The Edge: 7 tips to offer career services for all

Turning campus jobs into mentored experiences and training professors to counsel students are just two ways to democratize access to career advice. ADVERTISEMENT [The Edge Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. I’m Goldie Blumenstyk, a senior writer at The Chronicle covering innovation in and around higher ed. This week I highlight several ideas that could help all students, including those who are first-generation or low-income, get the benefits of career services. I also share recent news on expanding child-care options for students, on improving transfer outcomes, and on efforts to teach “across differences.” ADVERTISEMENT SPECIAL OFFER FOR NEW SUBSCRIBERS Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for less than $20 and get unlimited access to essential reporting, data, and analysis. And as a special bonus, you'll get the 2024 Trends Report, our annual issue on the major trends shaping higher education — coming in March. Practical ideas to connect more students to career services Last week I moderated a rich discussion with three experts on ways to help low-income and first-generation students get an equal crack at internships and other opportunities that can help them after college. Below are seven takeaways from that forum, which you can watch on demand by registering [here](. Add mentorship to campus jobs: Many working students can’t afford to take internships, but adding a “student-development experience” — like intentional mentorship from a supervisor — to a campus job can yield some of the same benefits, noted Brenna Gomez, director of career integration at Oregon State University. Start early: Career counselors often bemoan how late in college students seek out their services. One way to jump-start that development is to let students hear from working professionals in their classes from the beginning, said Mildred Coyne, a former senior vice president for work force and innovation at Broward College, in Florida, who is now a consultant. That can be accomplished through quick, class-based information sessions or daylong or half-day job-shadowing assignments. Evaluate results: To promote equity in career development, pay attention to the demographics of which students are doing which internships. (When Broward tracked that information, Coyne said, it found low participation in IT internships among Black students, and took steps to correct that.) Such an evaluation need not be a major undertaking. Also, talking regularly with counterparts at internship sites can develop a useful feedback loop about what’s working, said David Deming, co-director of the Harvard Project on Workforce, and establish “mutual learnings” and lasting ties between colleges and employers. That brought to mind the importance of clear, shared expectations for internships, which [I wrote about last fall](. Give students insight into the job market: The more colleges know about potential career trajectories and where fields are expanding — or not — the better they can advise students. “Pay attention to who’s knocking on your door and asking for your talented students to come work for them,” said Coyne. And colleges should be sure to talk to students, she said, about what jobs pay and what career paths they might lead to. Language matters: Many of today’s older students aren’t looking for “career preparation,” because they’ve already taken the first steps into their fields. So it’s important to find language that doesn’t alienate them, Gomez noted. Talking about “career advancement,” she said, might resonate more than “career readiness.” Seek additional, targeted support: While career-services offices are often strapped for resources, colleges may be able to tap philanthropists and other outside sources for assistance. Beyond the common grants to subsidize internships, Broward, for example, has found that employers and other donors are often willing to cover the costs of students’ tests to earn industry credentials or certifications, particularly if that brings more qualified people into fields with shortages of trained personnel. Colleges, Coyne said, can also draw on the resources and expertise of local work-force boards, which receive federal funds from several sources to help low-income populations. Don’t forget about the professors: Students value input from their instructors. For the past few years, Oregon State has been training faculty members as “[Career Champions]( equipped to advise students on how to apply the skills taught in courses beyond the classroom. The university also refashioned its general-education requirements in 2022 to include a [Beyond OSU]( component to help students develop and communicate career skills. Building that into the curriculum, Gomez said, “democratizes access to career services for students.” Relevant news updates for readers of this newsletter - Expanding child care for student parents: A new collaboration, [Kids on Campus]( is designed to increase child-care options at and near community colleges. The [five-year project]( developed by the Association of Community College Trustees and the National Head Start Association and funded by six foundations, will help colleges looking to establish Head Start sites on their campuses and to advise students on how to enroll their children in other Head Start programs. Some 1.7 million students now attending community college are parents, most of them women. - Improving outcomes for transfer students: For-profit colleges and predominantly online institutions have “the weakest outcomes” for community-college students who transfer to a four-year college aiming to earn a bachelor’s degree. That’s one of several findings that stood out to me in [a set of new reports]( on transfer, based on data tracking the college journeys of more than a million students nationally. Several other points also struck me. Only 16 percent of students who start community college receive a bachelor’s degree within six years, despite years of attention to improving that rate (in 2016, the overall rate was 14 percent). Graduation rates were notably lower for students who are low-income, older, Black, or Hispanic. The researchers found higher completion among students who had participated in dual-enrollment programs starting in high school, but they noted that Black and Hispanic students tend to be underrepresented in such programs. - Teaching to bridge differences: A few weeks ago, I wrote about Interfaith America’s Eboo Patel, who was calling on colleges to [teach and model the skills of living in a pluralistic democracy](. So I was heartened to see last week that schools of public service at 14 institutions had announced plans to double down on courses that teach skills for “collaborating across difference.” The 14 [have joined the Volcker Alliance’s Constructive Dialogue Curriculum Initiative](. Got a tip you’d like to share or a question you’d like me to answer? Let me know, at goldie@chronicle.com. If you have been forwarded this newsletter and would like to see past issues, [find them here](. To receive your own copy, free, register [here](. If you want to follow me on the site formerly known as Twitter, [@GoldieStandard]( is my handle. Or find me on BlueSky Social, which I just joined with [the same handle](. NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. Goldie's Picks PARSING THE NARRATIVE [What’s Really Behind the View That Higher Ed Isn’t Worth It?]( By Scott Carlson [STORY IMAGE]( Yes, the sector has a lot that it needs to fix. But criticisms that seem to dismiss the value of college altogether often miss key details. DOUBLE DIP? [Colleges Were Already Bracing for an ‘Enrollment Cliff.’ Now There Might Be a Second One.]( By Dan Bauman [STORY IMAGE]( The Census had once forecast the contingent of 18-year-olds rebounding in the middle of the next decade. Its latest projections show the population shrinking further. RATINGS REVAMP [Teaching Evaluations Are Broken. Can They Be Fixed?]( By Beth McMurtrie [STORY IMAGE]( Superficial assessments hurt professors and students, but reform is hard. CAREER RESOURCES [Career Resources]( [Read the February collection]( to learn the secrets behind mastering the final stages of the interview process. You'll receive insights into giving teaching demos, job talks, guest lectures, and more! ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [The Athletics Advantage - The Chronicle Store]( [The Athletics Advantage]( For tuition-driven institutions, sports are often a key recruiting tool. [Order this report]( for insights on how small colleges are using athletics to drive student enrollment, engagement, and retention. JOB OPPORTUNITIES [Search jobs on The Chronicle job board]( [Find Your Next Role Today]( Whether you are actively or passively searching for your next career opportunity, The Chronicle is here to support you throughout your job search. Get started now by [exploring 30,000+ openings]( or [signing up for job alerts](. NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK [Please let us know what you thought of today's newsletter in this three-question survey](. This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2024 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037