Free Spreadsheets to Help You Manage Your Language Program

February 14, 2011

Spreadsheets are an easy way to keep track of information. For smaller language schools and literacy programs that do not have access to the sophisticated information management systems or learning management systems (LMS), spreadsheets are a useful way to organize, update and archive all kinds of data, such as administrative, financial, class and student information.

Here’s a free, downloadable resource that I developed to help language school administrators develop their own spreadsheets. It’s a set of sample spreadsheets, that you can use as a template to develop your own spreadsheets.

There are four spreadsheets in this series:

  • Class and administrative information
  • Student progress spreadsheet
  • Class schedule
  • Cost breakdown and course costs

Language school spreadsheets

I prepared these spreadsheets on a Mac and so I’ve saved them in .pdf format so that anyone can have a look at them. If you’re a Mac user and you’d like the original Numbers file, send me an e-mail at sarahelaineeaton (at) gmail.com and I’ll forward the file. If you work in Excel or with Google Docs, you can create your own spreadsheets using these criteria or others that make sense for your program.

Related posts:

Free Webinar – How to Use Google Forms

Language School Application and Photo Release

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Free Webinar – How to Use Google Forms

February 9, 2011

How to Use Google Forms
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
08:00 Pacific / 09:00 Mountain / 10:00 Central / 11:00 Eastern / noon Atlantic

Learn how to use Google forms to:

  • Create evaluation forms for your online events
  • Create sign-up sheets for volunteers or participants
  • Survey your stakeholders

Google forms are free to use. I’ll give you a demo of:

  • how to create your own form
  • how to e-mail others a link to your online form
  • how to embed the form on a website
  • what the data from the form look like in a Google spreadsheet.

Intended audience: teachers, trainers, speakers, workshop facilitators, non-profit communications and marketing professionals, webinar hosts and anyone else with an interest.

A big thank you to Learn Central and Elluminate for sponsoring the event.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on Free Webinar – How to Use Google Forms | education, non-profit, Uncategorized, webinar | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Free Resources Every Language Program Administrator Needs to Know About

January 30, 2011

Language program administration and management is not new in terms of the work we do, but it is starting to emerge as a “profession”. Training programs have popped up here and there that focus specifically on how to train language program directors to do their job better

Here are some free resources you’ll want to know about if you manage or direct a language program. Don’t worry if they are language-specific. There’s some good stuff in these manuals and papers that every LPA (language program administrator) can benefit from.

If you know of more free resources, let me know and I’ll add them to the list.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Be positive in all your marketing materials – avoid negative words

January 24, 2011

There’s a theory that says if you project negativity, you will get negativity in return. So if you fill your marketing materials with rules and regulations about what students must not do and what the program will not provide, chances are you will not attract very many students.

Review your marketing materials looking for negative words – “no”, “not”, “never”, “can’t”, “won’t”, “shouldn’t”, “don’t”, etc. Then, change the sentences to give them a positive spin. For example, “Classes are no larger than 15 students” can be changed to, “Your class will have a maximum of 15 students.”

Another classic example: “Don’t hesitate to contact us” can be changed to a positive statement, starting with a strong action verb: “Contact us today to reserve your place in our course!”

Precisely because our schools often have strict policies and procedures, we find ourselves mentioning what can’t be done and what is not allowed. We need to remember that marketing materials are not the same as application and registration forms, policies, procedures or waivers. It’s important that every document serve its purpose. Marketing materials are meant to generate interest and make students want to take part in your courses. Tell your students what you will provide, what they will experience and what they can expect. Focus on a having a positive, simple, upbeat tone, filled with action verbs.

Fill your marketing material with positive, energetic words and you are likely to generate positive feelings in your prospects. That could lead to an energetic, “Yes, sign me up!”

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This post is adapted from “Idea # 12: Be positive in all your marketing materials – avoid negative words” in 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on Be positive in all your marketing materials – avoid negative words | 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program, language program administration, languages, marketing, second languages, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

A Formula for Pricing Educational and Training Programs

January 21, 2011

Many people ask me how to price their programs. There are a number of ways to approach this. One simple, straightforward formula for pricing educational programs:

Work out your costs. Double the total. That’s the price you charge for your program.

This is just one method used by “big institutions”. It ensures that you really have covered all your costs (including the ones that you sometimes forget to factor in such as insurance, etc.) Surpluses go back into your organization for future programming and capacity building.

When you calculate your costs, here is a partial checklist of items to consider:

Instructor salary – How much are you paying your instructor per hour? Remember to add in benefits, vacation pay and any prep time you pay.

Management and administrative support – How much of your time as a manager is put into each course? Ask your coordinators or admin staff to calculate how much time they spend prepping for and working on a given course. Multiply that by their hourly wage. That’s your cost for admin support for the course.

Rent – If you lease a space or pay rent, work out how much your space will cost you for each hour of your course. Take the square footage of your classroom and then add in all public areas accessed by students and staff during the course including the reception area, bathrooms and lunch room. What do those spaces cost you per hour? Multiply that by the number of hours in your course. That’s an approximate cost for your rent.

Utilities – What do you pay for phone, Internet, heat, hot water, etc.? If you work in a large institution it may not be easy to work out these numbers. Figure out an estimate though. You’re still paying for these things, even if it is only indirectly.

Insurance – What insurance do you cover for your premises (fire, theft, etc.) and for your staff (liability, workers’ compensation, etc.) – Although the amount may be small, allot a portion of these costs to each course. Without them, you can’t run your programs.

In my experience, the first time managers figure out their real costs to run a course, they are surprised. They want to go back and check the numbers. “That can’t be right…” they say. In most cases, the number is right. As educators, we often underestimate our real costs to run programs. Become aware of your actual costs. When you double them to arrive at a price for your programs, you are becoming fiscally responsible by making sure there’s money left in the pot to keep your programs and your organization sustainable over the long term. You’ll have some extra in case of emergencies (and there are always emergencies), to subsidize a course you believe in strongly and enough to stay afloat when the economy tanks.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

1 Comment | language program administration, marketing, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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