Career Readiness and Student Success 3.0

By Lynn Chisholm, MS, CPM, Director, USF Office of Internships and Career Readiness

Student Success 3.0 takes collaboration and planning!

As usual, I’m thinking about career readiness. The importance of career readiness has taken on increasing value on our USF campuses (Tampa, St. Pete, and Sarasota/Manatee), and from conversations I’m having with colleagues around the Tampa Bay community, the state, and country, we are not alone. We, like nearly all campuses now, track our grads as they enter the job market, and just like worried parents watching their own children cross the stage toward the “real world” door, we hold our breath until we see that they “made it!” All the while wrestling with the questions “are they ready?”, “will they continue to be successful beyond the first job?” and “what else should we be doing before they leave us?”

This time my thinking was stimulated by Troy Markowitz’s (VP – Academic Partnerships at Portfolium) Forbes article of August 8, 2018, The Barriers To Success And Upward Mobility For First Generation Students And How To Fix The Problem. Markowitz observes that we’re entering a new version of what student success means, and he cites the evolving mission statements of campuses around the country as evidence. Student Success 3.0, he observes, represents an important paradigm shift:

Three components comprise the third iteration of Student Success: 1) Curricular and Co-Curricular Learning, 2) Assessment, and 3) Career Readiness. …let’s agree that successful outcomes should include strengthening higher education’s value for students and positioning graduates for a lifetime of opportunities.

What jumped out to me was the shift towards experiential learning and linking it with career readiness as the bookends to Student Success 3.0 (that’s us folks!) and the crucial role that “assessment” plays in driving the decisions any campus makes in support of “a lifetime” of career success.

On our campus, we have felt this shift. We’ve been morphing out of a traditional service delivery model (if you build it, they will come) and into Career Advocacy for this very reason. We’re connecting with students both before and after their years on our campuses in order to extend the runway and groom their path for success. And equipping them for success not just in that first post-grad opportunity, but well beyond that as we enable them to manage their career progress without us.

Those may not seem like revolutionary ideas, but how we are doing it represents a significant change in service delivery through closer alignment of what we do, when we do it, and who we’re offering it to. And with this iGeneration we’re also thinking through the “why” and providing them with just-in-time services through a blend of high-tech and high-touch that speaks their language and meets them where they are. Our Career Readiness Badging Program is one example of this, it is offered on all three of our campuses, to Alumni, and to our FUSE transfer students, and helps students prepare for skill transfer post-USF as well as develop practices in support of on-going professional development.

As I finish these musings, we – SoACE Experiential EeducKG members – are on the front lines of the Student Success 3.0 shift, and I look forward to the variety of ways that our members translate that for our students. Student Success 3.0, becomes that process of equipping our students with the keys (experiential learning) to drive their life-long career success (career readiness), using a longer runway and strategic nudges (applying assessment data) and will require collaboration in new and innovative ways as we respond to the continually changing needs of our students. A new definition of success for a new generation of students.

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Lynn Chisholm is the Director of the Office of Internships and Career Readiness within the Community Engagement and Career Readiness division of Student Affairs and Student Success, at the University of South Florida. Lynn’s office is responsible for developing and managing student career-focused experiential learning opportunities and programming to promote student success. Her team oversees the Engaged Student Employment program and On-Campus Internship Program, Co-op, and internships both domestic and global. Her team administers the Career Readiness Badging Program and supervises our crew of Career Readiness Peer Leaders who provide the student interface for the program.

Lynn has been in higher education for 15 years, having been faculty at FSU and UGA and staff at Polk State, and has worked in HR in workforce and organization development for 12 years.

Lynn earned a Certified Public Manager Masters Certificate through FSU, her Master’s degree at Boston University, and her Bachelor’s degree at UCF.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnchisholm
Twitter: @LynnChisholm3

Career Fair Management 101

by Colleen Gleeson, University of Houston, Conrad N Hilton College

Going over the day-of agenda during “print day”- the day that the team prints and assembles employer packets, signage and any student handouts

Looking for new ways to engage students in experiential learning? Feeling overwhelmed as a member of a small career services office? That’s exactly where I was almost three years ago when I accepted a promotion to director (of a 2-person office). Leaning on some faculty partners for help, I sought guidance in how to incorporate more student help in the weeks leading up to career fair. We had the interest- in fact we sometimes struggled to engage the increasing number of students interested in event management. But would it be more work for my (already stretched thin) team than relief? Could I trust students to provide the same level of customer service to employers and to manage all of the marketing and logistics with the same commitment? I always spoke highly of the professionalism and maturity of our hospitality students and now it was time to put my money where my mouth is.

Management team showing off the team t-shirt, designed by the marketing team

We approached one of our student organizations- the International Association of Exhibitions and Events- and with help from their faculty advisor put together a plan that incorporated four areas of responsibility. We had enough interest from this group to staff our Marketing Team, Employer Relations Team, Operations Team and Volunteer Team and put them to work. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of commitment of our initial 8-person team meeting once a week as a group and then individually within teams. The Employer Relations team relieved much of the daily toil of answering questions about the event and confirming name tag spelling and day-of needs. The Marketing Team came up with new ideas and kept us on track with social media posts. The Volunteer Team recruited and trained over 50 volunteers and the Operations Team helped us communicate with the hotel (our career fair venue) to make sure everything would go according to plan on the big day. The results the day of spoke for themselves – we had a record number of students attend (almost half of the entire population of our small college) and received excellent feedback from employers about how organized and smooth things went for them.

The career fair management team featured in the annual dean’s report

Given the level of engagement from students on a volunteer basis, we made our case to the administration and was able to get approval for a one credit course the following semester. We have since expanded to a three credit hour hybrid course and shored up some money from our operating budget to allow students to be even more creative with their marketing plans, ideas for additional hospitality for employers and incentives for volunteers. Allocating funds to this course has been invaluable in creating excitement for students to exercise their creative muscle while also holding them accountable and showing them how to work within a budget and timeline.

One of the biggest challenges we faced (particularly in the spring) was the timing of recruiting season and how rushed we were to get students involved. We addressed this by planning a “team retreat” the week before classes start. During the retreat, we spend time getting to know each other with ice breakers and games (including a scavenger hunt of the hotel where the career fair is held), but we also get the first day of class nuts and bolts out of the way- going over the syllabus, grading and expectations. The timing is still a challenge, but it’s amazing what one extra, pre-first day of class meeting will do to increase team bonding and morale. Each new team of students challenges us to engage their increasingly varied interests in ways that support our mission of creating experiential learning opportunities for students interested in convention and meeting planning. We hope to establish this practice as college tradition that showcases the hospitality skills and experience of our student body.

Copy of the Dean’s Report that features the career fair management course:
https://issuu.com/uhhiltoncollege/docs/deans_report_2018-1fb

One of the marketing team’s ideas came to life in the student lobby.

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Colleen Gleeson is the director of career development for the Conrad N Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management at the University of Houston. She has been with the Hilton College since 2013, starting as a career counselor and moving into her current role in 2016 where she oversees the career programming, career fair planning and internship program facilitation for hospitality students. In addition, Colleen teaches professional development courses at the Hilton College and an undergraduate college success course for the college of exploratory studies. Her past experience includes work with adults with disabilities and employment counseling as strategic goal for poverty alleviation.

MA, Counseling, St Edwards University, Austin, TX
BA, Political Science & Women’s Students, Saint Louis University, St Louis, MO

Four Unexpected Lessons from Learning about Assessment in a Career Center

by Emily Braught, M.Ed.

When I set out to find a practicum experience in assessment skills, I did so because I was genuinely curious about applying information to improve student affairs practice. The Center for Career and Professional Development at Clemson University, with its reputation for producing quality work and its high touch with students, felt like the perfect place. I thought I might learn some practical excel skills, different approaches to analysis, and gain a few trendy bullet points for my resume. I knew it was a topic I was interested in, but I did not expect to uncover a new passion area.

I learned almost everything I expected to, from analyzing data to presenting key findings to leadership in the department. Since I wasn’t in the career center for an extended period of time, my learning process was expedited. As a graduate student, many of my takeaways were centered on how I could apply the shortened practicum experience to starting a new role in a new office while maintaining a passion for assessment. And, having just started a new role in a new department, a lot of these lessons from my quick learning practice experience, have proven to be valuable reflection.

  • Assessment feels different in every department

When starting a new position, identifying the way assessment makes employees feel is incredibly important. Is assessment viewed as punitive in the office or is it viewed as an opportunity to recognize and celebrate fellow employees? Is data collected with purpose and then used in real-time to make adjustments to practice or is it collected as an afterthought and not used in decision making processes? Is it part of the daily function of the office or does it feel like a monthly or yearly chore? Identifying current employee’s feelings towards data collection and analysis can be incredibly important to implementing new assessment initiatives or joining in on existing projects. Finding out who drives assessment planning in the office and having a conversation about their perspective is a good start, but don’t forget about talking to those who are excited about assessment don’t hold an official assessment role or talking to those who are very hesitant about assessment and are expected to implement. Gathering multiple perspectives can also be a highly impactful way to build relationships and identify how you can positively contribute to your office assessment practices.

  • Assessment looks different in every department

Of course we know that people’s styles of data collection and information sharing is different depending on every department, division, and institution. In part, this is due to resources available and what divisional leaders may be looking for, but so much of an employee’s relationship with assessment is office culture dependent. These office culture differences could have a major impact on the skills, technology, and knowledge base you need to be successful. For example, data presentation might be fine on an excel spreadsheet with highlights in graphs in some departments, whereas other departments might want a summative report with all information present. Some departments might be looking for one sheet with key bullet points that need to be considered in decision making while others may be expecting as far as IRB approval for some of the more serious projects. No matter how big or small, identifying what kind of assessment presentation and facilitation expectations are present in the office is essential to success in the office. New professionals should consider ways they can gain practical skills in new systems earlier in their employment so that they are equipped with what they need to be successful when they are asked to share information or present on their personal findings.

  • Macro and Micro level assessment both have a place

Depending on the positions of the people you are working with, the type of information they are expecting to receive will be different. A director or higher level professional may be looking for bigger picture information that demonstrates overall success of all their programs. Total number of students interacted with, total number of hours, total numbers of students who attended the career fair all have their place. Smaller pieces of data, like how many students visit the career center on Mondays compared to Fridays in the fall semester can have just as much important to the overall functioning of the office and might have a huge impact on the professionals that work with individual programs or initiatives. New professionals have the responsibility to identify which pieces of macro and micro information are important for their success in the job and identifying new pieces of information.

  • The aggregate doesn’t always tell the whole story

Looking at massive spreadsheets of career attendance can be helpful, especially for those employees interested in the big picture data.  Disaggregating that information by different student populations, different colleges, and other classifications is even more helpful for identifying ways to improve. When starting a new position and integrating into a new office, spend time disaggregating data by different classifications. Figure out what which student populations are being focused on in the department, division, and institution so that you can share your data more meaningfully, or uncover new ways to support different student populations. This can help you help identify categories of students who may be falling through the cracks of your services. For new professionals, spending time with information such as this can give you a much more robust picture of the scope of your office and the students that you serve. It could also help you build stronger relationships or even employees in your office who work with specific programs or initiatives.

 

Spending a semester absorbing assessment practices of a career center has proven incredibly valuable to my overall success as a professional. Overall, whether or not assessment is a passion area for you, taking the time to learn an office’s culture around and perspective on assessment can be very useful to any professional starting a new role. I hope a few of these points stick with you as you reflect on your current role or as you pursue your next step!

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Emily Braught, M.Ed. currently serves as the Residence Coordinator for Academic Initiatives for Housing and Residence Life at Indiana University Purdue University – Indianapolis. Prior to this position at IUPUI, Emily spent two years as the Graduate Assistant for Residential Learning with University Housing at Clemson University, with an emphasis in assessment practices and student learning. While completing her Master of Education, Emily gained additional assessment experience in the Center for Career and Professional Development and the Calhoun Honors College.