Serving as a Director is one of the most important ways that you can support and sustain AACS. Our Directors have the responsibility to provide foresight, oversight, and insight for the Association; to serve as our primary ambassadors and advocates; and to be the conscious voice of our Members. In other words, our Board of Directors should reflect the highest aspirations of our businesses, our students, and of our industry.

 It is our pleasure to announce that the nomination period for the election of 4 (four) Owner Member and 1 (one) Associate Member seats on the AACS Board of Directors is now open. 

 

For your convenience, included here are two links—the Board Nominations Application Form, and, a link to a short video providing an Introduction to AACS Board Service, which addresses a few frequently asked questions. Nominations will be accepted through July 28, 2017. Thank you for your ongoing dedication and support of AACS.

Last year over 50 different cosmetology schools were recognized at the AACS Annual Convention and their achievements were highlighted across Modern Salon Media—including Modern Salon and Salon Today magazines, ModernSalon.com, SalonToday.com, our e-letters and our social media platforms—as part of the "Excellence in Education" program. You can take advantage of this unique opportunity to celebrate what makes your school really special. Enter any of several categories – from School Culture, Facilities, Use of Technology, and more! All entries are due by August 31.

Please visit modernsalon.com/excellence for full details and to enter online.

Let’s face it, most people enjoy playing games. Thinking back to when I was in the school full-time, some of the most fun days we had were when we decided to play a game. I often wonder why we didn’t incorporate them more often. There are a number of benefits to playing games. 

Last Wednesday, July 12th, 2017, in response to the U.S. Department of Education’s June 16th Federal Register Notice announcing their intention to establish two Federal Negotiated Rulemaking Committees, AACS submitted written testimony applauding the Department’s decision to revisit both the Gainful Employment and Borrower Defense to Repayment Regulations and offering comments and recommendations related to not only needed changes to these two harmful and overly restrictive regulations, but also the urgent need for immediate postponement and revision to the Proprietary School/Servicer Audit Guidelines (letter attached).  AACS GRC Committee Chairman Neal Heller also presented these concerns at the first of two regional field hearings held by the Department last week in Washington, D.C.

With this submission behind us, AACS now turns our attention to two additional opportunities to submit additional sets of comments and recommendations to Secretary DeVos and the Department.  First, in response to the July 5, 2017 Federal Register Notice announcing additional time to comply with the GE Alternate Earnings Appeals deadlines – which were published in no small measure thanks to the Court’s Order in response to our lawsuit, AACS will be responding to requests for comment on the decision to delay implementation of the GE Disclosure Template requirements related to the inclusion of such information in institutions’ promotional materials and the presentation of GE program data to prospective students prior to any enrollment related actions on the part of the student.  AACS is currently drafting our favorable response to the Department’s decision and will be providing additional comments to the Department prior to the August 4th, 2017 deadline. 

Second, in response to Secretary Devos June 22nd, 2017 request seeking any and all recommendations on how to streamline the current regulations and over 1,000 Office of Postsecondary Education, AACS will be providing a comprehensive list of proposals to revise or repeal overly prescriptive, duplicative, and redundant regulations and sub-regulatory guidance and interpretation prior to the August 21st, 2017 deadline.  Please be advised that next week AACS will be putting forth a Call to Action seeking your input in the development of a comprehensive list of proposals to submit to the Department.

All of this while we await the Department’s publication of new revised GE guidance in response to the AACS lawsuit which the Department has indicated would be forthcoming in early August. 

When you successfully create a connection with your customers and employees, many of them might stay loyal for life -- and you'll have the chance to increase your overall profitability while building a solid foundation of brand promoters. But achieving that connection is no easy task. The companies that succeed are ones that stay true to their core values over the years and create a company that employees and customers are proud to associate with.

 

That's where company vision and mission statements come in. A mission statement is intended to clarify the 'what' and 'who' of a company, while a vision statement adds the 'why' and 'how' as well. As a company grows, its objectives and goals may change. Therefore, vision statements should be revised as needed to reflect the changing business culture as goals are met.

AACS Online Training Center offers a wide variety of professional development opportunities for your faculty, staff and management. And successful completion of each online course provides credit toward the Certified Higher Education Professional (CHEP) certification.