Innovation Pillars - Ohio Career Service Operations and Delivery
Increasing the number and percentage of Ohioans achieving degrees, certificates, or credentials will assist them in discovering relevant career pathways, enabling them health, well-being, and overall quality of life for themselves, their families, and their communities. Our goal is that 60 percent of Ohioans will have achieved these various credentials by 2025. The career services area plays a large role in that vision. Ohio has spent the last three years focused on an innovation dialogue for and improvements to career services delivery. The Ohio Department of Education has written into law that all districts adopt a local policy on career advising beginning in the 2015-2016 school year. Additionally, in the Governor’s new biennial budget, there is a requirement that all public institutions of higher education will be required to have a career counseling program in place by December 31, 2015, as well as a link to Ohio Means Jobs as part of that service structure. This is coupled with an implementation plan to embed work experiences, including co-ops and internships, into the curricula of degree programs. Ohio is committed to connecting students with in-demand careers to further the success of individuals and support the economic development goals of the state. Furthering work in the post-secondary completion agenda requires the fundamental implementation of a strategy to support students at the earliest possible point as they make education-tocareer-pathway choices. Early selection of a pathway can help students reduce time to completion and favorably impact student debt. We believe that an overarching state strategy in the delivery of career services is imperative to consistently and effectively support Ohio students in this way. This guidance document highlights six innovation pillars for the delivery of career services in Ohio. The Ohio Department of Higher Education will work with institutions of higher education to enhance the career services function and/ or delivery through a method of ongoing innovation that accumulates in high-touch, student-centered career service exposures.
Data (Career and Measurement)
Career Information, Service Quality and Impact, OhioMeansJobs, Labor Market Information, In-Demand, Surveys, Employment Placement, Wage, Staff Performance, Social Media Platforms (LinkedIn)
People/Partnerships
Counselors, Advisors, Alumni, Faculty, Employers, Campus Leadership, Coaches, Community Members and Organizations, Economic Development Agencies, Business Associations
Funding
Education Institution, Grants, Foundations, Employers, Community Organizations, Economic Development Agencies, Business Associations
Requirements
Academic, Registration/Graduation Blocks, Enhanced Student Experience
Access/Marketing
Campus Location, Online, Social Media, Personalized, Technology enabled
Mission/Vision/Key Performance Indicators
Campus Mission or Vision Statement, KPIs as developed by Trustees, Campus Strategic Plan
Career
OhioMeansJobs
- Link on campus website
- Used as a resource in career selection advising and job search strategy discussion with students
- Educate faculty regarding OMJ data and tools via campus delivered professional development sessions
- Educate students regarding OMJ data and tools through incorporation into student learning through academic classroom delivery
- Link to OMJ website on all campus computers accessed by students
In-Demand List
- Share with students as a resource for decision making
- Incorporate data into career/major selection activities
Career Pathways
- Adopt state definition and display with connection to OMJ link to career pathway maps
- Innovation in how majors are presented to students: display of offerings and delivered activities in a career language
- Translate liberal arts coursework into careers and/or skill level language for later use in resume development and job search efforts as desired
Career Selection
- Every undecided/undeclared student receives an interest or career assessment
- Every student failing their current education program receives an interest or career assessment
- Every student receives an interest or career assessment during their first year on campus (two year institution), or second year on campus (four year institution) or first 600 clock hours (Ohio Technical Center)
- Develop presentations faculty can access for classroom use on relevant career service topics, services and/or career pathways
Measurement
Service Delivery Effectiveness
- Student, customer, faculty, alumni, community, business and other
Post Graduate Outcomes
- Students served demographic data
- Graduate education placement (school/focus area)
- Continuing education placement (school/focus area)
- Employment placement, wage at placement, industry sector placement, occupation placement, full or part-time placement, military service, seeking employment, volunteer service
- Alumni ongoing services: type of service, number served, effectiveness
- Entrepreneurial (number starting a business, NAICS code)
Pre-Graduate Outcomes
- Students served demographic data
- Experiential Learning – listing and number of internships, co-ops and other experiential learning activities or exposures offered, experiences for credit and not for credit, number and type of student explored experiential learning activities, wage if applicable
- Menu of career service activities offered to students, effectiveness ratings on service delivery activities (outside of CCSSE survey), number of services deployed, number of students
- Career Services Staffing – number of professional FTEs, part-time staff, support staff, student staff, graduate assistants, career coursework instructors, alumni, dual-role profession staff (academic and career advising), student population served, students served to FTE staff ratio, all institution enrolled students to FTE staff ratio, all students served to all staff ratio, all students enrolled to all FTE staff ratio, student to staff ratio on all service delivery support personnel
- Partner Interactions – number of career service partnerships, service areas supported (descriptive), industry sectors represented, type of organizations or people partnering (faculty, alumni, chambers, SNAP, etc.)
- Knowing the number and percentage of staff that are dependent on grant funds, and when those funds expire.
- Staff Performance – performance ratings with clearly defined metrics that support career services delivery
- Entrepreneurial Activities
Community Outcomes
- Menu of services, number of services delivered, effectiveness of services, type of community member served, demographic data where appropriate/available/applicable
Economic Development Outcomes
- Menu of services, number of services delivered, effectiveness of services, NAICS code of businesses served
Continuous Improvement
- Record of integrated, continuous improvement process
- Total operational budget
- Breakout of operational budget into strategies deployed to service students
- Type and total of investments into career services function from outside campus resources
- Percentage of career services budget against total campus operational budget and other departments/functions
- Trend budget data since inception of career services unit or revised delivery strategy
Funding
Overall Strategy
- Develop the career services story detailing need, impact and effectiveness
- Determine populations for outreach and create annual plan to conduct that outreach
Campus Leadership
- Strategy for articulating the value and need for investment in career services to institution leadership
- Annually stated goals with supporting data for leadership discussions about continued or increased investment
Business and Economic Development Investment
- Stated strategies for engaging business monetary investment in career services (does not include in-kind or volunteer activities)
- Identification of partners for conducting outreach
- Recorded activity on challenges and successes
Community Investment
- Stated strategies for outreach to identified community partners
- Recorded activity on challenges and successes
Foundations/State/Federal
- Strategy to identify ongoing opportunities for grants to fund R&D in career services delivery and impacts on student success
Students
- Research approaches for student investment in career services delivery and institute those most appropriate for servicing the population diversity, culture, etc.
Misson/Vision/Key Performance Indidators (KPI)
Mission integration
- The degree to which career services is incorporated as a part of the strategic mission of the education institution separate from the mission of the actual unit or department
Key Performance Indicators
- Student employment placement tracked as a KPI for the institution
- Undecided student transition timeframes
- Number of student career transitions
- Additional career service delivery components that demonstrate the strength of goal attainment for the unit/function are tracked as a KPI for the institution
Access/Marketing
Clarity and Coordination
- Decentralized structures conduct monthly meetings across the various career service delivery or advising areas with a clear leadership coordination strategy
- Decentralized structures have an office or person dedicated solely to undecided students
Access
- Location of career services is marketed to students through various mediums and is physically accessible
- Hours of service include drop in opportunities
- Student wait times for one-on-one counseling services are no more than 72 hours
People / Partnerships
Coaching/Advising/Mentors
- Development and deployment of strategies that enable students to have one-on-one coaching, advising or mentor relationships conducted by institution staff, faculty or contractors
- Development and deployment of strategies that enable students to receive one-on-one coaching, advising or mentor relationships through the use of expanded partnerships with the community: alumni, chamber of commerce, business associations, appropriate volunteers, student affairs activities
Campus Collaborations
- Collaboration with other functional units across campus to deliver career service learning activities
Cultural Appreciation
- Specific goals and objectives based on the cultural need of the student population
- Service deliveries offered that address cultural needs or differences
- Staffing structure that mirrors student population demographics and culture
Requirements
Student Impacts
- Engage students with career services earlier and longer
- Engagement that eliminates the “optional” usage of career services by students
- Delivery of career service information in required coursework
- Delivery of career service activity that carries credit application