revisioning career services

WHITE PAPER

w w w . i a o . o r g

RE-VISIONINGCAREERSERVICES FORSTUDENTS SUCCESS

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Table of Contents

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Executive Summary

Introduction

Career Services for Students Success

Industry Overview

Career Preparation on Campus – An Outdated Model

Industry Challenges

Reinventing Career Services – Industry Opportunities

Framework for New Career Services

The Future of Career Services

Conclusion

About IAO

Executive Summary

Executive Summary1

Owing to the globalization, education and technology have been transformed over the past several years. Educational programs, policies and career services function within colleges and universities have also been signi�cantly impacted. In the past, if a college was successful in training a student for the workplace, and that student met or exceeded the standards in his or her chosen �eld, then the college had done its job – that's not enough anymore. Students who have spent the last three, four, �ve or even more years preparing themselves for the workplace are strained by a tremen-dous amount of pressure only to �nd their dream jobs are not waiting for them because of recession.

The economic downturn require career services teams to elevate their support to a higher level by helping students navigate the process, connect with employers, and secure a well paying job in their �eld of study.

Due to the recent shift, colleges and universities need to take a closer look at the level of career services support they are delivering to students beyond the learning experience. They need to advance career services to truly support students, graduates and alumni across the education lifecycle. They need to have the systems and processes in place to connect students and employers so they can drive higher placement rates and track the career services outcomes to meet new regulations. Institutions need to look for new ways to help graduates succeed on a professional level, develop a more strategic approach so they can produce better student placement rates, which in turn can also support stronger student recruitment and higher student retention rates.

This white paper from IAO is aimed to highlight the career service trends that colleges and universities must consider in order to deliver a higher level of support to students beyond the learning experience. It outlines the steps colleges and universities can and should take to advance career services, achieve higher place-ment rates and better support students and graduates. IAO has discussed that colleges and universities should address the following factors within their career services organizations:

• Stronger relationships between employers and institutions• Automated communications between students and the school's career services team• Dedicated career guidance services staffing• More student self-service functionality• Increased tracking and measurement

Introduction

Introduction2

It is that time of the year when students graduate from their educational universities or institutes. However, the economic uncertainty has dampened the celebratory mood and spirits of the graduating classes. Universities and institutes will face tough questions from parents who will want to know how the school is helping their child to �nd a job and succeed professionally. The desire to see an immediate return on the investment (ROI) of a college degree has never been stronger.

Students and their parents focus on the choice of which school to attend, and then expect the strength of that choice to lead to professional success four years later. The challenge for university and college leaders is to ensure that students have a variety of learning opportunities to prepare them to succeed professionally. From day one, students should be able to connect what they are learning both in and outside of the classroom to their long-term goals. However, with the traditional career services model, universities and colleges will be unlikely to meet the twenty-�rst century needs of their students and alumni.

Colleges and universities are now required to take a closer look at the level of career services support they are delivering to students beyond the learning experience. The need of which arose after the current economical changes. The institutions need to �nd new and better ways to support students, graduates and alumni by advancing career services alumni across the education lifecycle. They need to have the systems and processes in place to connect students and employers so they can drive higher placement rates and track the career services outcomes.

This paper describes the mounting importance of connecting a college education to professional success. It suggests a few factors that the university leaders should ask about their career programs and o�er examples of projects that can help to strengthen career development on campus amidst these times of deep economic uncertainty.

Over the past several years, the career services function within colleges and universities has been signi�cantly impacted. Owing to the economic downturn career services teams are required to elevate their support to a higher level than in the past years.

The recent recession has put a tremendous amount of pressure on job seekers. Among those facing these challenges are graduates who have spent the last three, four, �ve or even more years preparing themselves for the workplace only to �nd their dream jobs are not waiting for them. The current economy is creating challenges for career seekers that those from previous graduating classes didn’t face. It was not long ago that employers had to step up their recruiting e�orts in order to attract and court future employees. Graduates entered the job market having their pick of opportunities and even the ability to negotiate salaries.

However, the recent recession has changed that dynamic dramatically. Today, there are fewer jobs and more competition to acquire those jobs. More pressure is being put on colleges themselves to help graduates secure job placement and launch a career in the student’s �eld of study.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, many alumni are either unemployed, underemployed, or in positions that do not match their quali�cations or professional interests. Phil Gardner, Director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University told the Chronicle of Higher Education, “We’re going to have three, probably four classes that are really not engaged or aligned in the labor market at all. They're working in jobs that they don't have aspirations for, working multiple part-time jobs, or they're underutilized in their positions.”


Career Services for Students Success3


Industry Overview

Market DecreaseBetween March 2011 and March 2012, the unemployment rate more than doubled for college graduates—from 2.1% to 4.3%—as over one million college graduates lost their jobs. To compound the problem, about 1.5 million new college graduates are expected in 2013. It is likely that liberal arts students will be hit hardest; in a recent survey by the Collegiate Employment Research Institute, only six percent of employers report that they want to hire humanities or liberal arts majors, and only �ve percent are looking to hire social science majors.

Demand IncreaseNow more than ever, current and prospective college students are making enrollment and retention decisions based on the quality of professional preparation at colleges. In fact, according to Eduventures Research Company, professional preparation is often a more important factor in decision making than a�ordability, and is on par with academic quality.

Career Preparation on Campus – An Outdated Model


No right processes to communicate with employers and students and also no systems to connect them and monitor their interaction

Absence of data management practices and so the students could not reach out to employers to market themselves

Absence of data management practices leads to the lack of a comprehensive database of quali�ed candi-dates

Lack of a proper data management system also shows that the institution is incapable of allowing employ-ers to access student applications and post open positions

No track of career services outcomes in terms of student and placement data

Ease of availability of data to pull the reports and analytics to prove placement and compliance

Existence of systems to follow up with alumni and track career results

Career Services Reporting

Career Services Management

Currently the universities and institutions did not have proper resources to o�er proper student career services and support. The following management and reporting practices are being sued in their systems and processes.

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Until recently, schools haven’t dedicated a lot of resources to career services because stronger market condi-tions meant it was easier for graduates to get jobs. This also meant less post-graduation accountability on the part of institutions. If a college was successful in training a student for the workplace, and that student met or exceeded the standards in his or her chosen �eld, then the college had done its job.

The stronger economy in the past has enabled colleges to put resources into other places, namely recruiting. Getting the right students enrolled in the right programs not only had a direct �nancial bene�t to the institu-tion, but it also increased the likelihood of producing successful graduates and quali�ed job applicants.

While this approach has helped more students ful�ll their academic potential, and enabled colleges and universities to deliver their academic missions, it has yielded some challenges:

Industry Challenges

Students Placement Rates – institutions that can prove their placement rates will be entitled for student funding

Career Services Department – institutions need to dedicate more resources so that graduates can connect with employers

Job Placement – institutions need to place more students into jobs to see an increase in students enrolment and retention


More Graduates, Less Jobs – Higher education is now in a situation where colleges are produc-ing an increasing number of quali�ed graduates, yet these graduates have fewer career opportunities in front of them. On top of that, because the recession has resulted in challenging times for graduates, the government has stepped in to oversee recruitment and placement activities to ensure institutions are in compliance and students’ needs are being met.

More Graduates, Less Resources – Until now, higher education has had to deliver minimal resources to help students �nd and secure available jobs. Fewer jobs lead to more competition among graduates, leaving students who don’t come out ahead of the pack with very few options.

Although experts predict that economic recovery isn’t far o�, over the last few years, there has been more pressure for schools to make sure their graduates have the necessary skills to attract employers. However, it goes beyond simply preparing students for the real world. Fewer jobs means no matter how quali�ed the student is, he or she needs more help navigating the placement process. Colleges are being expected to shoul-der some, if not a lot, of this responsibility. To support students through the career placement process, the government has taken the following initiatives and the institutions now need to take care of:


While colleges and universities are starting to establish and step up their career services activities, there are still tremendous opportunities to improve in this area. A well thought out and proactive approach to career services can produce the following:

Better Placement Results It is about more than making sure students are quali�ed. Colleges and universities that take the initiative to help students prepare for the job application and interview process, as well as help students and employers connect; will increase the likelihood that their students will secure jobs.

Increased Retention Rates Colleges that build relationships with employers and the community, as well as establish themselves as the go-to partner in providing quali�ed graduates in speci�c programs and �elds will increase job opportunities for students. Institutions have an opportunity to become incubators for certain profes-sions, increasing the possibility that employers will come to them directly to hire graduates. Because students know that these relationships can produce good job prospects upon graduation, they will be more likely to stay engaged in school and retained through program completion.

Stronger Recruitment and Enrollment Institutions that earn a better reputation for placing graduates will be able to leverage that data in their recruitment e�orts and enroll more students as a result. Higher placement rates can have a direct impact on recruitment numbers as prospective students look for schools that can help them succeed both academically and professionally.

Reinventing Career Services – Industry Opportunities

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Framework

Questions About Your Institution

Before doing anything, of course, you must assess your current situation and needs. Start by asking simple questions about your institution and your career services operation to identify top priorities.

To what extent is our institution’s leadership team committed to student and alumni professional success?

Are we communicating this commitment to prospective and current students and their families?Should our faculty members play a more active role in promoting the professional success of their students?

Have we adequately connected academic advising and career advising?

Have we built in opportunities for applied learning through co-ops, internships, research with faculty, or service learning?

Could we make more e�ective use of work-study funds to help students build relevant work experience?

Are we leveraging our assets in our alumni, parent, and local communities to support students in their professional pursuits?

Are there opportunities for my institution to di�erentiate itself from peers around professional prepara-tion?

Questions About Career Services

Do career services sta� members have the background, experience, and knowledge to connect students to a broad range of resources and opportunities?

Are career services sta� members well versed in the use of social networking and technology to �nd job opportunities?

Is our career services office proactively reaching out to employers and driving demand for our students?Are the alumni a�airs and career services divisions e�ectively collaborating?

Is our career services office adequately funded and appropriately staffed given institutional expectations for results?

Are our career services goals contributing to our institutional goals?

Colleges and universities need to implement the systems and processes that will allow them to increase placement rates and track data. Bringing software into the mix can make it easier to connect students and employers, creating greater efficiencies and stronger results. It can also facilitate reporting capabilities so institutions can stay competitive and compliant. There are speci�c actions that students, employers and institutions need to take, and information they need to access in order to strengthen placement results.

There are speci�c actions that students, employers and schools need to do in order to strengthen placement results.


9 Career Services for Students Success9

Student Needs

Build an Online Pro�leStudents need to be able to showcase their academic, personal and professional accomplishments in order to attract employers

Attach a Cover Letter and ResumeStudents need to be able to upload and update attachments in order to communicate their career goals, experience and quali�cations; they also need to be able to provide viewing access to potential employers.

Search Employer Pro�lesStudents need access to the various employers who are hiring in their �eld so they can align their skill sets and goals with organizations for which they would like to work

Search Job/Internship PostingsStudents need access to as much real world experience as possible in order to get their foot in the door with employers.

The solution: A student portal is critical to enabling self service capabilities so students can promote their skills and achievements, �nd job opportunities and connect with employers.

It isn’t enough anymore to simply gain the skills necessary for job success, rather students need to be able to market themselves to employers. Colleges and universities need to provide a place and a process for students to do this.

Employer Needs

The shift in the job market has meant that employers have been able to be more selective in the hiring process. As we embark on an economic recovery, that may or may not continue. Regardless, employers also need to be able to market themselves, as well as search for and easily connect with quali�ed candidates.

Create Company Pro�leEmployers need to be able to communicate their value proposition to future employees in terms of their business model, markets served, mission, culture and goals.

Post Job Openings OnlineEmployers need an efficient way to spread the word about job opportunities to a network of students and graduates who will most likely meet prerequisites.

View Student Background and ResumeEmployers need to be able to quickly and easily learn about and qualify prospective applicants.

Generate Resume BooksEmployers need to be able to compile resumes from quali�ed applicants in order to compare skill sets and achievements, and seek out the most appropriate candidate.

The solution: an employer portal can enable a company to strengthen its ties with a college or university. This increases the likelihood that the organization will look to that institutions as a reputable source of job seekers, connect with those candidates, and expand their employee base.


As colleges and universities take on greater accountability in job placement, they need to look for new ways to help students and graduates succeed beyond the classroom on a professional level. They can accom-plish this by delivering a higher level of student support throughout the education process. They also need to work closely with employers to make sure job candidates are meeting employer expectations, as well as connect these job seekers with their potential future employers. When it comes to supporting students, institutions need to do the following:

Track Student Information for AdvisingCareer services advisors need a comprehensive tool set that enables them to track the student through the job search, assessing quali�cation and activities, as well as conducting follow ups.

Integrated Academic and Demographic Information - Advisors need a centralized place to access the student’s information, from grades to career goals so they can make sure the student is con�dent and capable in his or her chosen �eld, as well as on track to meet employer requirements.

Contact Management and Communication Tools - Advisors need to be able to regularly reach out to students regarding such things as resume suggestions, new job postings and more.

Pro�le Background, Skill Sets and Preferences - Advisors need to be able to easily compile a student’s information in order to identify career opportunities that would be a �t for the student

Track Opportunities and Career Services OutcomesCareer services advisors need an efficient way to stay on top of all postings so they can better match quali�ed students with job opportunities; they also need to manage and measure which postings secure hires.

Track Placement Information, Salary and Employment History colleges need an easy way to analyze how many students are being placed, what they are earning, the success rate of each student once placed, and the career path each student follows out of institutions.

The solution: an employer portal can enable a company to strengthen its ties with a college or university. This increases the likelihood that the organization will look to that institutions as a reputable source of job seekers, connect with those candidates, and expand their employee base.

College and University Needs

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The solution: an employer CRM will enable the college to establish and grow relationships with a network of employers, providing them with greater insight into what employers are looking for so they can produce quali�ed graduates.

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When it comes to engaging with employers, institutions need to do the following:

Communicate with and Manage Potential EmployersColleges need a tool set that will enable them to build stronger employer relationships in order to better match students with jobs, as well as to secure the institution’s reputation as a credible source of quali�ed graduates.

Track Multiple Locations and Contacts per Employer – Institutions need to make sure they always have a current database of employers with which they can connect students.

Track Multiple Opportunity Types - Advisors need to be able to analyze job details, such as full time, part time, hourly, internship, externship and more.

Contact Management - Advisors need to be able to track current and past outreach with employers to see which relationships are in good standings and where additional outreach is necessary.

Communication Tools - Advisors need to be able to proactively reach out to employers to reinforce the relationship and stay top of mind

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b.

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Track and Manage Job RequisitionsCareer services advisors need an easy way to follow existing and new job postings so they can match quali�ed applicants with those employers and opportunities.

Manage Alumni Network at the EmployerThe career services team needs to be able to track and report on the number of students working with a speci�c organization so they can assess the success rates of graduates by employer, as well as determine organizations where their students’ skill sets are the best �t.



As more colleges and universities look for ways to boost career services and meet new federal regulations, as well as learn speci�cally what works and what doesn’t work, what can institutions expect? Higher education is positioned for a renewed focus on career services where it will experience the following trends:

Institutions are going to be working closer with employers, communicating on a more regular basis to ensure students are acquiring the skills employers want, and employers are providing employment oppor-tunities to quali�ed students from speci�c schools and programs. Colleges and universities will need to make it easier for employers to post job openings online and view a student’s background and resume.

We’ll see more proactive communications between students and a school’s career services team to make sure students can e�ectively market themselves to employers. We’ll also see this outreach start earlier – for example, instead of waiting until a student is one month away from graduation, the placement process might start 6 months to a year prior to graduation.

We’ll see shift in career services organizations to include more staffing and resources dedicated to place-ment support. Not only will we see an increase in career services headcount, but also increase in the service level they deliver to students. Sheila Curren, author and leader in the �eld of student career services, hit the nail on the head when she said, “I think a fundamental change needs to take place in the way career centers are organized, and in the training that is given to career services professionals. Good career services can make a huge di�erence to a student’s ultimate success after graduation.”

Institutions will implement the tools and technology necessary to more e�ectively track employer and job posting information, as well as measure placement results. Colleges and universities will identify key perfor-mance indicators (KPIs), including placement by employer, program and student; volume of job postings; and average salary and debt of graduates so they can make more informed decisions in order to provide increased support to students seeking targeted employ-ment.

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The Future of Career Services

Stronger Employer Relationships

Automated Communications

More Student Self-Service Functionality

Increased Tracking and Measurement

Higher education knows that something needs to be done. The industry is seeing a shift as career services gain traction in priority and importance primarily because of the current economic situation and government interven-tion. Institutions must evolve their career services and placement strategies, as well as reallocate money and sta� given the regulatory landscape.

From an accreditation perspective, colleges need to prove placement as an end result of student success. Almost all accrediting bodies assess placement rates, though in di�erent measures, as a determining factor in a college securing and maintaining its accreditation. Again, the loss of accreditation could likely mean the loss of enrollments and the departure of programs.

The argument of this white paper is that campus career centers and student employers must work together to improve retention and success by providing speci�c types of employment opportunities, such as internships and part-time jobs. This type of collaboration must be based on a sound understanding of the ways that employment a�ects retention and success. A strong professional preparation program is a long-term invest-ment that will have an immediate impact. The summer is an ideal time to conduct an assessment, design a strategy, and begin to implement changes.

While there is little data out there that speaks to placement results across higher education, the consensus is that there is tremendous room for improvement. Colleges and universities need to set their goals higher in order to:

• Exceed accreditation requirements• Stay compliant with federal regulations• Recruit at a higher level• Fulfill the obligation a college has to its students and graduates

Conclusion

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About IAO15

About IAO

Accreditation and educational quality assurance are essential factors that complete the educational ecosystem. While regional accreditation bodies have dutifully evaluated education providers on a regional scale; a body to recognize and accredit education providers on an international scale was needed in the wake of growing globalization. With more students studying at Educational Institutions or working for companies outside their home country, it was imperative to create standards that are both regionally and internationally recognized and accepted.

To accomplish the challenge, IAO created a unique Points Pro�le System by organizing the best global practices in education in one place. IAO gathered educational quality assurance standards from around in world in collaboration with various regional accreditation bodies and created evaluation criteria, that works as a general basis of evaluation for any education provider, regardless of its regional location. The core focus of the Points Pro�le System is to work as an additional international accreditation for education providers that will supplement their regional accreditation.

The Points Pro�le System is a dynamic and evolving system that is continually updated in order to cater new developments in the academic world. In relation to this, IAO is also working upon a Points Pro�le System for students on an individual level that will increase individual acceptability and recognition of students in both educational sector and the employer market.

IAO owes its success to its strong network and team of accreditation professionals spread in over 25 countries around the world. IAO has also collaborated with regional accreditation bodies to supplement their strict accreditation methods with its expertise of standardizing the educational environment interna-tionally. IAO’s expertise and services are also recognized by di�erent global accreditation associations.

Contact IAO

Contact O�ce:

IAO, 10685-B Hazelhurst Dr. #11524Houston, TX 77043, USA

Phone: 1-866-2768-IAO (426)

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://iao.org

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