Awards for 2005-2006

Southwest Institute of Healing Arts was awarded Best School of the Year by the Arizona Private School Association, in addition to individual awards for Best Student Organization, Best Student Placement Practice and Best Wildcard Practice.

Best Student Organization

• The Best Student Organization Award was for the creation of T.E.A.M.

T.E.A.M. = Together Everyone Achieves More is the motto that bwest describles a variety of student organizations that have evolved at SWIHA. Three of the best examples are highlighted below:

Seven graduates of the Life Coaching program, Yvette Ponte, Sarah Senst, Tracey McCormick, Melissa McCormack, Piperlyne Tomczyk, Mona Desai, and Melissa Vance organized a support system for themselves and other graduates who choose to join them, operating under the name WingTeam. Ther convetplt was that it would be much easier for greaduates to succeed if they knew thay were not alone in starting their businesses. Together this group of students market coaching services and meet regularly to access their individual commitments and goals in what is known as a Mastermind group. These seven students have really put into action the T.E.A.M. concept. They have prported to the SWIHA Success Center that they believe that by continuing to meet and support one another, they are achieving more in their individual practices as well as contributing more to their clients and commmunity.

Three other Life Coaching students, Rhonda Hunt, Andrea Doucette and Marie McEachin have enbraced the T.E.A.M. concept by organizing a weekend retreat serving women who have not been able to explore their full potential due to the demands of family, esxpecially those raising cheldren as a single parent. The weekend of May 5-7th, 2006 twenty women hare retreating to Sedona for a weekend of self-descovery and empowerment. Rhonda Hunt, serving as the facilitatior for the retreat, recently wrote the following email to the SWIHA Sucess Center Corrdinator:

Dear Piperlyne,

Thank you for being so supportive of the Sisterhood Retreat that we are sponsoring in Sedona. You know that none of this would have been possible if the four of us hadn't met in the Life Coaching class at SWIHA. Now I understand why you encouage us to form networks and make commitmetns to support one another.

Rhonda Hunt

Another group of four students, Morgan Evans, Melissa Corter, Charles Marshall, and Janet Bynon have organized to support and further one another's dreams and business goals by forming the ICN - Intuitive Consultant Network. The purpose of this student/graduate organization is to co-market their services, as well as to challenge one another to continue to develop their individual intuitive gifts. This group of students meets montherly in an extra classroom at SWIHA to prcatice their intuitive readings, as well as discuss any challenging clients or situations they have encountered over the last month. When asked to comment on the T.E.A.M. concept, the following email was sent to the school director:

Dear KC,

You asked me to comment on how Morgan, Melissa, Janet and I have benefitted from using the T.E.A.M. concept. WHat can I say other than WOW! We have found that by organizing as students and now as greaduates, we are achieving more. Not only in our businesses, but as individuals, we are achieving more. Whaen you take unique individuals and come together toward common goals, a dynamic energy results. We have had clients say that when the four of us work together they are almost blown away by the amount of energy that is produced.

I am proud to say that the ICN - Intuitive Consultant Network was recently at a community networking event offering our services. The four of us had the longest line of anyone else there. I am not bragging, just reporting on the fact that we are creating more results together.

I will be forever grateful for the connections made at SWIHA, and for you encouraging students to organize and combine their efforts.

Thank you for being committed to our success,

Charles Marshall

There are several other stories of SWIHA students organizing support groups to continue the camaraderie and support well after they have completed their classes. All of the groups have the same theme in common : Together Everyone Achieves More.

Best Wildcard Practice

• The Best Wildcard Practice Award was for Education Creativity and Innovation in the classrooms.

What do a pajama party, Groucho Mark’s glasses and chocolate fondue have in common? They are all creative educational strategies employed at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, under the direction of Linda Bennett, Director of Education.

During a recent Life Coaching class, that is part of the Mind-Body Transformational Psychology Associates degree program, students were ‘required’ to wear pajamas to class.  The class came into the room filled with futons on the floor. A blanket, cookie and glass of milk were prepared for each student.  The instructor proceeded to read them a storybook, simulating a common childhood storytime.  After creating lots of laughter and fun, the students were presented with the idea that the things that hold us back the most in the pursuit of our  dreams today are the ‘stories from the past’.  Through carefully orchestrated exercises, the students are invited to ‘give up the stories from the past’, allowing them to break through to their full potential.  The drama of wearing their pajamas to class is minor compared to the transformation of this powerful educational experience.  Many students report this class as being a turning point in their lives.  Change your story – change your life.

In the last night of Stress Management class the topic is the use of humor to manage stress. The students viewed a video, The Joy of Stress by Loretta LaRoche, and then were given the assignment to work in dyads telling their partner of a current stressful situation in their lives while wearing clown noses or Groucho Marx glasses. Needless to say, it’s pretty hard not to laugh during the exercise. What many of the students found was that what they were stressing over was pretty silly. Twenty seconds of laughter is the cardiovascular equivalent of three minutes of strenuous rowing. It was quite a hilarious and fun exercise and the students were more than eager to pose for a group photo.

Chocolate fondue was at the center of an excellent recent educational breakthrough for a group of forty students when they were invited to interact with potential employers and colleagues.  SWIHA hosted a networking mixer for the Arizona Holistic Chamber of Commerce. About 75 members attended and were treated to a 20’ table of hor d'oeuvres, complete with chocolate fondue, in which strawberries, cherries, brownies, and cream puffs could be dipped. Another student shared that she would never be afraid of interviewing with a doctor again, because as she was dipping a strawberry into the chocolate fondue she looked up to see a chiropractic physician doing the same thing, only to have chocolate running down his face.  Her comment was, “Right then and there I realized we were both human.”  One of the best comments of the evening was from a young bashful student who said, “Wow, now I KNOW what I am working toward.  I just have to be able to give someone my business card and tell them I charge $50 bucks for my services without stuttering.”

2006-2007

 

Best Community Student Practice

SWIHA has always been known for its commitment to service.  To be of service means the engagement of activities that primarily focus on the service being provided as well as the benefits the service activities have on the recipients.

 

SWIHA recognizes the importance of having a strong connection to the community.  The school understands that it is part of a greater whole and that its efforts to serve the community directly affect the environment.

 

Three of the best examples are highlighted below:

 

In 2006 we committed to a year long project with The shelter for Synchronistic Healing.  The Shelter involves solving medical concerns and ofering holistic services that would not otherwise be available to them.  Through our Student Clinic 20 women per month were offered the opportunity to receive complementary massge treatments.  Due to the immense success of the project and the benefit to these women, SWIHA has committed to extending this service for another year.  (see attached letter)

 

Christmas 2006 SWIHA set up three different Christmas Trees throughout the campus to honor different groups in need.  Each tree was designated with decorations and information as to the types of gifts most needed.  Students and staff gave generously and the gift of giving was surely felt throughout the halls of SWIHA.  Recipients of the Christmas giving were Hospice of the Valley, United Food Bank and Our Troops Overseas.  (see attached Thank You's)

 

SWIHA continues to support organizations throughout the year with the gift of student and graduate practitioners offering their services at many worthwhile charity events.  From massages, to life coaching, to toe readdings, the public has the opportunity to experience and benefit complimentary tretments.  Recipients of these services include, Sister to Sister Foundation, The Art of Recovery, The Baby Summit, Black Midwives/Healers Conference, and Banner Desert Medical Center - Caring for the Caregiver.  (see attached Letter)

 

Best Student Organization

 

T.E.A.M. = Together Everyone Achieves More is the motto that best describes a variety of student/graduate organizations that have evolved at SWIHA.  Continually we hear how our students connect with like minded individuals while at SWIHA and through those connections are able to create projects and groups that allow them to work together towards a common goal.  Four of these best examples are highlighted below.

 

The 1st Annual Holistic Fair for Children and Families was the vision and dream for AOS Student Mary Ernsberger.  Mary enlisted fellow students and practitioners in providing information to the public on how their produt and/or services are being made available to and benefiting Children & Families.  The event was held in March of 2007.  (See attached flyer)

 

Sandy Jones has, through her spiritual and psychological studies at SWIHA has discovered a process of motivation that goes deep into the soul.  Her own life experiences and personal transformation are testimony to this process.  This inspired her to create Soul Motivations, A Ministry of Love and the Emerging Healers Conference scheduled for July of 2007.  Highlighting many fellow classmates, Sandy has created a conference that allows the "next generation" to step forward and be hears.  85% of the speakers featured at the Emerging Healers Conference are SWIHA graduates and all of the speakers hae been in SWIHA at one time or another.  This speaks to the networking opportunities that are present at the school.  SWIHA seems to always connect its students and grads to the resources they need to manifest purpose and passion in their lives.  These speakers needed a venue for their innovative messages to be hears.  Sandy recognized that and thus, this conference was born.  The board of directors for the Emerging Healers conference also features SWIHA grads at a total of 80% of the board.  Not only is the conference supporting SWIHA grads whom are ready to stand and be heard, it is also supporting grads whom see their abilities manifesting in more tangible terms.  Allowing those who organize and work behind the scenes to also share their gifts.  Her board of directors as well as her speakers truly demonstrate the motto..."together everyone achieves more."  (See attached brochure)  Her board of directors as well as her speakers truly demonstrate the motto..."together everyone achieves more."  (See attached brochure)

 

ARIZONA-LIFE-COACHES-SUPPORT was the inspiration of Martine Muller and fellow classmates.  Designed to support Life Coaches after completing their education at SWIHA, the group meets monthly to discuss marketing ideas and growing their own businesses.  The meetings also offer the opportunity to learn from one another's experiences.  Their mission is "Together we can" brainstorm and share ideas, discuss questions, issues and concerns, solutions, events and announcements with other local coaches here and een connect with other groups.   We will support one another in facilitating the work professionally, one-on-one with individuals, guiding them in transforming their lives.  ABLE Coach's Corner is the newest project of graduate Edward Aldama.  As coaches it is important to share our thoughts and resources with each other to improve our skills and better serve the community.  The Coach's Corner is intended as a collaborative space for fellow coaches to share their knowledge and insights.  Edward is creating facilities as well as systems to support his fellow classmates.  Master Coach memberships are availale to life coaches who have proven experience as a coach and want an opportunity to provide seminars or classes in cooperation with the ABLE Instutute.

 

There are several other stories of SWIHA students organizing support groups to continue the camaraderie and connection well after they hae completed their classes.  All of the groups have in common the same theme:    Together Everyone Achieves More, Please consider Southwest Institute of Healing Arts for the Award of Best Student Organization.

 

Best Retention /Completion Practices

 

The competion standards set forth by ACCSCT is known to be 38% for 2-year programs.  ACICS requires an explanation and plan of action from schools that hae retention rates below 65%.  ACCET, the accreditation agency that accredits SWHIA, requires that a school have a 66.67% retention rate for all programs regardless of their lengths.

 

In setting our retention goals the last two years, we chose a local high performing school to benchmark against.  That school recently reported to us that for 2005 their 2-year programs retention rages ranged from 72.5%-76.8%, and that the 2006 data for their 2-year programs ranged from 65.2%-67.4%.

 

In 2005, SWIHA increased retention in both of AOS degrees.  Our AOS degree in Holistic Healthcare had a a completion rate of 75% and in 2006 the completion rate for that same program was 83.33%.  The thing we are most excited about was that in 2005 we only graduated 9 people from the Mind-Body Transformational Psychology program and in 2006 we had 18 graduates from that program.  We doubled the amount of graduates in the AOS Mind-Body Transformational Psychology Program and increased the retention percentage by 8 percentage points in our AOS in Holistic Healthcare.

 

The things that we credit to the increase in retention are:

1.  Creating an independent Retention Specialsit - Student Advisor position.  A new position was created with the title being Retention Specialist.  Her duties are to be the support and serve as a student liaison for people in this program, providing creative solutions to their needs and requests.  A "Hot List" is constantly being worked, monitoring the attendance of student' in this program, as well as all of the other programs offered at the school.

2.  Right Enrollment - The admissions staff of SWIHA are trained under the philosophy that only the 'right' students should be enrolled into the programs at SWIHA.  The admission team are held accountable to the Retention & Completion goals as well.  Over that last two years it has become obvious to the team that the incoming admissions numbers do not mean anything if the back-end numbers do not meet accreditation standards.  If in doubt as to the success of a student in a Degree granting program, the student is enroled into one or more classes as a Personal Development student, requiring them to pay cash for their classes until such time the student is determined to be a well-qualified candidate for a longer program.

 

3.  Admission Representatives dually trained as Life Coaches - All os the Admissions staff are required to complete the 100-Life Coaching program, so that they execute their admissions responsibilities from a 'coaching' perspective rather than a 'sales' perspective.  A great Life Coach never sells anyone into anything, rather coaches them into the best option for the overall well-being of their life.  We are seeing the results of a 'coaching' versus a 'sales' orientation in admissions.

4.  Our Customer Service Campaign - Over the Top Service - This last year we have had an ongoing campaign known as "over the Top Customer Service" and we have empowered employees by giving them the authority to provide solutions to the unhappy customer...'Turning a frown upside down'.  This includes the authority to give a student $40 "Boo-Boo card", to be applied toward classes or for a complimentary massage or facial in the student clinic, due to any stress caused by a situation that resulted from miscommunication on a staff member's behalf.  Various other creative solutions may also be utilized as needed to meet the needs of the students and help them complete their programs.  Thus, we have found that the empowerment has,  in turn, allowed the staffto create the atmosphere of cooperation and communication all around rather than abuse the authority granted.

2007-2008

Best Placement Practice

In 2007 67% of the enrolling students stated in their enrollment Intention Statement that self-employment was their ultimate goal. To date we are able to document that 79% of the graduating students with that intention had started their own business by the time they had graduated from their program or had plans firmly in place to do so within the next 90 days after graduation. Within 90 days post graduation we documented that 53% of all of our graduates were self-employed in their field of study. In exit interviews, graduates often report their participation in the 100 hours of Entrepreneurial Success classes contribute most to their entrepreneurial success, which is the ‘Placement’ they desired. This last year a new feature was added to the Entrepreneurial Support class, which was a Team E-Blast. Groups of five to seven Entrepreneurs created newsletters filled with ‘Compelling Offers’ which were sent to mailing lists that SWIHA has developed over the past couple of years. Please see an example of the E-Blast newsletters. From the enclosed E-Blast newsletter, featuring 7 new business owners, 100% of them got a response to their offers, one graduate of which got 11 requests for additional information on her services.  Below are excerpts from students regarding their experience: 1. “Thanks so much for the E-Blast opportunity. I have gotten 15 responses and have two coaching appointments. Seeing the actual work of getting it out via the computer was an education in itself. In my life I would call it E-Blest.” –Colleen S. 2. “I have already received an email from a woman who wants to take advantage of the $20 off for the first massage at True Harmony! That’s fast!! How cool is that?”-Anna F. 3. “Yes, it was compelling enough for me to ‘click’ (on the special offers). I think it is a great idea, KC. What a neat way to give back to the universe!”-Vicki P. 4. “KC, this is a great idea…one that could be expanded on fairly easily. Great job to those who thought of this. I am sure this will bring big results.”-Sandy R. We hope you will agree that this is an award-winning way to support our graduates toward their success with our placement efforts.  

In addition, this last year SWIHA has sought to ‘create’ new career opportunities with spas, salons and resorts by working to help position “Toe Reading” as a new service available to the public.

Best Community Student Practice

SWIHA has always been known for it’s commitment to service; it is a part of our core values. Below is a letter from twenty two of our students who were recipients of SWIHA’s commitment to community service.

To Whom It May Concern:

On behalf of the twenty one students ‘adopted’ by Southwest Institute of Natural Aesthetic (SWINA), a division of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, we would like to nominate them for the Best Community Service Award.

Last year the school we were all attending (Arizona Esthetics Institute) closed with no notice. All we received was a letter in the mail telling us to pick up our personal belongings, the school was closing. On Monday, August 14, 2007 all of us showed up at the school crying, the owner and director of SWINA was there with a smile, a letter and an unbelievable offer:
 
Dear Students of Arizona Esthetic Institute,
We understand ‘sad things happen to good people’ and feel great compassion for the owners and management of Arizona Esthetic Institute.  For the good of the industry we do not want to see any student harmed in this unfortunate situation, therefore want to reach out in any way we can. 

Please allow us to support you by giving you the opportunity to complete your training at Southwest Institute of Natural Aesthetics in Tempe, Arizona.  We will be happy to recognize the hours you have completed to date and provide the additional training you have already paid for.  By this we mean, whatever amount of training you have already paid for and have not received  - - we will provide that amount of training at no additional cost to you.  The only cost to you will be for you to purchase a school uniform for $85 and any product that may be needed for you to complete the required competencies in class.
Blessings
KC Miller
Founder/Director
Southwest Institute of Natural Aesthetics
1112 E Apache Blvd. Tempe, AZ  85281
480-994-9244

At first none of us could believe the offer – we just knew there must be a catch. It wasn’t until we watched the report on Channel 3 TV we began to understand what the owner of the school meant when she said “for the good of the private school industry” she did not want to see any of the students harmed in this unfortunate situation. We didn’t understand who the private school association was that KC Miller talked about, but we began to understand her offer was real and...that there seemed to be some ‘higher authority’ she felt compelled to answer to.

When we had a chance to ask KC and the staff at SWINA why they took us in, the answer was always the same: “It was the right thing to do.” In class when we were discussing business ethics we really understood the term “living your ethics”. Whether you subscribe to the Christian belief: “Do unto others as you would have them do to you” or the Yogic principles of “Right Living” we all personally understand what it is to ‘be of service to the community’. We are all committed to ‘pay-it-forward’. In the future, if there is ever a time someone is in need we have learned to asked, “What is the ‘Right’ thing to do?’...and do it, even before you consider all the consequences.

We hope you will agree Southwest Institute of Natural Aesthetic (SWINA), a division of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, deserves the Best Community Service Award.

Nominating Students:

Amber Kriess    Linda Schuller
Sara Stephens   Crystal Hillman
Linda VanBoven   Stacy Cline
Jill roesler    Elise Soehnlein
Carole Williams   Rebecca Lee Hill
Alison Koskella   Dawn Amato
Delley May Garvin   Christy Hermann
Alicia Moskowitz   Maureen Haines
Debra Drennan   Michele Silvernale
Amber Welch    Zethina Haehl
Jacquline Guidali   Alexis Paleo