student success
Nine ways to provide the career planning assistance that incoming college freshmen want: Part two
Note: This is the second part of a two-part blog on how colleges and universities can respond to the findings of Noel-Levitz’s 2014 National Freshman Attitudes Report.
In the first part of this post, I noted that college students’ involvement with career planning often occurs at the end of their educational experience, when they are almost ready to graduate. But the information in Noel-Levitz’s just-released 2014 National Freshman Attitudes Report reveals that freshmen—whether they are 18 or 35—are asking for this assistance from the very beginning of their college careers:
- Upon their arrival on campus, 47 percent of incoming freshmen last year wanted career counseling.
- Just over 21 percent of entering freshmen reported being “very confused” about which career occupation to pursue.
- The majority of entering freshmen in the study (67 percent) wanted help with developing an educational plan “to get a good job.”
So how can your institution respond to these data? The following five additional recommendations go beyond the first four suggestions from part one of this two-part blog post.
Here are five more ways to respond to incoming students’ needs and
desires for career planning assistance
5. Embed career development programming in the curricular and co-curricular programs of the institution. Prepare academic advisors to be able to talk about pathways to careers with their advisees. For students interested in high-stakes competitive majors, develop “plan B” resources for those who need to or decide to change direction. Feature what alumni are doing with the majors they studied at the institution on web pages, in publications, and in materials students receive when they express interest in and/or declare a major. Also consider offering career planning resources to prospective students, and to very young students who haven’t begun to explore colleges.
6. Help students see the connection between “boring coursework” and career possibilities. Especially in the general education or core curriculum classes, be intentional about helping students see the value of the content they are studying as well as the skills they are developing. Employers indicate that the major may be less important than skills (writing/speaking, analyzing, working collaboratively in teams, creativity, behaving ethically) that students learn and develop in virtually every course they take. Declaring the major is just the first step, and really, it’s just the tip of the iceberg since most students change their majors at least one time. When a student changes his or her major, develop a referral system that connects the student to available career resources to fully explore how their talents and abilities match the demands of the academic program.
7. Work to address students’ concerns about financing their education. Recent trend research from CIRP suggests that the majority of students attend college in order to “get a good job.” In addition, Noel-Levitz’s report on incoming freshmen found that nearly 40 percent of first-generation freshmen reported having “financial problems that are very distracting and troublesome.” If students are worried about affording college, they are at risk for not finishing their degrees. Further, they may be prone to pursue majors that have a direct line to a specific job after graduation. This may or may not be the best path and could narrow the student’s options rather than expand them. Working closely with students on covering the costs of their education, while at the same time, providing them with information on both the short- and long-term benefits of earning a degree from a wide variety of majors, will provide a great service to students in shaping their futures.
8. Include parents in the process. At orientation as well as family weekend events, host sessions for parents to learn more about the career development programs and services available to their students. Regularly communicate with parents (via email, newsletters, web pages, etc.) about upcoming career development events and opportunities to which their students have been invited. With the investment in a college degree being questioned by the popular media, colleges and universities should continuously articulate the value of earning a college degree to both students and their parents.
9. Engage alumni in the lives of students. Connecting students early and often to alumni deepens the engagement of both students and alumni alike. This is particularly relevant for younger alumni who may not be in a position to contribute financially to their alma maters but who can share their experiences with current students. Student-alumni networking events can provide rich and meaningful face-to-face opportunities. Technology, particularly through social media, provides another venue through Skype events, Facebook postings, and LinkedIn connections. In addition to alumni, invite older students who are participating in internships and nearing program completion to share their experiences with first-year students, as this can be helpful and motivating to freshmen to continue on the path to graduation.
I hope this article has made it clear that knowing your incoming students’ priorities and motivations—and responding to these in purposeful, intentional ways—paves the way to effectively realign institutional resources with the real needs of students. This is true in the area of career development but it is also true in many other areas.
Further, I hope you’ve seen that institutions have opportunities to target the needs of students with key services at critical junctures of the student experience. For example, by using non-cognitive motivational assessments with incoming students, institutions can monitor the motivational trends of their incoming class and create early touch points to address relevant issues that may hinder the transition from the first year of enrollment to the second. This approach can be a powerful strategy to build a solid foundation for student success well into the second year of enrollment.
Questions? Want to discuss your strategies for assessing and addressing the needs of your students? Please contact me to schedule a complimentary conference call. Call 1-800-876-1117 or send me an email.
