Awards

June 27, 2011

Awarded the Natural Choice Award for “Holistic Business of the Year” for SWIHA as well as the Natural Choice Award for SWIHA’s “Yoga Studio,” Spirit of Yoga, from Natural Awakenings.

2010-2011

May 20, 2011

SWIHA won six out of eleven categories at the 2011 Arizona Private Schools Association (APSA) Annual Conference and Awards Luncheon! There are approximately 45 schools which are members of APSA. Below are the six categories SWIHA took home...

2010-2011

School of the Year

Recognized for outstanding and innovative school practices in 2010-2011.

Teacher of the Year

SWIHA has taken home this very prestigious honor two years in a row. Richard Seaman, our on-campus Master Life Coach/Instructor, was recognized for his outstanding contributions to teaching and community outreach; particularly his incredible work with HIV/AIDS clinics.

Best Retention/Completion

We are immensely proud to be above ACCET’s completion benchmark of 66.67% for all of our programs in 2010; a year of dedication towards aiding our students in achieving their employment and entrepreneurial objectives.

Best Recruiting Practice

Recognized for the efforts of our Admissions and Marketing department in generating quality leads while staying clear of the "hard-sell" approach and instead focusing on the individual's intent and dreams.

Best Community Student Practice

At SWIHA, we consider it an honor to work hand in hand with inspiring individuals and organizations dedicated to healing lives.

Best Student Financial Services Practice

The Financial Advisors at SWIHA have demonstrated that with record numbers of applicants and enrollments, significant changes in Financial Aid packaging, and increasing regulations for compliance, our team were still able to serve our students with outstanding customer service and loan assistance.

2009-2010

Teacher of the Year

SWIHA’s Western Herbalism program is directed by JoAnn Sanchez, whom we are honored to announce received the highest honor from our accrediting body - Teacher of the Year! JoAnn has created one of the top Herbalism programs in the country and we are so blessed to be able to offer such a high-caliber education to those who seek it.

2007-2008

Best Placement Practice

Awarded in honor of SWIHA’s commitment to providing entrepreneurial support for our students.

“In exit interviews, graduates often report that their participation in our entrepreneurial success classes contributes most to their post-grad success”.

Best Community Student Practice

Awarded to Southwest Institute of Natural Aesthetics (a division of SWIHA) for opening its doors to students of a local aesthetics school which unexpectedly closed down.

Below is an excerpt from the letter we received from those students:

"Last year, the Aesthetics school we were all attending closed its doors without notice. All we received was a letter in the mail instructing us to pick up our personal belongings and informing us of the school’s closure. On Monday, August 14, 2007, we all showed up at the school to pick up our things but were met by KC Miller, the owner and director of SWINA. She stood in front of us with a smile, a letter and an unbelievable offer…"

That letter read:

Dear Students,

We understand ‘sad things happen to good people’ and feel great compassion for the owners and management of the institution. For the good of the industry, we do not want to see any student harmed in this unfortunate situation, therefore we 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...

2006-2007

School of the Year

Recognized for outstanding and innovative school practices in 2006-2007.

Best Community Student Practice

Below is an excerpt from the award submission:

"In 2006, SWIHA committed to a yearlong project with ‘The Shelter for Synchronistic Healing’. The Shelter involved solving medical concerns for women and offering holistic services that would otherwise not be available to them. Through our Student Clinic, 20 women per month were offered the opportunity to receive complimentary massage 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."

Best Student Organization

Awarded in honor of a SWIHA student’s creation of an organization in support of other "'Emerging Healers".

Below is an excerpt from the award submission:

"Sandy Jones, A SWIHA graduate of the Mind Body AOS Degree program, through her spiritual and psychological studies, has discovered a process of motivation that goes deep into the soul. This inspired her to create ‘Soul Motivations: A Ministry of Love’ and the ‘Emerging Healers Conference’. Highlighting many fellow classmates, Sandy has created a conference that allows the 'next generation' to step forward to be heard. 85% of the speakers featured at the Emerging Healers Conference were SWIHA graduates, and all of the speakers have been involved with SWIHA at one time or another. This speaks highly of the networking opportunities that are present at our school."

Best Retention/Completion Program

Awarded in honor of SWIHA’s amazing increase in retention and completion of programs.

Below is an excerpt from the award submission:

"In 2005, SWIHA increased retention in both of our Associates Degree programs. Our Holistic Healthcare degree program had a completion rate of 75%. In 2006 the completion rate for the same program was 83.33%. We doubled the amount of graduates in the Mind Body Transformational Psychology degree program, and increased the retention percentage by 8 percentage points in our Holistic Healthcare degree program."

2005-2006

School of the Year

Recognized for outstanding and innovative school practices in 2005-2006.

Best Student Organization

Awarded in honor of a SWIHA student’s creation of an organization called "T.E.A.M."

Below is an excerpt from the award submission:

"T.E.A.M. = Together Everyone Achieves More is the motto that best describes a variety of student organizations that have evolved at SWIHA. Seven graduates of the Life Coaching program organized a support system for themselves and other graduates who choose to join them; operating under the name WingTeam. The concept was that it would be much easier for graduates to succeed if they knew they were not alone in starting their own businesses. Together this group of students markets coaching services, and meet regularly to access their individual commitments and goals in what is known as a Mastermind group..."

Best Student Placement Practice

SWIHA was recognized for our commitment to promoting and marketing SWIHA graduate businesses.

Below is an excerpt from the award submission:

“We have designed a website (www.GreatTherapists.com) and actively promoted it via print and radio advertising to push people to a website featuring our graduates and their businesses. In addition, SWIHA sponsored an Internet radio program on www.AchieveRadio.com entitled Great Therapists. The programs have been archived so consumers can listen to the programs and obtain information at their convenience. Graduates can also provide a link on their personal websites to the web radio show on which they were a guest."

Best Wild Card Practice

Awarded in honor of SWIHA’s efforts in cultivating educational creativity and innovation in the classroom.

Below is an excerpt from the award submission:

"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. Our goal is to create and utilize innovative teaching techniques to best serve each of our students' learning styles. By incorporating fun, unique ways of teaching, we feel we can reach deeper into the creativity of our students and allow them to learn more about themselves to make them better practitioners."