We are excited to see this year’s conference theme, Road to Transformation, which spurred an idea for a session that outlines a specific road to transformation – one that led the Twardowski Career Development Center (TCDC) at West Chester University (WCU) to developing informed, compelling, relevant, and measurable career readiness success metrics for the university. The TCDC conducted a State of Career Readiness audit in spring 2023 to determine where the campus is, and where it could go, in scaling career readiness equitably to 17,000 students. After introductory presentations to nearly 300 colleagues on campus, we engaged over 1,000 voices in the data collection, and we are now sharing the results with our stakeholders, and starting to evolve how we deliver our services. One result of this work is that the TCDC, in consultation and partnership across six divisions, seven colleges, and 41 academic departments, developed meaningful metrics that will be used to measure success in scaling career readiness to students. These are not just Career Center metrics, as the university is putting them before the Cabinet, Council of Trustees, and President’s Advisory Board as WCU’s commitment to career readiness. As you can see from the learning outcomes below, the focus of this session is more on the process, rather than suggesting that every campus should use the metrics we’ve identified. This session is about the metric-setting journey, with an eye on the destination, on the “Road to Transformation.” 1. Attendees will understand the importance of measuring the success of career readiness initiatives early and often as a way to drive momentum, change, and accountability. 2. Attendees will learn a process they can replicate or iterate to identify and measure meaningful metrics that elevate career readiness as a university priority.

When you think about career programming, are you constantly reinventing the wheel with the hope of better engaging students and only finding minimal success year after year, or are you continuing with the same programs because that’s always how you’ve done it? Have you wondered how to use data in this process strategically but aren’t sure how to go about it? Learn how SuccessWorks at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has embarked on a journey of utilizing data to transform its career programming strategy. Previously, it would be August before we started thinking about what events to do in the fall, which made for a reactive, last-minute planning process. We identified a need for a shift from individual staff-led decisions on programming to organizational-focused decision-making. Our approach involved consistently collecting data from all events and services into one, central location, creating a position dedicated to managing programming strategy, and using qualitative and quantitative data to guide programming decisions based on organizational-wide strategy. These efforts led us to create a culture around the importance of data consistency in programming, a 31% increase in attendance across fewer programs, and the development of stronger relationships with partners. During this session, we will discuss the transformation process for our team, specific changes implemented, the impact on student engagement, lessons learned, plans for future growth in this area, and provide attendees with clear steps that other organizations can apply to their situation.

Scaling career and life design services is critical as we meet students where they are with a scaffolded approach to student engagement and success. Through the use of groundbreaking tools, like generative chat and AI, virtual career centers, and thinking beyond the traditional internship, we can prepare the next generation for jobs that may not even yet exist. The student-centric career ecosystem uses innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to career readiness that engage students in skill development, personal brand development, and building personalized connections in fun and exciting ways. As a case study, learn about how we partner with celebrities like will.i.am and Van Jones to engage students in real-world learning and relationship building through open internships and the use of AI tools toward aims of social mobility and equity for underrepresented communities.

With increasing evidence to show the immense impact of work based learning on college graduates (The Power of Work Based Learning, Strada 2022), Arizona State University is working towards a future where all learners have the opportunity to engage in these experiences during their academic journey. In order to do so, an evaluation of the equitable access to these opportunities has to be evaluated and specifically addressed as the research indicates the disproportionate participation rate for historically marginalized populations. For a larger institution, there is no single program or intervention that will systematically ensure change to increase access-that is why Work + Learn at ASU is addressing this challenge through multiple initiatives focused on student employment, work based learning and experiential learning as a whole. We hav also identified both the need and the opportunity to partner with institutions across the country on this work-in order to make true national change, we need to eliminate the siloed thinking that is common amongst higher ed and develop ecosystems where institutions can leverage resources across eachother as we are often not resourced individually to impact change at the depth or cadence that is needed. In this presentation, both ASU and 1-2 partner institutions they have worked with as a part of The Work+ Collective, will share how they have been able to successfully build trust, identify synergies and engage in mutually beneficial ways. The hope to be tangible ideas that participants can step away with in how they may be able to engage across their own institutions and hopefully with others across the country.

Studies have shown that college students feel more prepared to meet their career goals, as well as better equipped to network with professionals, when they engage with alumni mentors. A career development practitioner from Bellarmine University will share how they partner with alumni association team members to utilize a scaffolded approach to provide students with three distinct opportunities to connect with alumni mentors. The presenter will discuss the successes, challenges, and lessons learned along with ideas for implementation. Learning Outcomes: 1. Attendees will identify three diverse methods for engaging college students with alumni mentors. 2. Attendees will recognize benefits and challenges of alumni mentor programming. 3. Attendees will generate ideas for how to incorporate alumni mentoring at their respective universities. Session will include quantitative and qualitative data collected after implementing each mentor program over the years.

The Outsider Problem suggests that traditional job searching methods may only allow "outsiders" to see roughly 20% of the capacity for job opportunities as the remaining portion of the opportunities are "insider knowledge". This concept of the Outsider Problem drives the strategy at BGSU's Kuhlin Hub for Career Design & Connections. Through an intentional model of employer engagement (hiring employer relations team, new CRM tool, employer recognition program, etc.), our team makes personal connections for students that support them building their own networks. As each student increases their network, they gain access to additional opportunities that do not appear to be available to them based on traditional job searching - significantly enhancing the support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds that may not have their own networks.

Our breakout session will cover incorporation of career readiness competencies and how student engagement has been woven into career curriculum in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). This was done through Career Learning Sessions for the BBS Freshman Seminar courses, as well as by intentionally designing and conducting Career Education courses across multiple schools. Student engagement was captured by intentionally considering different learning styles and personality types and by promoting critical thinking and self-awareness through a mix of written, verbal, group, and individual activities. Career readiness competencies were explored through coaching on resume guidance and employment search strategy assistance. Students were guided into the world of work through opportunities to learn from industry professionals and given chances to reflect upon career knowledge gained, personal application points, and overall impact on learning. Breakout Session Takeaways: 1. Structure each Career Learning Session in a way that models a productive way to walk through the career exploration process. 2. Generate engagement and lively dialogue by supporting different learning styles and different levels of introversion/extroversion with intentional activities. 3. Help students to analyze familiar areas, translate those patterns to potential work environments, and articulate their perceptions of self, situations, and possible outcomes. Empower students with resources/tools to support their understanding of their career values, interests, personality, and skills in order to make an informed decision. 4. Foster agency, critical thinking, and sustainable decision-making by focusing on action items throughout—what do I need to know to have confidence in my decision-making abilities? 5. Equip students with a clear understanding of various career pathways and necessary skills helps them prepare for the evolving demands of the job market, ensuring they're ready for future careers, through guest speakers. 6. Address student needs by supporting the creation of career action plans and instructing job search strategies, resume building, interview preparation, and more. Prepare students for entering the workforce, securing internships, part-time and full-time jobs, or graduate school post-graduation.

Data is at the center of transformation in higher education today.  Without data informing decision making, we risk going in the wrong direction or losing opportunities to gain resources. Alumni data, whether at first destination or beyond, serves an important role in understanding how to support student success. But gathering and using alumni data are often two barriers that limit its use. This session shares insights from partner campuses in how they are tackling the challenge of gathering alumni data and transforming it into information being used on their campus.