D R . G I N A J O S E P H - C O L L I N S , D E A N
M A U R A D E V L I N , D I R E C T O R O F S T U D E N T S E R V I C E S S C H O O L O F A D U L T A N D P R O F E S S I O N A L S T U D I E S
B A Y P A T H C O L L E G E
Defining Career Success for
Non-Traditional Students
Setting the Stage
School of Adult and Professional Studies’ One-Day- A-Week Program
Almost 1,000 adult women undergraduates across 3 campuses
On campus one day/week for 5 hour classes in 6-week sessions
Average age is 35 years
70+% work more than 30 hours/week
Majority are mothers
Range of incomes and professional experiences, but significant percentage seeking higher education to enhance careers and earnings
The Catalyst – Career Services Grant
3 year grant from external funding source, with interim reports due annually, final report due at close of grant
Objective #1 – Develop Research Methodology
Objective #2 – Increase Career Center Usage to 50%
Objective #3 – Increase Career Confidence and Preparedness
Objective #4 – Enhance Career Outcomes
Methodology
Hired Career Specialist and External Consultant
Conducted focus groups with existing students
Surveyed all incoming students at 7 - 8 orientations/year
Reviewed literature and best practices
Interviewed variety of faculty teaching in program
Consulted with employers about career requirements and skill needs
Developed tracking and evaluation systems
Administered graduation and satisfaction surveys annually
Hired Institutional Researcher, Career Specialist position institutionalized
Our Approach
One-on-one career coaching, resulting from orientations and advising sessions
Brown bag lunches, workshops, career speakers and stories, and special events
Traditional career assessments
Developed internship program
Student career narratives published in newsletters
Peer support groups
Lessons Learned
Students define career success more broadly than traditional conceptions, often including fulfillment
Career success a process, not an outcome
Need to teach self-leadership over a lifetime, rather than career-specific skills
Need to embed careers into curriculum
Need to develop more experiential opportunities
Need to tailor usage of assessments for adult women
Need to align career coaching and academic advising
Need to enlist faculty support and engagement
Need to develop more robust methodology (career confidence)
Program Logic Model
If the One-Day Program enrolls women seeking education for career enhancement
If the program provides supports to encourage persistence
If the curriculum provides opportunities for women to reflect on goals and aspirations, strengths and abilities, and passions
If the curriculum provides opportunities to match self interests with careers and to explore requirements
If the curriculum allows students to apply skills in an experiential setting
Then adult women graduates will find fulfilling careers
Action Research/Learning Organization
Logic model allows us to clarify what we do, why, and how
Interim reports to grant funders were tools for learning
Continuous reflection on our practice, methodology and delivery of career services
Team of 3 – 4 continually meeting to reflect on career services
Repeated and frequent use of surveys, collection of student career and life narratives, and assessments with students
Holistic advising (career, academic, financial)
Embedding careers into orientations, advising sessions, and student newsletters
Development of Women As Empowered Learners and Leaders (WELL) curriculum, series of 3 foundational courses
Outcomes
100% of students engage in career work through curriculum
Enhanced career assessments in each student’s ePortfolios
Holistic advising in place
New full-time faculty dedicated to adult students
May 2012 Graduation Survey: 76% found program
“empowering” and 50% agreed the program allowed
them to develop adaptable skills
Conclusions
Learning organization - changes in how we
understand and consider career services for adult women undergraduates
Focus on empowerment rather than traditional career services outcomes
Barriers and limitations in women’s busy lives meant career work needed to be embedded into curriculum and processes (advising and student support
services)
Resources
Belenky, M. F., Clinchy, B., M., Goldberger, N. R., & Tarule, J. M. (1986). Women's ways of knowing: The development of self, mind, and voice. New York, NY: Basic Books
Deutsch, N. L., & Schmertz, B. (2011). “Starting from Ground Zero: Constraints and experiences of adult women returning to college. The Review of Higher Education, 34(3), 477-504.
Lundberg, C. A., McIntire, D. D., & Creasman, C. T. (2008). Sources of social
support and self-efficacy for adult students. Journal of College Counseling, 11, 58 – 72.
Quimby, J. L., & O’Brien, K. M. (2004). Predictors of student and career decision- making self-efficacy among nontraditional college women. The Career Development Quarterly, 52, 323-339.
Rossiter, M. (2009). Possible selves and career transition: Implications for serving nontraditional students. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 57, 61–71.
Sweet, S., & Moen, P. (2007). Integrating educational careers in work and family:
Women’s return to school and family life quality. Community, Work, and Family, 10(2), 231–250.
W. K. Kellogg Foundation. (2004). Logic model development guide. Retrieved from http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/resources/2006/02/WK-Kellogg-
Foundation-Logic-Model-Development-Guide.aspx