upholding institutional integrity. All involved in employment reporting must continuously identify ways to strengthen their system for tracking, collecting, and verifying employment data. When documentation is both a quality and a compliance matter, staff must understand the verification program as a whole, the role they play in continuously improving it, and how to use professional principles and best practices in documentation. This course is designed to encourage participants to critically analyze their own employment reporting practices while sharing ideas and best practices that can help lead to the highest level of data integrity.
This course explores the critical differences between management and leadership. Participants will be introduced to definitions and myths about each area as well as how management and leadership must coexist for an organization to operate effectively. Participants will explore their own management/leadership tendencies.
Not everyone is suited for, or desires, a leadership position. One of the first steps to being an effective leader is to understand the desire to lead in the first place. Participants will explore their motivation to lead and develop a deeper understanding of their leader style(s).
Skillful writing helps you accomplish your business objectives and extends your influence as a manager. In this course, you will learn to create clearer, more effective written communications. The course includes specific guidelines for preparing memos, letters, emails, and other common business documents.
This course provides sound advice on preparing and delivering presentations that command attention, persuade, and inspire. It includes rehearsal techniques as well as tips for creating and using more effective visuals. The course also addresses the importance of understanding your objectives and your audience to create a presentation with impact.
In this course, you will learn how to strengthen your coaching skills by using a four-step process to facilitate the professional growth of the employees you coach.
To do their job - accomplishing work through others - managers must develop and use persuasion skills rather than simply issue orders. Formal authority no longer gets managers as far as it used to. This course will help you master the art and science behind successful persuasion so you can begin changing others' attitudes, beliefs, or behavior to create win-win solutions.
Feedback is an essential component of the communication process. In this course, you will learn when and how to give effective positive or corrective feedback, how to offer feedback upward, and how to receive feedback.
This course provides a practical guide to becoming an effective negotiator. The course includes steps to guide you through the negotiation process assessing your interests as well as those of the other party, developing opportunities that create value, avoiding common barriers to agreement, and implementing strategies to make the negotiation process run smoothly.
This course will show you how to discuss and resolve difficult interactions in the workplace - whether with employees, peers, bosses, or even suppliers and customers.
This course will show you how to set realistic goals, prioritize tasks, and track milestones to improve performance and morale.
In this course, you will learn how to manage your career - including how to identify your business interests, professional values, and skills in order to target your most exciting career possibilities.
This course will help you master effective time management techniques. You will learn to analyze how you currently spend your time and pinpoint opportunities for improvement. The course will show you how to plan your time efficiently using scheduling tools, control time-wasters, and evaluate your schedule once it is underway.
In this course, you will learn the difference between positive stress that enhances productivity and negative stress that breeds tension, lowers productivity, and undercuts job satisfaction. The course includes strategies for dealing with underlying causes of worry and stress, with tactical advice and coping mechanisms for immediate problem management.
How many times have we said “if we’d only known” as a student walks out the door? No one starts classes planning to fail, but unfortunately problems do arise that present barriers to success. Students are good at identifying these problems blocking their path to success, but they frequently don’t have adequate problem solving and communication skills needed to overcome these problems. This course looks at the effect of stress on attrition, the use of tools to identify and help students at risk, and how to develop an institutional culture that shares responsibility for student success across the entire organization.
Building a program to ensure a smooth "hand off" from Admissions to Faculty is a critical component of student retention. Applicants often develop a strong bond with their admissions representative that ends (from the institution's standpoint) once they begin classes. This online course provides practical ideas on designing an orientation program, first-week-of-class and other retention activities that connect the student with faculty, the college and each other that will help you retain and graduate more students.
Owners and directors of educational institutions are always looking for the magical ingredients to improve student retention. There are at least six easy-to-implement retention strategies that can make a difference in whether a student graduates or drops out. These include efficient admissions procedures, great orientation programs, effective mentoring, student friendly classroom involvement, fabulous graduations, and successful placement. Upon completion of this course, participants will have specific easy-to-implement retention strategies to put in place for every area of their institution.
This course is a collection of ideas and best practices drawn from the implementation of enrollment growth strategies at over 300 educational institutions nationwide. The course is based on a highly successful in-service training program offered by Dr. Joe Pace, Managing Partner of The Pacific Institute and includes video delivery of Pace's presentations. Filled with practical tips and suggestions, the course also discusses the application of current research results on human behavior and organizational culture to enhance student enrollment and retention. This is a unique course that will dramatically change your perspective on institutional effectiveness.
This course uncovers the secrets of today's successful businesses and their strategies of first-class customer service. You will learn the components of first impressions that can help you increase and keep your enrollments. This course will also help you to locate the specific areas of your operations where you can implement an improved customer service plan for your institution - whether it is admissions, student services or academics.