So, I've been with three colleges that have been sold to new companies (not just bad luck - this is over twenty years). There is one thing that is always the same. In the very beginning, all of the information from the new company is "YOU'RE the experts in your students and programs, we just want to let you do your thing." and "business as usual." Nothing changes at first as they want to keep people calm and have their people learn the business, evaluate the staff, and make plans for change. Then...SWOOSH! Suddenly people are disappearing right and left and departments have new names as the few remaining staff are absorbed into the new company's operations. I know there are others out there who have been through this as well (assuming we are getting sold, which is far from certain). Have you also experienced the "calm before the storm"? Which levels and types of staff did you see let go and how quickly? I think in all three of my experiences it was top execs first, most accounting and HR staff next, and then a mix.
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197, don't think 15 years at a for profit will hinder you in any way. I interviewed with 3 other schools (2 non profit and 1 for profit) and none of the people I interviewed with knew much of what was going on. We are in the thick of it, so we assume everyone in the outside knows a or cares. But what do you know about other for profits? If there's some sort of blacklist, it's not in my department. It's taken me since June, but I found a job. Don't assume that anyone thinks we are somehow unable to get a job because of this experience. It's crap. Don't listen to the psychos on this board who post nasty stuff. They aren't hiring managers. I'm not kidding. One interviewer asked me why I was leaving. I said my school was closing and she said ok. That was it. The interview was based on my skills and education, NOT former employers. Don't overestimate anyone's knowledge or caring about what's happening with CCI schools. People don't all know what's going on. Nor do they really care. And remember that 15 years in one place tells a potential employer a lot about you - loyalty, ability to change with the times, knowledge about your responsibilities. It's not nothing. It says a lot.
202 - thanks for the encouragement. I've been looking for awhile but nothing yet. I don't want to get my hopes up about a sale, but it could buy folks like me a little more time.
197 - very respectfully, please read what we are saying here. A sale is absolutely no guarantee by the buyer of employment. You have skills, after 15 years you are NOT locked into education as the only industry that you can work in. Start putting your resume together, think about your talents and get that resume out. I don't want to see you in an unemployment line. It has been said here - Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Please learn from our experiences.
Wow, I hope any potential buyers don't wander onto this site. I think it would turn me off purchasing anything from CCi. Not that I think anyone is exaggerating, it's just that for many of us a sale would be a good opportunity. In some markets, jobs are tight and other career schools are laying off. It's kind of hard when you can't relocate and your resume shows 15 years in proprietary education, and no jobs available in the industry. Not many people want to take the chance that you can adapt to a new industry.
175 -- ATL was a hoot! Students bringing guns to school, fights all the time. "Ain't my problem!" was all you'd get from the staff. There was one old lady who just started coming in at 6 am and leaving at 2 pm and then said it was her schedule and she'd sue if she was asked to change. We didn't even open until 9 am! She didn't even pretend to work when I saw her. Her whole attitude was "F*** You! Try to MAKE me work!" She was SF and supposed to see students, but everyone just avoided her. I was in admissions, and our department was like some low-rent Caligula soap opera. It was gossip and bitch and play on the internet and go off to have affairs for 3.5 weeks then a mad rush to bully students into signing up for the start. What problem could anyone possibly have with that culture?
Anonymous42154: You are so right, and that is a lesson that CCi never learned in our own acquisitions. I can think of one school in particular that I was acting CP in for a while -- Downtown Atlanta. In the two years before I arrived the campus had had two CPs and four Directors of Education. FOUR! A lot of the staff were kept on after a much earlier acquisition and had never unlearned their old ways. They were absolutely resistant to changes, which in this case were becoming at least marginally professional, showing up most days to work, not blatantly lying to or threatening students, etc. The education and admissions departments were absolutely useless. Some cultures need to get rooted out and that doesn't magically happen by changing the name.
I cannot agree more that the CCi culture needs to be wiped out as quickly as possible from whoever purchases the campuses. In my case, I'm in IT and will probably stay (for awhile) with CCi after the campuses leave. So, the "CCi culture" will still be around - YUCK!!!!! Either way, going to ECMC or staying with the new CCi every one should be very aware that there is NO job security.
As 154 alludes to, the signiicant regulatory/legal issues here may play a large role in shaping the behavior of any buyer. In most acquisitions, even those involving competitors, there is usually an effort to take the best parts of both organizatons to improve the new company moving forward. In this case, the buyer will be under pressure to clean up a messy scenario, and may respond by eliminating large pieces of whatever school is purcahsed. This will be especially true if the buyer is currently in the business of running schools. That appoach may be mitigated - or at least delayed - if the buyer is not experienced at running schools.
It's best for everyone if CCi culture gets washed away forever. It's basically whatever the opposite of the original pillars was. I just hope ECMC or whoever buys us is astute enough to recognize the level of rot that has set in and make decisive cuts quickly. If any are reading this, the key is to allow anonymous employee submissions. We've seen "pretend" anonymous where someone's been told their responses were confidential by HR and then fired. If you allow that you will see a clear picture of what the issues are in each workplace. Which 2-3 (sometimes more) employees that are totally unacceptable in a work environment and what regulatory rules are being broken. You'll be shocked but if you investigate you'll see that everything you've read is true.
154 - very well said. I really appreciate the tone of the discussion that is going on in this thread. I just hope that it will influence some of the CCi people that feel that when ECMC (or whoever) buys the campuses that every thing will be back to "business as usual" will re-think their position.
Too bad Heald didn't integrate into CCi better.
142 - There is an imperative for the new company to totally root out CCi culture (besides because of all the regulatory/ethical issues). There will be the CCi ways of doing things and the (for the sake of argument) ECMC ways of doing things. They will differ significantly in many large and small ways, and that will cause both sides to find the other alienating. ECMC is the owner and will have a vested interest in breaking up the CCi culture to allow for the remaining ex-CCi employees to adapt to their new culture. That will mean not only removing people to bring in "fresh" faces, but also shuffling the organization a bit to break up close-knit micro communities within CCi. It's common practice.
Absolutely true!! My experience has been in the corporate world, but this is exactly how it happens. I have been on both sides of the table in these situations. It's just business, it's not personal. That why all of these employees that think that a new owner is going to keep the CCi "family" together need to wake up and find other employment, before they go on unemployment.
At thr risk o redundancy, I am reposting this from an earlier thread. seems relevant.....I have been on both sides of several mergers and acqusitions over the years, in this industry and others. Here are a few trends I have witnessed: 1. If you are acquired by a competitior, there tends to be a significant reduction in force after a settling in period based on geographic and market overlap. The employees of the acquiring company tend to be favored. 2. If you are acquired by a non-competitor seeking to diversify, the greatest risk is to corporate posiions (HR, Accounting, Marketing, etc) where there tends to be a lot of overlap. 3. Whatever happens doesn't always make sense or seem fair. Don't confuse corporate policy and logic. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.