What do we do at AIHE to support our students?-An interview with Compliance

I am the Compliance Manager at AIHE.
I am an independent contractor who works with various organisations to ensure they are complying with government regulatory requirements.
I love my job. I get to meet students who are enthusiastic as well as work with some fantastic, professional staff.
I love coming to AIHE. The CEO is caring and supportive and I hear great things about our teachers and tutors as students pass by. I often have to ask the staff to do additional things for me, when they don' t have time. They don' t complain, they find time. Every time I come into the AIHE office, I find the place has a positive vibe about it and I am sure the students feel the same by the way they interact.

AIHE is like a small university and it doesn't have some of the opportunities that larger places do. They are a private organisation and therefore don' t have the government funding either.

Recently I was asking the staff what they do for students to make their experience studying here, a good one and these are their replies.

What is AIHE doing to support students?
We already run a number of small sessions which make them think about why they are here, why they need to be grateful, what they are doing to ensure they stay healthy and helping one another - 
​Its about getting them in to good habits that will hopefully support positive attitudes and effective coping strategies for when times get challenging

Why do students choose AIHE instead of other universities or colleges?
They come because we offer to support them by assisting to find a clinical placement.
They stay because we are a nurturing, supportive environment, all our staff are amazing and passionate about teaching. We form strong interpersonal relationships and we view our students as future sonographers of excellence. We are not like other programs.

How are the students supported by other students?
We are now asking a few of the Year 2 students to come and have a Q&A session during week 1 of the course so the new students can ask “student to student” questions. I l(the teacher) leave them to it so I don’t even know what they talk about. It is effective as they have a face and name of a potential support/mentor in the future, and can see where they will be in a years time. This was suggested by a Yr 2 student and it was exceptionally well received. We will be making this a part of Week 1 on campus. 
We also now have a mentoring program for students who are struggling. We pair them with students who have graduated and are in the workplace and they meet up regularly to talk about what their needs are.

Cathy Wagner - Compliance Manager

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