Thursday, November 20, 2008

Director of Education for Culinary Arts Colleges

One of the roles within the corporate and campus offices of the culinary arts colleges is the role of Director of Education.

The Director of Education is typically responsible for overseeing all aspects related to the education department. This would include being responsible for budgeting, training staff, developing the curriculum, and dealing with student problems and issues.

In addition, the Director of Education typically reports to the Executive Director (also known as the School Director or President) at both the Regional and Home Office levels. S/he is also responsible for working with the accrediting bodies to ensure school compliance with all published state, federal, and accreditation regulations.

The Director of Education typically has supervision over program directors, instructors, and student services personnel. The main goal is to ensuring that the culinary arts school provides a quality educational experience for students.

For more information, please visit http://www.culinaryartscollegesite.com

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Culinary Arts College Site - School Director

Thanks for coming back to my culinary arts college site.
What role does the School Director aka School President, Executive Director play in the culinary arts school?

In general, the School Director will have full P&L responsibility and will oversee management of the school including the following departments: admissions, education, placement, finance/financial aid, and facilities. S/he will have P& L responsibility for: revenue line - starts, retention, expense control - salaries, staffing, all other expenses, cash flow and the bottom line; marketing, ie. recommending additions and deletions of programs based on market research, spearheading the development of programs not already available within the system; students - maintaining a school that treats its students as customers; communications - students, faculty, staff, region and home office, ie. community and advisory boards; compliance, ie. financial aid, accreditation, default rates and other mandated external financial measures, refunds; and personnel - hiring, training, goal setting, firing.

The successful culinary arts college site School Director should have several solid years experience as a proprietary (for profit) school director, past experience in admissions, experience with diverse curriculum offerings, and staff supervision. A four year college degree is necessary unless the individual has over 10 years experience in the proprietary school business.

Compensation for these types of positions depend on the size of the culinary arts college. They typically range from $60,000 to $120,000 base salary plus bonuses. This can be a very lucrative position in a culinary arts school. Find out more by visiting http://www.culinaryartscollegesite.com

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Culinary Arts College Site - What Role Does the Admissions Department Play?

Thanks for coming back to the best culinary arts college site.

Having been in the executive recruiting business for over 20 years now, I have done quite a few recruiting assignments in the culinary arts field and the career college field.

One of the positions we recruit for are Admissions Directors positions. Because of the high pay for these positions, I always thought that it would be a great career for a sales-oriented person to go into. Now that I see the kinds of pressure they are under, I have changed my mind.

What does that have to do with the best culinary arts college site? When you call any of the culinary arts colleges to ask for information, you will be forwarded to the admissions department in most cases. The job of the Admissions Director (at least the main job) is to attract students to their career college. They are under a great deal of pressure to get new students. Consequently, they will go out of their way to be overly nice and in some cases, even pushy.

It's easy to get excited about a college after speaking with one of the admissions directors or admissions reps. In fact, you will most likely get follow up calls and follow up materials. This isn't necessarily bad, but you will need to call several culinary arts colleges so you can compare before making an intelligent decision.

The point is, don't make a decision based on the admission reps personality or ability to convince you that their school is the best. Do additional research and listen to what a number of admissions reps have to say before making up your mind. It's your career and it's important for you to know exactly what you are getting into and what you will be paying for.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Culinary Arts Colleges - Cooking Schools - What's the Difference?

The terms culinary arts colleges and cooking schools are often times used interchangeably. To some people, they are the same thing. To others, the term culinary arts college denotes a greater degree of education than a cooking school. There can be differences and usually there are.

A culinary arts college will typically provide a student with a verifiable diploma, certificate or degree whether it be a two year or a four year college degree. Most of the better culinary arts colleges are certified or accredited which means that they have to meet specific standards to be able to teach culinary arts courses.

A cooking school can range from a one man show to a mom and pop cooking class in someone else's kitchen. It can also be a cooking school that provides a diploma or a certificate upon completion and it may also be accredited.

It is important to look up both terms when searching for a college or school to complete a culinary arts college degree because there is a chance that the terms are being used interchangably. If they are and you don't check out both, you may be missing a culinary arts college or cooking school that you could have attended but didn't find because you didn't do a thorough enough search.

If you think you just want to learn a little bit more about cooking then choose the terminology "cooking school" or "cooking classes" or "cooking demonstrations" in your google search. If you want to attend a two or four year college then type in "culinary arts colleges" or "culinary arts college degree", or "culinary arts college site" to get the best returns.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Culinary Arts Schools - Masters Degree Program

If you are a really serious student of the culinary arts field, you may want to attend a culinary arts school masters degree program.

It is a bit more difficult to find a culinary arts school that offers a Master's Degree program because typically, two and four year degrees are satisfactory for all that is necessary to be successful. However, it will take you another two years to enhance your education and become more of an expert in baking, restaurant management, cooking, pastries, etc.

A Master Chef is different from earning a Master's Degree. Many who pursue a Masters are looking more for courses in food studies, the culinary arts, food science, food chemistry, nutrition, etc. One of the few schools on the East Coast that offers a Masters program is NYU in New York. There are other schools in Canada and Australia, but it will take some real digging to find very many in the USA offering a masters degree in culinary arts.

Some individuals just like going to culinary school. They know they will acquire more indepth skills and perhaps at some point, desire to teach these skills to others.

Make sure the culinary arts school you decide to attend has a placement assistance program. For all of the money you are going to be paying for a masters education, you should have some cooperation in getting placed once you graduate.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Culinary Arts Degree - Bachelors Degree Program

There are more and more career colleges adding Bachelor Degree programs, including bachelors degrees in culinary arts.

A culinary arts bachelor's degree takes four years to complete. This degree is similar to one that you would find in a major college or university. You will be required to take general courses over the first two years in a variety of subjects including math, science, history, the arts and other liberal arts studies.

During the last two years you will focus on the culinary arts aspect of your degree. This is where you will learn all of the skills you need to become an executive chef running and managing a restaurant and a staff. In addition, you will get the hands on training you will need to be successful.

You will be prepared in many more areas than with just a two year associates degree. It is important to weigh whether the additional cost will yield you a better job so when applying for a Bachelors Degree Culinary Arts program, talk with their career and placement services department to see why you should elect a four year degree instead of a two year degree. Be sure it is worth the extra money you will be paying and the time you will be spending.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Culinary Arts College - Cooking School - Associates Degree

If you prefer a more professional culinary arts degree and perhaps want to move up in the ranks in this field, a better degree for you might be the Associates Degree from a reputable culinary arts college or cooking school.

An associates degree is typically a two year degree that is obtained from a vocational school or a community college where they have a program that specializes in culinary arts or cooking. In the culinary arts field you can get two year associates degrees in such specialties as: restaurant management, the art of pastry creation, becoming a chef, general cooking and baking, international cuisine, and other specialties.

Upon graduation from an Associates Degree program in the culinary arts, positions available might include working at a leading restaurant as the assistant or head chef, working at one of the top hotels as the head chef, opening your own bakery or restaurant, becoming a restaurant manager, becoming a catering manager or opening your own catering business.

There are many options available in the culinary arts field for individuals who go on to get an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts from a leading cooking school.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

What Kind Of Degree Can I Get At a Culinary Arts Cooking School? The Culinary Arts Certificate or Diploma Degree

What types of culinary arts degrees are available to the prospective culinary arts student? Culinary arts is offered in some of the community colleges, some vocational and trade schools, and a few four year colleges for those seeking a degree in culinary arts or cooking.

There are a number of different types of programs or degrees offered at culinary arts colleges and cooking schools. The program you decide to take will be determined by your personal career goals. There may be some courses within a culinary arts college that you don't have any interest in, yet they may be required or included in the entire program. Other colleges or cooking schools may let you choose more of a flexible program where you only take the courses you are interested in. Unfortunately, those types of programs are few and far between.

The first and most popular program because of it's shorter length among those considering a culinary arts college or cooking school is the short term certificate or diploma program. These programs can last as little as eight weeks up to several months. Upon completion, the graduate would receive a certificate or a diploma for their efforts.

The student interested in the culinary arts school can take courses in general cooking, baking, restaurant management, or the pastry arts.

In the next blog we will learn about Associate Degree Programs offered by the culinary arts cooking schools. You can find out more at http://www.culinaryartscollegesite.com

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Culinary Arts Recipe Challenge - Do You Have What it Takes to Get Into the Best Cooking Schools?

Now it's time to have a little bit of fun. Looking for the right culinary arts college can be exhausting. Let's see if you are blessed with having what it takes to be a great chef. Do you think you will be able to get into one of the best cooking schools ?

Here is a challenge for you then. Can you tell by the receipe below what this product might be?

From time to time I am going to include a popular, well known recipe. Let's see if you know what's cooking and see if you have what it takes to get into some of the best cooking schools. You can take the poll up in the top right hand corner of the blog to see how you stack up with other aspiring culinary arts college students.

Here is your first recipe. Find out the answer in one of the next blogs.

Recipe of the Week - Can You Guess What These Ingredients
Will Make?

1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Bottled Grated Orange Peel
2 Tbsp Heinz Ketchup
2 Tbsp Heinz Chili Sauce

Bring to boil for 2 minutes stirring. Remove from heat.
Allow to cool to lukewarm. Put mixture in blender until
it is pureed. Pour into bottle. Cap tightly and refrigerate.
Use within 90 days.

Do You Know What This Is? Take the most recent poll in the top right hand corner. Let's see how many of you culinary arts college prospects can figure this one out. See if you qualify to be admitted to the best cooking schools simply because of your basic knowledge of ingredients.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

How to Choose a Reputable Culinary Arts College

If you are pursuing a career in the culinary arts field, it is important that you choose a reputable [culinary arts college]. There are several reasons for this. In this blog entry we will explore one reason.Attending a culinary arts college is going to be very expensive if you do not land a good job in the field. Any investment into career education is a worthwhile one if you can get out what you put into it.

Not all culinary arts colleges have good reputations. If you are going to pay good money to attend one, you are going to have to do some research up front to determine if the college you are looking into is accredited.Many of the culinary arts colleges listed on this blog are reputable culinary arts colleges. You can check them out by visiting the colleges that interest you perhaps by location or by the brand name that you already recognize. All differ in the amount of money they charge to attend and in the kinds of classes that they offer. You will want to investigate as many as possible and especially check out the reputation of the teachers and their success at job placement once you have finished your degree. Choose carefully and wisely as you will be spending a lot of money to invest in your education.

You definitely will want to be prepared the right way and be in great demand when graduation day comes. It makes no sense to skip the research part up front only to find that when you graduate, you cannot find a job.Another place you can go to is google to do some investigations. Just go to google.com and type in the search term "culinary arts college" and you will get many returns. Take a look at the results you get on the first few pages.

You can also visit: http://www.culinaryartscollegesite.com/ where you will find a video link where you can watch and listen to a chef who attended a culinary arts college and listen to what her experiences have been. There is also more information on culinary arts and general job search at http://www.jobsearchtop10.com When you visit the links on google, look for what certifications the culinary arts colleges have. These certifications are important. I will go into this more in the next blog.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Is the Culinary Arts College You've Chosen Accredited?

In determining what the best culinary arts college site is, you need also to be sure the culinary arts college you have chosen is accredited. The culinary arts field has different accreditation or certification programs that they can be a member of and typically those programs are policing programs that ensure that the colleges are keep up with certain standards. It would be a mistake to overlook this very important fact when choosing a culinary arts college to attend.

One of those accreditation organizations is called the American Culinary Federation Educational Institute (ACFEI). The college itself typically applies for the accreditation when they feel that they meet the best standards of their overall programs, their faculty and their facilities.

You can find out if just about any culinary arts college you want to attend is accredited also by visiting the following link: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.asp If you don't have the name of the specific college then just look for the state you are interested in and click on search. It will bring up the colleges in your state and you can choose the culinary arts college you have an interest in to see if they are accredited.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Culinary Arts Colleges On Line _ Good Idea?

Culinary Arts Colleges

The culinary arts field has become very popular among high school students. Consequently, more and more students are checking out culinary arts colleges on line. The main question is, can you complete an entire culinary arts college degree online?

The answer is no. The culinary arts field, like most other fields, has certain basic requirements that you must meet to get into your major. Those would include subjects like math, science, english, etc.. Those basic courses can be done online. Most of the culinary arts colleges on line offer the basic courses, but beyond that, there will be hands-on work that you will need to do in a classroom on the campus site that will be required. Besides, culinary arts can be fun, especially if you like to cook. You will be working at the colleges with top chefs who have agreed to become teachers.

You can expect to do the basics online so make sure you have chosen the culinary arts college that you really like because you will be spending a lot of time on the campus while trying to complete your degree. For more information on culinary arts colleges on line and nationwide and to see a video of a chef in action, you can visit: http://www.culinaryartscollegesite.com/