Best Practices in Placement and Career Services

reCommendationS for BeSt praCtiCeS in

CAREER SERVICES AND PLACEMENT

AUGUST 2013

APSCU | CAREER SERVICES AND PLACEMENT

MISSION STATEMENT

The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU) has established a task force on Career Services and Placement to promote best practices related to career-oriented postsecondary education. In doing so, we recognize the role of postsecondary career education in our nation’s quest to meet employer demands for skilled workers and our students’ goal of obtaining a quality job reflecting their area of study. The task force brings a breadth and depth of higher education and workforce experience to recommend the Best Practices in Career Services and Placement for our institutions and for all of postsecondary education.

This document is not a “how to” manual to help an institution create a career-services program. Rather, we seek to promote those best practices that through experience and outcomes by others have provided successful career services and placements for the students, their employers, and the institutions. For this discussion, we define “best practice” as a method or technique that has consistently shown superior results compared with other means and that peers may consider an aspirational benchmark.

The primary mission of the task force is documenting those postsecondary education best practices and support services that promote our graduates’ college journey, including being fully informed about their career options and obligations. Our institutions offer rich opportunities to help students prepare for their future careers as well as personalized support. Most institutions also offer continued career assistance throughout their professional journey in America’s workplace.

Recognizing and celebrating the diversity of our academic programs, our institutions, and our students, the task force begins its work knowing that APSCU member institutions’ definitive measure of success is the graduation of confident, capable people who become fully employed in their field of study. The best practices the task force suggests will help these institutions promote, as appropriate to their institution and their mission, a practical set of actions and policies connecting one’s postsecondary education to their career goals. These practices are not intended to be mandates but rather to advance examples of the innovations our member institutions are implementing. Some of these items will be a perfect fit for your institution(s), and some will not. The value will come in exploring your current practices and comparing them with those that are recommended.

The task force is mindful that the diversity of our institutions — in size, number of students and campuses, types of academic programs, and other factors — will result in implementation of many but not necessarily all the best practices, in ways appropriate to each institution. We recognize and celebrate this diversity of service, and we are unified in our commitment to offering a career-based education to prepare students with the education and skills appropriate for their chosen career.

APSCU | CAREER SERVICES AND PLACEMENT 1

MEMbErS Of ThE APSCU TASk fOrCE ON CArEEr SErvICES ANd PlACEMENT

Co-Chairs

Martha Lanaghen President, The Sparrow Group

Jeanne Herrmann Chief Operating Officer, Globe University

Members

Elise Scanlon Principal, Elise Scanlon Law Group

Tawnie Cortez Vice President Student Affairs, Rasmussen College

Megan Feyer Director of Student and Academic Affairs, Platt College

Sheri Leach Corporate Director of Career Services, Lincoln Educational Services

Ellis Murtha VP, Compliance and Regulatory Operations, EduK Group

Jonathan Langley Director of Career Services, Kaplan College

THE BEST PraCTiCES arE organizEd in Four CaTEgoriES:

i. Career Services — Identifies recommendations for overall progress in the enhancement of an institution’s career services and placement.

ii. Career Services Student Life Cycle — Explores best practices that touch our students throughout their life cycle. These ideas are specific to a student’s progression through the program, and include a focus on student-facing initiatives and processes.

iii. Campuswide Engagement in Career Services — Focuses on incorporating best practices into other departments to ensure that everyone on campus is supporting students’ employment goals.

iV. Effective Management of the Career Services Program — Discusses best practices that relate to ongoing organization and management of the institution’s career services function.

2 APSCU | CAREER SERVICES AND PLACEMENT

I Career ServiCeS

The 21st century student enrolled in postsecondary education in the United States represents a dynamic shift in our classical definition of “traditional.” Today’s new normal is no longer the fresh-out-of-high school, first-time, full-time student living on campus and attending colleges with significant family support. College campuses have witnessed the gradual evolution of the nontraditional student or “the new traditional.”

The National Center for Education Statistics reports that the nation’s colleges and universities are experiencing a new majority of nontraditional students. These students may possess one or more of the following characteristics: have delayed enrollment, part-time attendance, working full-time while enrolled, financially independent for purposes of determining Title IV federal student aid, has a dependent(s), is a single parent, and completed high school with a GED or other high school completion certificate or did not finish high school.1

With our nation focused on increasing the number of citizens receiving and completing postsecondary education, APSCU member institutions are filling a significant gap in meeting these ambitious and important goals. Today, we serve approximately four million students annually, representing 14 percent of all postsecondary students.

APSCU member institutions define their missions in helping students prepare for the workforce and measure success by the level of skill their students achieve (certificates, degrees, or licensure) and rates of employment for their graduates, among other measures. This outcomes-based model is a good fit, particularly now, when higher education institutions in all sectors are being asked to demonstrate their value to students and the public in terms of a return on investment. Activities an institution may consider using to promote an outcomes-focused approach include:

1. Monitor employment and placement rates at regular intervals to ensure that the number of graduates in specific programs of study reflects the current market demand.

2. Create and implement plans to drive continuous improvement in placement outcomes.

3. Stay informed about workforce trends.

4. Identify skills-gap issues that might be impacting placement and being proactive in designing programs to address specific workforce needs.

5. Make use of program advisory committees to inform both program development and identify market demands.

6. Provide support and services inside and outside the classroom to prepare students for their employment search and their professional career so they can demonstrate not only the technical and analytical skills they learned through their studies but the “soft skills” required to succeed in today’s workplace.

7. Establish relationships with the employment community through service learning and other initiatives to facilitate the school-to-workforce transition.

8. Build relationships with employers to generate internships and job leads.

9. Connect with alumni to strengthen the employment network for graduates.

10. Be transparent in the school’s promotional and recruitment materials about the success of graduates, including information about career services, placement rates, and earnings.

11. Ensure the accuracy of information made available to the public.

12. Use data systematically to improve programs and services for students.

1 Susan Choy, Nontraditional Undergraduates: Findings from the Condition of Education 2002, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education (NCES 2002-012), 2002.


II Career ServiCeS Student Life CyCLe

Students take many paths on their journey toward college completion. Some recommendations may not apply to individual students or an institution’s programs. Despite such diversity, career services are built upon the relationship an institution develops with students throughout their education path. The foundation of the career services role is to develop an appropriate professional relationship with each student that reflects and supports their academic journey.

Excellent relationships with students contribute to their success in school and employment upon graduation. Building powerful relationships starts before the student begins classes, continues throughout their academic program, and extends into their time as alumni.

Review the student life cycle and apply your services to a student’s specific journey in ways that will reap benefits for the student.

The Prospective Student

Every student begins his or her journey as a prospect. Many students are often exploring different careers and multiple institutions at which they could complete their studies. They’re looking to find the best option that fits their needs. As postsecondary institutions that provide education with a career focus, we are given the opportunity to support the student’s desires for both education and career preparation. Whether or not a student has attended another institution, your school should provide accurate and complete information to prospective students. This includes:

1. Providing institutional and programmatic accreditation status for each program.

2. Disclosing whether a program meets minimum requirements in the state where the institution is located to qualify students for state licensure in the relevant occupation.

3. Providing potential earnings and employment pathways for specific careers using Bureau of Labor Statistics data or similar recognized data.

4. Disclosing the cost of educational programs related to preparation and/or licensure for specific careers.

5. Disclosing institution transfer-of-credit policies.

6. Providing institution job-placement rates.

7. Requiring prospective students to affirm receipt and understanding of any required disclosures in writing.

8. Introducing the Career Services Department during admissions tours and acquainting prospective students with its services.

Both the institution and the student have responsibilities contributing to a student’s successful academic and career preparation. During introductory conversations with prospective students, an institution should clarify student responsibilities for achieving successful outcomes:


1. Students’ employment opportunities may increase if they achieve high program attendance. For this reason, some schools establish attendance requirements.

2. Students’ employment opportunities may increase if they achieve a satisfactory grade point average on their coursework that exceeds the minimum required for graduation.

3. Students’ employment opportunities may increase if they participate in experiential learning, including internship/externship, whether one is required or not for graduation.

4. Students’ employment opportunities may increase if they understand and utilize networking beginning in their first quarter and throughout their program.

5. Students’ employment opportunities may increase if they participate in team-building exercises and community service projects achieved through volunteer programs.

Career Services During the Student’s Early Tenure

Setting the tone for the student’s career success begins with the admissions process, and it comes to life in orientation programs and in the first few terms of academic programs. The early terms contribute to student success overall and, more specifically, to setting up the student for employment success upon graduation. An institution may consider undertaking one or more of the following activities:

1. Create student orientation programs beyond the academic programming that specifically relates Career Services and outcomes to a student’s academic studies. Share information about behaviors that may help students pursue employment at the end of their academic studies. For example:

• Class attendance

• Good grades

• Volunteer work

2. Offer a “freshman seminar” course (either as a for-credit course or as a campuswide workshop) that increases student understanding of employment outcomes and their own responsibilities. Such a course may include “life skills” areas, such as:

• Credit management

• Professionalism

• Study skills

• Project management

• Career document awareness (cover letter, resume, references sheet)

Career Services During the Student’s Mid-Tenure

The middle of a student’s academic studies is often the ideal time to reinforce valuable messages about career readiness. Career Services may work with the school’s academic affairs officials to design and deliver such consultation in ways that encourage experiential learning as a team-building skill and a good way to gain practical experience in the field of their career studies. Activities an institution may consider include the following:


1. Help students develop a portfolio of assignments they are proud of and that demonstrate their ability to showcase specific skills:

• Teamwork

• Project management

• Reading comprehension

• Writing

• Tools or technology specific to their field

2. Define and develop a career preparation “road map” with each student.

3. Provide employment-oriented, program-specific learning opportunities, as appropriate, which may include:

• Guest speakers, including alumni, who address successful hiring and employment practices related to specific programs, fields of study, or professional areas.

• Career fairs that expose students to employers.

• Coursework (for credit or offered outside of the classroom) that teaches students to write resumes and cover letters, to conduct an effective job search, and to create a professional online presence.

• Opportunities for students to practice interviewing and presentation skills and receive feedback.

4. Provide diverse opportunities for students in all programs to acquire experiential learning. For example:

• Provide accurate and complete information to prospective and enrolled students regarding externship or internship requirements and/or opportunities.

• Where appropriate, consider opportunities for nonrequired experiential learning and applied learning for students. This may include practice opportunities on campus, as well as volunteer opportunities for students within their chosen field.

• Provide service-learning opportunities on and off campus.

5. Collaborate with Academic Affairs to share with students how transfer policies, credentials, and similar programs can contribute to their academic and career preparation. These policies should be broadly available for student guidance through websites, catalogs, student handbooks, admissions processes, and orientation programs.

6. Supply accurate graduation and placement results.

7. Develop and document assessment plans that evaluate student placement outcomes.

Preparing for Graduation

Job searches should begin before graduation. Successful career services and placement programs seek to build placement outcomes connecting graduation with actual employment, rather than beginning the job search after graduation. Consider the following approach:

1. Identify a clear and easy-to-follow path for students to take throughout their preparation and job-search journeys.

2. Make job-search tools available to students both before and after graduation, such as:

• Publicly available resources such as monster.com, careerbuilder.com, indeed.com, simplyhired.com, and local or industry-specific websites.

• Social networking or blogging tips that lead to interviews and job opportunities.

• Access to print and electronic copies of training literature.


3. Conduct regular update meetings with students as they approach graduation or completion of their externship/internship.

4. Teach students the elements of a well-rounded and effective job-search plan and, if necessary, provide them with access to the tools to track their job-search activities.

Graduation

Institutions should strive to create a sense of urgency with graduates to help them quickly secure employment. To assist students during this process, institutions can do the following:

1. Publicize local corporate partners to students via e-mail, social networking, and blogs.

2. Create a consistent schedule and location for messages such as job postings and workshop schedules, using Twitter, Facebook, the Career Services website, e-mail newsletters, and campus bulletin boards.

3. Create an outreach program to build relationships with employers so they consider your graduates preferred candidates when new positions open.

4. Create a communication program to your network of employers to make them aware of new graduates who are available for employment.

5. Encourage regular contact between graduates and the Career Services department to minimize the number of graduates who fall out of touch with the school.

6. Provide refresher courses and license-preparation classes for graduates who will take certification or licensing tests

7. Invite alumni to attend any workshops that are conducted on campus. Make schedules available online or through regularly delivered e-mails and/or newsletters. If necessary, create unique workshops for unemployed and underemployed graduates.

8. Create engagement strategies to encourage alumni to think of your students first when they are seeking new employees. This strategy will be more effective if it complements communication processes to alumni and offers some inherent benefit to the alumni who participate.

Alumni

Alumni relations may be an institution’s most effective source for new employment opportunities for graduating students. Alumni in the field may be aware of current or potential openings, and they may bring to this process a commitment of support to the institution, its programs, and its students.

1. Recruit alumni to speak to current students on how to build their resume and pursue career placements.

2. Invite all alumni to attend any workshops that are conducted on campus. Make schedules available online or through regularly delivered e-mails and/or newsletters. If necessary, create unique workshops for unemployed and underemployed graduates.

3. Create engagement strategies to encourage alumni to think of your students first when they are seeking new employees. Such strategies will be most effective if they complement communication with alumni and benefit those who participate.


III CampuSwide engagement in Career ServiCeS

Having an employment-centered culture should be an important goal of every career-oriented college. To that end, these best practices identify effective ways to involve faculty and staff in promoting excellent employment outcomes.

Staffing and Organizational Structure

The Career Services Office

To help drive positive outcomes, institutions should consider the following functions of a Career Services department including:

1. Student Interaction — Develop and nurture professional relationships with students that help them prepare for the job search and for success in the job market.

2. Employer Relations and Community Outreach — Develop relationships in the community that may increase the likelihood that employers will contact the institution when there is an opening.

3. Experiential Learning Management (Externship/Internship and Service Learning) — Identify successful learning sites that assist students in preparing for employment while on externship.

4. Event Planning — Schedule regular events both on campus and within the community that can engage current and potential employers with the school and with students.

Campuswide

1. Recognize staff members who provide leads that result in students or graduates earning a job in their field of study.

2. Ask appropriate academic departments to participate in program-specific employment programs (such as health care, the trades, and information technology) as guest speakers, mock interviewers, and in career fairs and other programs that help prepare students for the job search.

3. Host a meeting that communicates all key success measures and detailed information regarding employment by program.

4. Keep all campus leaders informed of the career progress and employment outcomes for graduates at regular intervals. These reports should include program-specific and cohort-specific information.

5. Cultivate a campus culture that reinforces professionalism. Examples of ways to build an “employment culture” are:

• Dressing appropriately

• Using professional language at all times

• Havingregularconversationswithstudentsabouttheiremploymentplans—particularlyastheyapproachgraduation

• Providing feedback to students about employment outcomes


IV effeCtive management of the Career ServiCeS program

Colleges should have a process for collecting and reviewing data for program improvement. Areas of opportunity identified for improvement should have concrete plans, and progress should be tracked and understood.

Three important data sources include:

1. Student-Generated Data — Information about student satisfaction with their educational experience as it relates to career preparation through surveys and observation.

2. Instructor-Generated Data/Academic Services — Information regarding student preparedness for the workplace, and how instructors believe curriculum content and classroom technologies can enhance the partnership with Career Services.

3. Employer-Generated Data — Employers provide critical information to inform campus improvements, some of which is required by accreditors. Employer-generated data will take three forms:

• Specific assessments of graduates who have been employed or hosted as interns

• General assessments of the students with whom the employer has worked over time

• General assessments of the college’s programs, brand, and efficacy over time

Verification of Employment

Establish a verification process that meets the needs of the institution and any requirements of the applicable accrediting or regulatory body. Methods for performing such verification include the following:

1. Establishing a definition of employment, a minimum length of employment, or adhering to the definition of employment as set out by accreditors.

2. Confirming verification by e-mail, phone, or in writing directly from the employer or by a document signed by the graduate.

3. Documenting confirmation through other generally accepted means that the information on file is accurate and true.

4. Developing internal reconciliation protocols to resolve conflicting data between Career Services and the verification process.

Improving the Quality of Placements

An institution may consider the following activities to inform and improve the quality of placements:

1. Conduct periodic employer surveys on an ongoing basis.

2. Develop an action plan to convert employer survey data into actionable information to improve academic and other student outcomes.


3. Conduct regular student surveys in ways that meet accreditation requirements and improve programs that help students prepare for successful placement.

• The first student survey may be completed as part of graduation paperwork.

• The second student survey may be completed when the student has been out of school between four weeks and 90 days.

• A third and final student survey may be completed when the student has been out of school nine months to one year.

4. Compare data across variables to identify trends and pursue improvement plans.

5. Share feedback with faculty and staff as well as information regarding steps being taken to make improvements based on the feedback.

Program Advisory Committees

Program advisory committees serve to help colleges enhance the quality of their academic programs and meet the skill demands of their region or community. In addition, such committees can enhance the school’s mission and service to their communities. Recommendations for effective advisory committees include the following:

1. Advisory committee members may include employers, community members, students, and graduates from the institution.

2. The majority of advisory committee members should be public members, unconnected to the institution to ensure unbiased evaluation of the curriculum, the outcomes, and the institution itself.

3. Advisory committee meetings may be held on at least an annual basis; preferably twice a year or more.

4. Advisory committee feedback may be included in the institutional assessment plan as vital feedback on curriculum and student learning outcomes.

5. Seek expertise from national advisory boards, if appropriate, to give advice on employment trends and anticipated changes within the field.

6. Clear communication processes should exist to relate changes to program advisory boards when their suggestions result in changes on campus.

Community and Employer Relations

Relationships built in the community with business and industry will strengthen ties to employers who hire graduates. Cultivating relationships with local employers, continually reaching out to build new employment opportunities for graduates, identifying new employers, and showing appreciation toward employers that hire graduates are all critical elements in building community and employer relations. To promote effective community and employer relationships, institutions may:

1. Visit employers and invite their representatives to campus.

2. Provide employers with materials about services the Career Services team provides.

3. Let employers know how they can contribute to the development of industry-ready graduates by asking them to be guest speakers, participate in program advisory councils, career fairs, and so forth.

4. Enhance the visibility of the Career Services team in person and online by attending local networking groups and maintaining an active and professional website and social networking presence.

apscu.org

Best Practices in Placement and Career Services

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