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Student expectations regarding job placement and career services has been a hot topic of conversation on college campuses in recent years. Institutions are expected to provide tools and services to assist students with finding a job after graduation (Rudgers & Peterson, 2017). Previously, many institutions left the responsibility of assisting students with this task to a department of career services. Recent trends indicate that university administrators recognize the value of job placement and recommend institution-wide collaboration to further prepare students for the workforce (Studley, 2016).

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A 2016 Gallup poll reported a steady increase in student interactions and satisfaction with career services departments between 1950 and 2016. Much of this increase can be credited to the evolution of career services (Auter & Marken, 2016). Studley (2016) lamented in 2004 that, while institutions were quick to integrate multiple areas of the college experience (academia, residence life, athletics, spiritual life, etc.), career services and job placement were often left out of the conversation. Since then, emphasis has indeed been placed on post-graduation employment and how the institution can better serve its students in this respect (Studley, 2016). It is also important to note that students who have a positive experience with career services and guidance regarding job placement are more likely to believe that their education was worth its cost and would recommend their alma mater to others (Auter & Marken, 2016).

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Research indicates that continued investment in career services and job placement (by on-campus stakeholders as well as off) will benefit students, graduates, and administration. Institutions will continue to find ways to prioritize this important aspect of the college experience. Students will be exposed to career options in the classroom, through freshmen seminar courses, via internship opportunities, and by networking with engaged alumni groups (Cook, 2016; Studley, 2016). Partnerships will continue to be formed between institutions and employers so that students are given opportunities for job placement before they graduate.

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1)      Assessment, Evaluation, and Research (AER): Comprehensive assessment and evaluation will be necessary to justify changes or modifications regarding career services.

2)      Organizational and Human Resources (OHR): Identifying administrators, faculty, and physical resources best-suited to achieve institutional focus on job placement will be required.

3)      Student Learning and Development (SLD): Student development theories can be incorporated into career planning so that students are better prepared to enter the workforce.

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January is the time when we say good-bye to the previous 12 months and look ahead to the next ones. It's clear that 2016 was an especially turbulent year for higher education. What's on tap for 2017?

Here are a few of the most serious trending issues that are likely to affect colleges and universities.

Sliding enrollments. College and university enrollment in America continued to decline in 2016, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Not all institutions have been affected equally: four-year public and elite private institutions continue to grow, while small colleges are under strain, intensifying the gap between haves and have-nots. The University of California, Berkeley, for example, tipped over the 100,000 mark for applications this fall, and Yale University announced a multiyear effort to enroll more students from its sizable pool. But more than four in 10 private colleges and almost three in 10 public ones missed their goals for enrollment and tuition revenue in 2016.

While demographic trends vary by region, in general the student population is becoming more diverse, fueled by increases in numbers of Hispanic and Asian students. Many colleges also have relied upon international students to diversify their campuses and plug the enrollment hole, but concerns over Trump administration rhetoric about immigration may depress international applications, as has already occurred in British universities in the wake of the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union.

Concerns about cost and access. The free-college effort is likely dead at the federal level, but that doesn't mean concerns about cost will abate. Bipartisan pressure will continue to force colleges and universities to rein in tuition increases and justify endowment spending, as well as compel selective institutions to increase enrollment of low-income students. States and cities also have the opportunity to adopt the narrative about free; New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was first out of the gate in 2017, and others are likely to follow.

Celebrity authors and scholars as well as politicians have led such efforts. Malcolm Gladwell launched a podcast series in 2016 decrying the high cost of college and poor access for low-income students. Sara Goldrick-Rab at Temple University and Inside Higher Ed columnist Wick Sloan, among others, have led campaigns to highlight the challenges of college students who are homeless or food insecure -- more than 20 percent, according to a national report.

Colleges and universities are responding. Thirty campuses have joined an effort funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies called the American Talent Initiative, while more than 90 institutions participate in the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success. Both efforts aim to reduce barriers and increase the number of lower-income students who apply to and enroll in selective colleges. Campuses also are launching food banks, shelter programs and emergency assistance funds for students who have short-term challenges with food or housing.

Questions about value. A growing chorus of business and civic leaders is questioning the value of college. One of the most vocal proponents of the skip-college narrative, Peter Thiel, has a newly influential role as a member of the Trump transition team. The presidential election pointed up a stark gap in opportunity and perception between college graduates and those with a college degree, leading to headlines about the " humbling of higher education" and college graduates who are " out of touch."

Colleges are renewing their efforts to demonstrate value, not only in employment and earnings benefits to graduates but also in their role as an economic engine for regional economies. A growing number of campuses, both large and small, have embarked on new efforts to engage with their local communities. And research institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania and Carnegie Mellon University have large, sustained innovation initiatives to spur new business development and commercialize faculty and student discoveries.

A focus on careers and job placement. Although related to the discussion about value, the growing concern about employment and job placement is so powerful that it deserves its own entry. Students and parents increasingly expect their college or university to be a partner in helping them to map out a successful career path. The 2016 Gallup-Purdue study found a gap between student expectations and college performance in career placement, with only one in six college graduates saying their campus career office was helpful.

Colleges and universities of all types and sizes -- from research-intensive institutions to small liberal arts colleges -- are revamping career services and redefining their role in student career planning. Examples of new programs include engaging first-year students in the career office from day one, alumni career mentoring initiatives and targeted efforts to provide career support for low-income and first-generation college students.

Declining state support. Although not a new trend, the impact of declining state support for higher education has generated a new level of concern. Starving the Beast, a documentary about ideological shifts in state government and the resulting impact on public universities, was released in 2016 and sparked public discussion and numerous opinion pieces.

In December, the University of Virginia's Miller Center issued recommendations on how to sustain public higher education. The center assembled a team of college administrators, business executives and former public officials, including former governors of Delaware and Florida. Their list of solutions includes federal block grants designed to pressure states into supporting public colleges adequately, as well as funding incentives tied to graduation rates.

Collisions over campus climate. Creating a welcoming climate for women and minorities is a long-running issue for college campuses, but things reached a boiling point after the 2016 presidential election. White nationalist groups have seized the opportunity to spread hate messages on campuses across the country. Trump rhetoric about immigration and Muslims has left many students feeling vulnerable, leading to pressure for campuses to declare themselves "sanctuaries" for undocumented students.

Immigration policy under a Trump administration is uncertain, as is the position of the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights -- and in particular the enforcement of Title IX. Regardless of federal policy, activism around Title IX and sexual misconduct is likely to continue, and campuses are expected to sharpen their focus on programs, policies and support systems to combat sexual assault and harassment.

The dialogue about campus climate has increasingly included overcoming a racist past. Some institutions -- Georgetown University has been a leader -- have owned up to a history of slavery and made significant changes such as renaming buildings or programs. Other campuses have dedicated new or existing spaces in honor of African-American leaders. Whether proactively, such as the University of Michigan, or responding to a crisis, such as the University of Missouri, a number of colleges and universities have launched comprehensive plans focused on diversity and inclusion.

The defense of academic freedom and free speech. The University of Chicago brought free speech back into the spotlight this fall with the welcome letter its college dean sent to incoming students. Exactly what constitutes free speech in a university, and does it conflict with trigger warnings and attempts to create safe spaces for vulnerable groups such as members of racial minorities or survivors of sexual assault? Although all colleges defend free speech and play an important role in educating students about it, the precise boundaries vary from one campus to another.

One thing is certain: it's easier to argue for free speech when you're the one speaking. After the presidential election, some students who voted for Trump felt attacked and said they needed safe space, too. A "professor watch list" has been launched to shame faculty members conservatives think are pushing liberal ideas in the classroom. And the Trump transition team recently sent questionnaires throughout the Department of Energy to identify work done on climate change, raising alarm bells in the academy. Climate scientists are now organizing to defend their research and academic freedom.
So, What to Do?
The tensions are mounting and so are the stakes. Since head in the sand is not an effective strategy, we'd like to offer a few guideposts for higher education institutions that are navigating today's uncertain terrain.

Be self-critical. Colleges and universities can assess and acknowledge areas for improvement and confront them with constructive game plans. Proactive leadership begins with self-evaluation and plans for change.

Make sure college is worth it. It is not enough to decry the devaluing of a liberal education. Our scan shows just how deep public skepticism about the cost and value of college runs, and higher education must find substantial ways both to lower student costs and increase the return on their investment. Career assistance, better information about job placement, opportunities for internships and increases in scholarship support all have to be on each institution's docket.

Bridge the divide with new communications methods and fresh perspective. If it is us versus them, we cannot make progress. From continued defunding of public higher ed to sensationalized campus rhetoric, polarized stances are inhibiting shared understanding. Can we set aside blame and labels and work instead to listen more carefully toward finding some common ground? That will entail an authentic, two-way dialogue and new ways of describing and demonstrating value in today's world, not just the usual universityspeak.

Find innovative new collaborators and partnerships. The coming year won't be one of business as usual. New partnerships and opportunities, more innovation, and perhaps the occasional odd bedfellow can help illuminate new opportunities and advance mutual goals.

Get out ahead. The colleges and universities that best weather challenging storms are those that best anticipate and confront issues early and honestly.

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Upcoming trends in 2017 that colleges should prepare for (essay)

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January is the time when we say good-bye to the previous 12 months and look ahead to the next ones. It's clear that 2016 was an especially turbulent year for higher education. What's on tap for 2017? Here are a few of the most serious trending issues that are likely to affect colleges and universities.

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Story Highlights

About half of college grads visited their career services office

Recent grads are more likely to report using career services

16% report their career services office was very helpful

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- While 52% of U.S. college graduates report visiting the career services office at least once during their undergraduate experience, they are equally likely to say their experience was "not at all helpful" (16%) as they are to say it was "very helpful" (16%). Overall, just under eight in 10 graduates who visited a career services offices say it was very helpful, "helpful" or "somewhat helpful."

The findings are among those released Tuesday in the Gallup-Purdue Index Report 2016, based on more than 11,000 interviews with U.S. adults aged 18 and older with at least a bachelor's degree, conducted Aug. 22-Oct. 11, 2016. The study was conducted as part of the third year of the Gallup-Purdue Index -- a nationally representative survey that has interviewed 70,000 different college graduates over three years.
Recent Grads More Likely to Use Career Services
Recent college graduates are more likely than those who graduated earlier to report visiting their school's career services office. Sixty-one percent of graduates who received their degree since 2009 say they visited the career services office at least once during their undergraduate experience, while 32% report they did not and 7% were unsure.

Part of the reason for this gap in recent versus earlier graduates' reports is that a larger percentage of earlier graduates may be unable to recall their experience with the career services office. However, it could also stem from real changes in college students' interactions with career services over time and the fact that colleges' career services' offerings have evolved dramatically in past decades.

Although recent graduates are more likely than graduates who earned their degree years earlier to recall having visited their career services office, those in various groups who visited the career services office similarly recollect the program's effectiveness. About two in five graduates who received their degree in each decade between 1980 and 2016 say that the career services office was very helpful or helpful to them.

In most graduation groups, those who visited their career services office were about equally likely to rate it as not at all helpful as to rate it very helpful. However, graduates from the 1950s and 1960s were much more likely to report a very positive experience than a very negative one.
Quality of Career Services Is Crucial
Graduates who visited their career services office are not much more likely than those who did not to believe their university prepared them well for life outside of college, to say their education was worth the cost and to recommend their university to others. However, graduates who recall having a high-quality experience with their career services office are markedly more likely to rate their college experience positively. For example, graduates who rated their experiences with career services as very helpful are 5.8 times more likely to strongly agree that their university prepared them for post-collegiate life, nearly 3.0 times more likely to "strongly agree" that their education was worth, and 3.4 times more likely to recommend their alma mater.
Implications
Americans with a bachelor's degree can expect to earn about $1 million more than those with a high school diploma over the course of their careers. However, the unemployment rate for college graduates in the U.S. aged 25 and older is now nearly double what it was in 2000, compared with an overall employment rate that is only one percentage point higher in 2016 than it was in 2000. As a result, schools must adopt new programs and policies to better prepare their graduates for a changing and competitive job market.

Career services offices often provide this support, which can include stimulating student interest in disciplines they had previously not considered, helping students select a major field of study, helping students secure employment while enrolled in college, and preparing students for finding a job upon graduation through mock interviews and resume workshops.

Getting students in the door of their school's career services office is only half the battle colleges face. The other half is making sure the experience is as meaningful as possible. The quality of the interactions students have with their career services office has a significantly greater relationship with the likelihood that students report having felt prepared for life after graduation than whether they simply visit at all.
Survey Methods
Results for this Gallup-Purdue Index study are based on web interviews conducted Aug. 22-Oct. 11, 2016, with a random sample of 11,483 respondents with a bachelor's degree or higher, aged 18 and older, with internet access, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of bachelor's degree or higher, the margin of sampling error is ±1.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

The Gallup-Purdue Index sample was recruited via the Gallup Daily tracking survey. The Gallup Daily tracking survey sample includes national adults with a minimum quota of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using RDD methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the next birthday. Gallup Daily tracking respondents with a college degree who agreed to future contact were invited to take the Gallup-Purdue Index survey online. Gallup-Purdue Index interviews are conducted via the web, in English only.

Learn more about how the Gallup-Purdue Index works.

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One in Six U.S. Grads Say Career Services Was Very Helpful

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Story Highlights About half of college grads visited their career services office Recent grads are more likely to report using career services 16% report their career services office was very helpful WASHINGTON, D.C. -- While 52% of U.S.

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This is a perfect moment to marry two promising and potent forces in higher education-college to career readiness and systematic focus on shared institutional outcomes. Career services done right can be a key player.
A quick story will set the stage: NACE had just shared the results of its initial First-Destination Survey with participating schools. I was told of one president, none too thrilled (read: disappointed) with the school's relative job placement results, who called the career development director to express concerns. I wondered aloud if that president's next call was to the English department chair to ask how the college could improve students' written and oral communication capacities to translate into more effective cover letters and interviews. If math and computer science knowledge generated satisfying employment opportunities, did the president call those departments to see how the school could help them hold on to declared majors who drifted away, or bolster computer or statistics competence across the student body?

I didn't expect the wave of applause that simple story generated at the NACE 2015 annual conference in Anaheim, but I should have. It's a vivid expression of the frustration that career development professionals experience when they feel that they alone are expected to "get our students jobs." It spoke eloquently to the hunger of career professionals for deep collaboration among the many people and functions within the institution who need to commit their expertise, clout, visibility, tools, energy, and resources to the common purpose of making the marriage of learning and career development succeed.

That hunger, these changes, are part of an urgent national desire for effective and visible attention to career readiness, and can be seen across a broad array of platforms-from employer surveys to presidential debates, from the federal gainful employment rule to colleges' own recruiting messaging.

Back in 2004, I wrote that "Lately academia seems to be consciously embracing the importance of integrating all aspects of the undergraduate educational experience, including academic, co-curricular, residential, volunteer, spiritual, and athletic life. But even with this comprehensive vision, the dimension of work, past, present and future, is typically left out of the integrative model."

Fortunately, that is finally-if inconsistently-changing.

Happily there is much to cheer in the realm of colleges' career readiness and intentional, effective achievement of critical competencies for success in career and life. NACE and the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) among others have done fine work in defining sets of competencies that are common to academic and employer expectations. Creative campuses, systems, and collaborations with employers are generating exciting models that explicitly braid those competencies together across academic, advising, co-curricular, and work experiences. Hampden-Sydney College, for example, has emphasized vocational reflection and coordination across the whole campus around a few key questions and well-articulated career pathways. And, in another example, SUNY Works is a serious system-wide initiative that draws campus faculty and employers together to jointly develop curricula that integrate classroom instruction and on-the-job business and service experience, and also provides a statewide internship data base for both to use. Many institutions, from Northeastern and Willamette to Hobart & William Smith Colleges and St. John's University, are growing their experiential learning models that integrate internships, research, and academic settings. LaGuardia Community College is piloting digital badges based directly on career competencies.

It's good to see schools creating ways to draw on the learning potential of students' less glamorous work pursuits, too. A subtle point made by the National Campus Leadership Council (NCLC) is that "unfortunately, many students cannot afford to take time to volunteer and involve themselves with unpaid internships because they are spending so much time working to pay tuition." NCLC worried that those students would be unable to develop work-related competencies (and make useful connections) that could position them well for careers. Part of the answer lies in structuring academic and financial aid policies to assist students to get high impact opportunities like quality internships and research positions. There are also interesting approaches in which schools are preparing faculty and students to draw the full range of work experiences into the classroom to support competence development. What can you learn from a retail food service or library job about system design and/or learning and communication differences? What can these teach you about economics, human psychology, and motivation and leadership?

Each of these approaches involves collaborations across historic institutional lines to accelerate planning and measurements of success. These are important building blocks for the kind of institution-wide outcomes measurement that campuses are embracing-or being driven to-as a result of national and foundation completion goals, donor expectations, state metrics and higher education performance-based budgeting, the burgeoning industry of ratings and rankings, and the new federal College Scorecard.

As one of the architects of the Scorecard, I'm optimistic about its potential to galvanize strategic investment in student-serving results. The Scorecard and other evolving resources are invitations for institutions to orient collective planning, resource allocation, effort, and assessment around the most fundamental questions. Are we providing access to low-income and otherwise challenged students? Do we bring them to completion at a manageable cost, so they can move into the world of work, participate in the society, and handle their debt? Where is our institution especially strong, and where is there room for improvement relative to others taking on similar challenges?

I applaud institutions that are doing the hard work of collaborating to allocate their attention and resources strategically and sharing responsibility for results. Peter Stokes said it well: "Apart from money and people, the biggest challenge may be cultural, getting diverse stakeholders focused on the same objectives that everyone can rally around and find value in."

These are a few of the myriad areas that deserve institutional attention: We need to complement existing metrics with effective ways to understand and compare learning outcomes and development of competencies. This is appropriately the project of postsecondary education, from campuses to accreditors to national associations, who can assure that measures are appropriate, subtle, and constructive. At the same time, we need to be sure that "career readiness" is also understood to mean preparation for community service, democratic engagement, and leadership. This is an opportunity to reinforce a broad understanding of the value of postsecondary education and the wide applicability of the critical competencies.

How will responsibility for rich learning and skills development, career readiness, and evaluation be shared by different actors in the institution? As we move further toward outcomes and competency-based measures of success rather than credit hour/seat time systems, the allocation of time and attention will still be one of the most critical decisions in any institution. How should precious student contact hours in class be spent? What bridges among faculty, advisers, career development professionals, and employers will support design of curricula to incorporate workplace experiences? How will these professionals work together to collect and use information to track whether the shared goals are being achieved, and whether it's time for celebration, renewed effort or revamping? How will the roles of these critical players change, merge, and grow, and how will institutions prepare and reward them for their contributions?

Giving students much better roadmaps to learning expectations and outcomes, enlisting them in the design and achievement of their learning, adds coherence and focus to a career-readiness-focused enterprise. The American Institute of CPAs series "ThisWaytoCPA. Com" offers a fresh approach. Schools like Georgia State, Millikin, and Seton Hall are making those scaffolds and connections more explicit, right from orientation and course selection through reflection on every internship, co-curricular engagement, and career research task. A natural complement would be to create an "alliance of advisers" in all the counseling and advising functions across campus, structural or informal.

Employers have parts to play as well. Of course there is an extensive literature and practice around campus-employer partnerships and course and program design. What would work on your campus to draw employers and supervisors into a career competencies-based discussion and structure for jobs and internships? Dr. Susan Phillips, former provost of the University at Albany, suggested engaging faculty by inviting employers to identify what they like and value about the preparation and performance of an institution's graduates. Today employers come to campus; I'd like to see faculty engage on site with employers more, too. Some teachers now do externships and residencies themselves to understand today's chemistry lab or publishing firm. Imagine what faculty who are responsible for incorporating career competencies within course design could learn from sitting in on HR discussions of position requirements, career ladders, performance standards, and employee effectiveness and training.

How can career services contribute maximum leadership and support? As colleges are measured by students and others on how well they succeed in preparing people for solid careers, career services can be a strong leader and ally in integrated program design and evaluation. That's only realistic if the team has sufficient capacity and respect within the institution to be a real partner with faculty and with the recruiting and retention, advising, assessment, and planning functions.

To get the most from career services deserves a serious functional review. Are career services leaders included in key conversations about curriculum, teaching and learning, and advising? That in turn invites a look at the capacities, experience, and scale of the team: Is it staffed and supported at a level consistent with the growing emphasis and complexity of the role? Across the higher education spectrum, it is surprising that career development office support appears stagnant (or slowing, once inflation is factored in) even as opportunities and demands expand. What reporting and collaborative relationships will best allow it to contribute seriously to institutional goals? In addition to traditional student affairs ties, new options include direct reporting to the president, academic affairs, and enrollment management.

Many institutions and individuals are not at this level yet. On the most basic level, simply "getting out more" and knowing more about each other's work, skills, and challenges would help. Last year I met with a set of faculty from a dozen universities who wanted to connect with businesses to enrich their course content and to make their research agendas more relevant. They were genuinely surprised when I reminded them said they didn't have to invent that particular wheel, that there were offices on their campus whose function included knowing about the business community and its needs and goals-the career services office and the development office. But I see positive signs of collaboration, too, such as an April New England Board of Higher Education and WACE conference on experiential education for chief academic officers.

Career readiness and collective institutional responsibility for campus outcomes will generate maximum lift when they are linked together. The momentum of a competencies-based approach linked to real world applications, plus wise measures designed and owned by the entire institution, are a good recipe for collective engagement, effort, and results. Career services have much to offer as the whole campus aligns to assure that students graduate with experiences and credentials that reflect genuine capacities that will serve them well in securing work with solid prospects and lives of meaning and agency.

References

Association of American Colleges & Universities. "LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes." Retrieved February 15, 2016, from https://www.aacu.org/leap/essential-learning-outcomes.

"Higher Education and Employability" (Panel Presentation). Rockefeller Institute of Government, November 2015. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR45uact-zk.

National Association of Colleges and Employers. "Career Readiness Defined," October 2015. www.naceweb.org/knowledge/career-readiness-competencies.aspx.

Stokes, Peter J. Higher Education and Employability: New Models for Integrating Study and Work. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2015.

Stokes, Peter J. "Perspectives: How to Build a Successful Student Employability Strategy." Huron Consulting, n.d. Retrieved February 15, 2016, from https://www.huronconsultinggroup.com/Insights/Perspective/Education/How-to-Build-a-Successful-Student-Employability-Strategy

Studley, Jamienne."Vocation is Not A Dirty Word." Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, March 2004. Retrieved from http://archive.carnegiefoundation.org/perspectives/vocation-not-dirty-word.

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career readiness; career preparation; career development; career readiness competencies; first-destination survey; first destination survey; college to career readiness; are new graduates ready for the work force; graduate competencies; college graduate outcomes; career services; campus collaboration; studley; jamienne studley; jamie studley

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Career Readiness Meets Institution-Wide Outcomes Measures

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This is the time to marry two potent forces in higher education-college to career readiness and systematic focus on shared institutional outcomes. Career services has much to offer as the whole campus aligns to assure that students graduate with experiences and credentials that reflect genuine capacities that will serve them well in securing work with solid prospects and lives of meaning and agency.

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Tracking post-college outcomes continues to be an urgent issue as students, parents, and lawmakers press colleges to quantify the value of a college degree. Tracking results, however, is only half the battle, says Branden Grimmett, associate provost for the Office of Career and Professional Development at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Institutions that want to make a difference in their post-college outcomes need to transform their career services to better meet the changing needs of students and employers.

Grimmett led the transformation of career services at St. Olaf College at the highly acclaimed Piper Center for Vocation and Career. This June he accepted a position at Loyola Marymount University, where he will re-imagine their Office of Career and Professional Development. We talked to him to learn more about why institutions need to re-envision their career services office now, what revamped programming looks like, and what steps you can take to take to move the process forward.

Career Services Restructuring Needs to be Done Now

Grimmett lists four reasons to reinvent campus career services:

To increase awareness throughout the campus, among students and faculty alike

To make sure students are engaging with the programming and support career services provides, not only in their last semester but throughout all four years in college

To improve the reputation of the career center and the institution at large

To ensure all audiences are aware of each student's destination

Awareness, engagement, and reputation are just as important as knowing where students land when they graduate.

At St. Olaf, the economic turbulence between 2007 and 2009 sparked a greater awareness of what the college was doing to support students as they chose careers and planned for post-graduation. In response, St. Olaf embarked on the Mainstreet Initiative, a campus-wide conversation about the different ways that faculty, staff, administration, students, alumni, and employers help students achieve good outcomes. One result was St. Olaf's Recent Graduates Survey, which allows prospective parents and students - and anyone else - to search the database by class year, major, job title, type of business, and more. Other data is available regarding post-college financial independence and professional accomplishment.

"For those of us who work in the career services profession, it's the golden era of what we do," Grimmett adds. "Universities are looking to our offices to help reinforce the value of a college degree and a student's return on investment."

Revamp Career Services Programming -- and Don't Forget Alumni

Another change Grimmett spearheaded at both St. Olaf and LMU has been a move toward more group programming and away from one-on-one appointments with career coaches.

"How can we educate students en masse, and how can we make students more comfortable with the career exploration process?" Grimmett asks.

The answer: involve alumni in every aspect as frequently as possible. Alumni can:

Educate students about the path they took to their current career

Serve as mentors to young talent

Connect with students at networking receptions to career pathways

Invite small student groups to visit their workplaces to explore pathways in more depth

"It's easy to engage alumni," Grimmett notes, adding "They've been wanting their alma mater to do more of this for a very long time." Plus, these activities validate the choices alumni make. "Once you can make that magic happen, alumni will be on your side forever," Grimmett explains.

Another strategic change was moving away from career service generalists to strategic campus and industry liaison relationships. This move was designed to allow each counselor to focus on a specific career area, such as law and public policy careers, and then meet with academic departments and employers from those areas on a regular basis. Under this model the counselor knows the pathways, can help students with internships, and is able to speak specifically to what employers have said students need to be doing now to be prepared for a future job in that industry.

Other programming changes include:

Taking students on the road to visit employers earlier in their college experience

Being involved with students throughout the admissions process so when students arrive on campus they know what career services are, how to interact with the office, and why it's important. Grimmett now sees students coming to career services on the first day of class to see what they have to do to line up an internship next summer.

Hosting a career expo at the beginning of each year instead of only in the spring. "It's so much more helpful to have that conversation as a first-year student than to have it in the spring semester as a senior student," Grimmett explains. "Knowing what employers seek earlier in their college experience can help students plan their academic careers much more strategically."

Steps to Reimagine Career Services on Your Campus

Grimmett recommends the following for any institution thinking about revamping career services:

Know your strategy. "Knowing what your mission's going to be, knowing the vision for achieving that mission, and knowing the values of the institution are all critical to being able to understand how to navigate the changing landscape of higher ed," Grimmett explains.

Realign staffing roles to support the vision.

Build trust with administration in order to increase resources, ideally for both staff and programming budgets simultaneously so there's no disparity between the two. Challenges occur when staff are increased but the center has insufficient funds to increase programming, and when the opposite occurs.

Show initial outcomes that you're able to achieve with current resources and pilot programs, then turn to what's possible if additional resources could be secured.

"Many institutions are still letting their career centers define what outcomes they measure," Grimmett notes. Career services professionals can take advantage of this opportunity to educate their institutions about measuring more meaningful outcomes that go beyond simple employment outcomes.

The issue is particularly urgent for institutions without many resources and with low student awareness of career services. "Professionals in those circumstances should think critically about how they want their success to be defined, so that they can drive the conversation."

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3 Ways to Rethink Career Services and Post-College Outcomes - Academic Impressions

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by Lisa Cook, Academic Impressions Tracking post-college outcomes continues to be an urgent issue as students, parents, and lawmakers press colleges to quantify the value of a college degree. Tracking results, however, is only half the battle, says Branden Grimmett, associate provost for the Office of Career and Professional Development at Loyola Marymount University in ...