"Life Changing" Coach Certification Program Graduates its First Class of Professional Coaches

ATLANTA - Nov. 18, 2014 - PRLog -- The Academy of Creative Coaching (ACC) announces the first graduation class of its new professional coach certification program, and is accepting applications for its upcoming January cohort. The program offers seven specializations, including Executive Coaching, Health and Wellness Coaching, Relationship Coaching, Cultural Competency Coaching, Educational Coaching, Spiritual Coaching, and Life Coaching. The Academy offers low tuition, private loans, and flexible no-interest payment plans.

 Students of the first graduating class have called the 6-month experience "life-changing", "positively challenging", and "filled with a wealth of valuable information and strategies."

Kurinn Wright, of KWright Coaching (www.kwrightcoaching.com), said, "I originally chose the Academy of Creative Coaching for the flexibility of the course schedule. However, I quickly discovered that's just the icing on the cake. My cohort, the instructors, and the content, priceless."



Roshon Thomas, of Life Moves Coaching also expresses her sentiment for her experience in the program. "I love, love, love my class! Our instructors are amazing, and I'm not just saying that."



ACC boasts of a skilled leadership team and lineup of faculty with decades of combined experience in areas with professional backgrounds as psychologists, Wall Street experts, business owners, executive consultants, safety and emergency response experts, authors, academic researchers, and international experts. For a lineup of the ACC team, visit the website: http://academyofcreativecoaching.com/about-acc/



Professional Coaching: A Growing Industry



According to a Manchester Consulting Group study of Fortune 100 executives, the Economic Times reports, “Executive coaching resulted in a return on investment (ROI) of almost six times the program cost as well as a 77% improvement in relationships, 67% improvement in teamwork, 61% improvement in job satisfaction and 48% improvement in quality.” Additionally, a study of Fortune 500 telecommunications companies by MatrixGlobal found executive coaching resulted in a 529% ROI. Additionally, wellness programs that include coaching have been shown to provide approximately a 300% ROI. In fact, in a 2004 survey by Right Management Consultants, 86% of the most successful companies said they used coaching to sharpen the skills of individuals who have been identified as future organizational leaders.

A Stanford University Study: Life Coaching on College Campuses



Recent studies have shown that coaching on college campuses has been highly beneficial for institutions and students. One particular study conducted at Stanford University found that, "coaching is one of the more cost effective ways to improve retention and graduation rates." This study included 13,500 undergraduate students. 8,500 experienced ongoing coaching and 5,500 did not. This is what they found: "After six months, the coached student group led the non-coached group in retention by about 10 percent. After 12 months, the coached group led by nearly 12 percent. The coached group also led at 18 months and 24 months, by 15 and 14 percent, respectively.

The results were consistent when the researchers controlled for age, gender, SAT or ACT scores, high-school GPA, and scholarships and grants." Such findings demonstrate the potential benefits of proving student affairs professionals with the same coaching techniques used by professional coaches. This can greatly improve student persistence, as coaching provides students with essential tools needed to successfully accomplish goals, including graduating from college. According to Grant's study in 2003, life coaching was associated with enhanced mental health, quality of life and goal attainment, and increased levels of insight. The more current study published in 2014 by Bettinger and Baker demonstrated that these benefits are still effective and can be transferred to the college student population.

About the Academy of Creative Coaching



The Academy of Creative Coaching (ACC) was founded and developed by two women who know education – Dr. Pamela Antoinette Larde, author and professor of research, and Dr. Sony Shepherd, author of 17 books and international expert on school safety. “There is a growing number of programs offering certification, but many of them lack quality and integrity. It was important to us to develop a program that not only offered certification in an efficient way, but one that also provided a top-notch educational experience. We want to graduate coaches that truly feel empowered to change the world,” says Dr. Larde, President of ACC.



The academy’s curriculum incorporates its unique Intelligence, Inspiration, InnovationTM philosophy, also known as The Creative ApproachTM – a compelling fusion of theory that incorporates the research of Dr. Larde (self-determination, leadership, and post-traumatic growth) and Dr. Shepherd (the link between creativity and intelligence).

ACC offers a full certification program with options to complete 125 or 60 training hours in either an online or hybrid format. Program length ranges from 6 weeks to 6 months and is designed to accommodate a busy life of family, work, and play. With tuition offered at competitive rates and flexible payment options, ACC is committed to offering financial options that can make the pursuit of coach certification possible.

ACC is now accepting applications for its upcoming cohorts, which begin January 6 in Atlanta, Milwaukee, and online.


Visit us online!


www.academyofcreativecoaching.com



www.facebook.com/academyofcreativecoaching.com

www.twitter.com/acccoaches


Bettinger, E.P., Baker, R. (2014). The Effects of Student Coaching An Evaluation of a Randomized Experiment in Student Advising. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 36(1), 3-19.

Bettinger, Eric, and Rachel Baker. The effects of student coaching in college: An evaluation of a randomized experiment in student mentoring. No. w16881. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011.

Grant, Anthony M. "The impact of life coaching on goal attainment, metacognition and mental health." Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal 31.3 (2003): 253-263.