Institution-Wide Participation
I am lucky to work for a smaller very close knit school. Each of us works toward the common goal, graduates happily working in their field of study and becoming a success story. I ring a bell when a student accepts a job offer and when that bell rings everyone comes in or calls to ask who it was and cheer with me. Each department knows that they were instrumental in that student getting the job. If anyone sees a problem developing with a student they get the word out to each of the departments to see what can be done to solve the problem. My school works incredibly well together toward our goal.
Employment rates show the success of the school, employees and graduates. It is very much a numbers game but with a lot of heart.
Share ways in which your institution views employment rates in a systemic, institutional way? How do you believe each department works together to improve employment rates, or what would you recommend be done?
it is both formal and informal. we have meetings to discuss students progress from start to placement. but we discuss things informally as well. each of us has a personal connection with each of them by the time they are ready for placement.
We all communicate with each other regarding these students. We ahve a saying "it takes a village" and we live by that.
Hi Jason,
Sounds like your team has a solid process. Is this a formalized process such as through a cross-functional committee, informal, or a combination? Can you elaborate on how you're able to manage and sustain your close internal communication and collaboration? What is working and what can be improved?
Robert Starks Jr.
Our team works very closely with each other. As the graduates go through the process of testing, licensing and ultimately placement...everyone is informed of the progress. communication amongst the team is crucial in all aspects of our work. Specifically when a student is placed, I let everyone on the team know. We have all worked so closely with them, that it seems proper that everyone know whe the ultimate success is achieved.
We have a very small school, so we do not have the problem of "silo-ing". All departments are involved in all aspects of the school including employment. For us it really does start with the admissions and making sure we only enroll students who can be successful in our program as well as in finding employment. Since we are in Health Care, understanding spoken English understanding is important as is not having a criminal background and the ability to cover tattoos. Feedback from local employer help us with what skills we need to teach as well as with placement, so working with potential employers is important for instructors as well as career counseling.
Hi Sheri,
Thanks for sharing your example of institution-wide participation. Whereas events seem to be a long-standing practice among institutions, embedded core career curricula throughout the student life-cycle seems to be rare. Rather, many institutions have a single course that covers topics such as study skills with career topics such as resume writing mixed in. Why do you think a more comprehensive life-cycle approach to teaching professional and employability skills is more rare than it is common? What variables do you believe might influence this reality?
Robert Starks Jr.
I do believe for students to be successful, there needs to be total campus involvement from the time the student starts their journey with us. While my institution has not adopted a formal standard of operations, the need has been recognized and we are putting programs in place to work towards this goal. For example, all of our campuses participate in a Career Fest Week on a quarterly basis. The purpose of this week is to increase the students' soft skills and assist them with job search and interviewing skills. Career Services organizes the activities for the week, but all staff and facility are involved. Instructors will participate in "dress for success" fashion shows, staff members will hold mock interviews with all the students, there are job search related contests and workshops and the week ends with a job fair. Over time, this event has proved to be successful not only for our students, but for having our instructors more invested in career services issues. Are any other institutions doing something similar?
Jennifer,
So true. It does indeed take buy-in from everyone for this kind of culture to take hold. I would like to ask how many of you on this thread have created a Standard of Operations for Career Services and does it address interdepartmental and cross-department participation and support?
Ann Cross
Ann,
It is driven from many directions. I have added it to the Career Services "Standards of Operation". And I work with the campuses to discuss what those partnerships look like to them and follow through. For the most part, everyone has been very willing and enthusiastic.
Jennifer
Jennifer,
Your approach sounds very comprehensive. Who is driving this effort at your institution and how easy/difficult has it been? Are these formal meetings or informal discussions?
Ann Cross
We recently had a discussion on how career services can assist in the unit goals of other departments and how other departments can assist with career services objectives.
With Admissions, we communicate trends of the industry and assist with survival jobs. Ensuring that our admissions teams are in the know of what's happening in the industry is important in their positions. Academics are a great partner when it comes to developing relationships with the student body as well as relationships with potential internship/ externship sites. Also, Advisory Board coordination is a collaborative institutional event for Career Services and Academics. The instructors provide of insight to the students and sometimes are even aware of students securing employment. They also encourage students about the opportunities Career Services identify.
Great stuff! Does anyone else have a more formal process for keeping everyone on campus informed about student issues?
Ann Cross
Getting the word out to the different departments when a student is having a problem is usually informal. Being a small school we are all very close. The students will make a connection with specific people and if the student is having a personal problem that is effecting school we track down who the best person might be to pull the student aside and talk to them. With attendance problems we try to determine what is causing the tardies or absenses and work to fix the problem. If their car isn't working we will help them get a bus-pass, if they have a car but no money for gas we try to help with gas cards. If the problem is grades we provide as much tutoring as they need. As you know sometimes it truly takes a village.
Deborah,
It is wonderful that you have such a close knit team. You mention that if a student problem is identified that you "get the word out to each department". Can you elaborate on this? Is this done formally or informally? Do you have specific mitigation strategies for specific problems, for example a student who is falling behind because of attendance?
Ann Cross
