Throughout all the interviews and research NCAN conducted for this project, one thing stands out clearly: identifying metrics by which to gauge the outcomes of career advising work is challenging. There are no research-based, career advising equivalents to the outcome indicators identified in NCAN’s Common Measures for College Access and Success. Some of the factors members considered when identifying which outcomes/metrics/data points to track include the following:
Why Track
Disaggregate student data by demographic sub-groups to determine equitable outcomes. And then address differences by making program modifications if necessary.
Track to help advisers know which students they’ve served have reached specific milestones deemed important by their organization. Once they know who hasn’t met specific milestones, they're able to customize their advising plan to meet individual student needs and to close gaps.
How to Track
Most often advisers collect data on the milestones and activities students achieve and track the data in a database, excel spreadsheet, etc.
Many members send questionnaires directly to program alumni/advisees after graduation and collect data through these self-reported questionnaires.
Some programs have advisers conduct post-graduation exit interviews.
Where to Track
Collect data in a centralized location or database that allows for deeper analysis and make use of data tacking and visualization tools. Some of the popular tools used by NCAN members include Salesforce and Power BI. Others use Excel to track students’ activities and outcomes.
Once the data collection tools are identified and configured, it’s important that advisers understand how to enter data as part of their case management work.
It’s OK to modify the data you track – adding new services to your program or organization takes time and is a work in progress
What to Track
Identify metrics that tell the story of the impact your career advising services are having on student outcomes.
Connect metrics to the specific milestones you want students to experience or achieve – don’t just collect data for the sake of collecting it.
Below are some of the metrics/data points NCAN members track to gauge the outcomes of their career advising efforts.
Milestones for tracking work with students who are enrolled in postsecondary education
1. Career Exploration and Awareness:
Completed career/interests/strengths inventories
Completed career plan while in college and includes an education plan
Next steps:
Job search plan
Applications for jobs
Plan for graduate or professional credential
2. Career Exposure and Preparation:
Facilitating Workplace Experience
Experiences that align with preferred career path
Internship
Job shadowing
Micro internships
Participation in career fairs and/or panels
Honing personal, workplace, and job-related skills and competencies
Cultivating (and then demonstrating) networking skills:
Connections with individuals related to preferred career path – building social capital
Creating and sustaining relationships with employers
Participation in networking events, informational interviews
Building skills on topics related to student preparation for the world of work:
Impostor syndrome/belonging
Financial literacy
Familiarity with “traditional” workplace
Cultivating social/emotional skills and competencies
Building career-related competencies. (Some member organizations organize the career competencies they work towards instilling in their students around the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Information on these competencies can be found here.)
Career & Self-Development
Communication
Critical Thinking
Equity & Inclusion
Leadership
Professionalism
Teamwork
Technology
3. Building the Toolbox:
Ensuring students have:
Completed resume
Cover letter template
Engaged in interview preparation
Personal branding tools including elevator speech, LinkedIn page
Student outcome data for determining programmatic success long term
Obtaining a first destination job related to career interest
Tracking student income at specific intervals out from graduation, e.g. 6, 12 months, 3 years, etc.
Degree to which alumni continued connection with the organization
Organizational milestones
Awareness of/tracking local workforce needs and trends
Local labor market needs
Working with partners:
Relationships with employers and/or alumni that can provide workplace learning opportunities, mentors, coaches, participation in career fairs
Cultivate partners that provide resources and services you aren’t e.g., partner non-profits, postsecondary career centers, youth development organizations etc.
Training for partners on how to engage with students traditionally serviced by NCAN member organizations.
NCAN member Bottom Line uses the data they collect on student milestones to “backwards plan” by examining which milestones are having the greatest impact on student outcomes, and placing emphasis on those milestones in their career advising work. Their examination of data has helped them understand that students who complete more milestones are more likely to land a first destination job related to their desired career outcomes within six months of graduation, and their salary levels are higher. Specifically, their data indicates that graduates who have completed more than 60% of Bottom Line’s employability milestones upon graduation, are more likely to be in a mobilizing and higher paying first destination job, a strong correlation between students who reach career readiness milestones and their first destination job outcome.
Some NCAN members we interviewed for this project were eager for one of the outcomes of our research to be a matrix that outlined exactly which career advising milestones college students should achieve and when they should achieve them. Other members understand that each student comes to the career advising table with different skills, backgrounds, and experiences, making it counterproductive to require all students adhere to a prescribed scope and sequence of advising practices. These members are more focused on ensuring that their students achieve programmatic milestones and not when they achieve them. We recommend that NCAN members use the milestones articulated above as a jumping off point for determining which are most appropriate for their students and communities, and that members continue to share their career advising practices and outcomes with the field. This will assist members who are working to help their students make the best career decisions for their future career and economic wellbeing, as well as that of their families and communities.
