IDSP 410: Career Strategy and Development Assessment Report

Transcription

1 In the academic year NYIT introduced a revamped IDSP 410: Career Strategy and Development. 69 students took the course (28 in fall and 41 in spring). IDSP 410 is required for all Interdisciplinary Studies majors and optional for students in other majors. We defined learning objectives in the syllabus that all sections used. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Defend (verbally and in writing) their major choice and cite at least three possible career options 2. Articulate their values, interests and skills 3. Conduct an informational interview 4. Conduct industry research 5. Define employee citizenship 6. Write professional job search letters We assessed students in the following ways: 1. Completion of FOCUS professional career assessment tool 2. Completion of research, professional technical and reflective writing assignments 3. Final Presentation of personal career plan before industry professionals 4. Individualized advisement sessions 5. Attendance and participation in seminars Table 1: Survey completions Pre survey Post survey Paired surveys Fall Spring Total Table 1 summarizes the number of students that completed the pre and post surveys. Paired surveys refers to those students that completed both a pre and post survey so that we may compare responses from the beginning of the course with those at the end of the course. From the pre and post surveys we asked students to rate their level of agreement with the statement I feel very confident in describing my major to employers. We see an increase of 24 percentage points in the responses agree/strongly agree for fall and of 17 percentage points in spring. Ultimately, over 80% of respondents indicated that they feel very confident describing the interdisciplinary major to employers. The ability to describe the major is each student s foundation for moving forward in their career. By developing understanding of the major and subsequently how it is a benefit to employers it is more straightforward to find suitable occupations. The student also increases confidence leading to more effective networking, which is one of the more crucial aspects of a job search and career development. We face a particular challenge in this major because many students have fallen into the major because they were dissatisfied or unable to remain in a more specific major. They may miss some of the fundamental courses and advisement that would improve their understanding of interdisciplinary studies. This is a greater challenge at NYIT because we are only beginning to build a stronger foundation in the liberal arts and students attending NYIT tend to be very occupation-focused. If they fall into the interdisciplinary degree they may feel rocked that their original plan is not coming to fruition. We need to make a deliberate attempt to talk about the major, its benefits, and a deeper understanding of interdisciplinary and the liberal arts in general. I took at least one entire three hour class to cover these topics and infused it throughout the semester. This may be a change we wish to include in the syllabus.

2 Students felt confident in describing their major, but we also wanted them to demonstrate their confidence through end of semester presentations via video or by presenting to a panel of professionals. In our pre and post surveys we posed the following question: You meet the VP of the company you want to work for waiting for the train. You know her company is hiring for your dream position. You have 45 seconds to make her know that you are the best candidate. What do you say about yourself? The number of students answering unsure for this question decreased by 10% overall. In the post survey 83% of students submitted a response to this question. Examples of students improvement are in Table 2. Table 2: Elevator pitch Unsure Pre survey Hi, I m [student name]. I know a lot about your company and enjoy what you do. I ve been wanting an opportunity to have a career within your industry. If you re ever looking for someone I would be more than ecstatic to work for you. Unsure I would give a suggestion for any problem they may be having, and would ask if I could get a contact information for other suggestions I have. I would stress how there isn t any problem which I haven t come by that I wasn t able to handle without any micromanagement required. Post survey It would be a great honor to work within this prestigious company. I am a hard worker who is willing to learn and bring new ideas and solutions to any problem with a clear head. I possess great communication skills and work well in teams and I strive to finish any given assignment on time. Hi, I m [student name] from NYIT and a major in Interdisciplinary Studies. I know a lot about your company and would like to talk to you about future employment. Here is my business card to contact me. My name is [student name] and I have an IDSP degree with concentrations in computer science, math and social sciences. I am skilled in Java and have 30 credits in math courses. I have the unique experience of experiencing education in a third world country. I think I would be an asset to your company. I am a quick learner and I can lead others as well as follow instructions. My imagination would be a great tool to have in this business, because of my adaptability to problem solve. I am the type of employee that wouldn t bring up a problem without having two different solutions. We saw a greater diversity in the types of jobs students felt their degree prepared them for from the pre to post survey. This supports the students comments about what they achieved by taking the course: learning more about their major and the types of positions they are eligible for at graduation. The number of students answering unsure to this question decreased by 11%. A few comments of note to this question: My major prepares me specifically for a career in the health science areas. My major allows me to get a wide range of knowledge in different fields to get greater perspectives and a better understanding of different angles in a career. Specifically my major allows me to fulfill graduate school requirements in the future for any health profession/ job opportunity available. Food production in healthcare environments, hospitality management, research/entry level lab positions, administration, customer service. Page 2 of 5

3 In the pre and post surveys we asked students What is employee citizenship and how can you practice it in the workplace? We designed a rubric (Table 3) to rate the students responses from no response/incorrect to advanced. Table 3: Employee citizenship response rubric No response or incorrect Basic Proficient Advanced No response or defined employee citizenship or demonstration of employee citizenship indicated misunderstanding Student understands that they may need to go above and beyond normal responsibilities of job to be an employee citizen and gives a vague or general activity that would meet the definition of employee citizenship Student has a basic understanding of employee citizenship, but lacks confidence or clarity in describing it and gives a more specific example, but it may not fit the definition or have enough clarity Student includes the concepts of rights and responsibilities and/or makes connection between traditional nationalityfocused citizenship and the employment relationship and student gives a specific example that clearly meets definition of employee citizenship In Figure 1 we see that there is a general trend of increased understanding at the post survey. Employee citizenship is a topic that is not usually discussed and this course is probably how the students were introduced to this topic. At the post survey 56% of students were basic or proficient. However, about one quarter of students did not respond or gave responses that indicated that they have no understanding of the topic. This is clearly something that we need to strengthen in upcoming semesters. Figure 1: Understanding of employee citizenship Page 3 of 5

4 To evaluate the course itself we asked students in the pre survey three things they wanted to achieve by taking this class, and in the post survey three things they felt they had achieved by taking the course. There was consistency in these responses between the two semesters and between the pre/post surveys. The top four areas students achieved individual progress in were: Career planning, preparation and how to advance Gaining a better understanding of the Interdisciplinary Studies major and developing confidence in their major Communication skills (resume and letter writing, verbal) Knowledge of the types of positions they would be prepared for upon graduation These areas matched the top four areas of expectation they had and they met their objectives for the course. This tells us that we are delivering what students expect and have met many of the objectives for the course including: defending their major choice and identifying three career options; articulating their values, interests and skills; conducting industry research, and writing professional job search letters (See Figure 1). Career planning, preparation and how to advance Defending their major choice and identifying three career options Knowledge of the types of positions they would be prepared for upon graduation Conducting industry research Gaining a better understanding of and developing confidence in interdisciplinary studies Articulating their values, interests and skills Writing professional job search letters Communication skills (resume and letter writing, verbal) Figure 2: Achievement and learning objectives Page 4 of 5

5 To evaluate whether we met student expectations for the class, in the pre survey we asked what three things they expect to achieve from the class. In the post survey we asked what three things they achieved from the class. 90% of students over the two semesters met at least one of their expectations, and more than half met at least two of their expectations. We advise that in the future instructors are made aware of students expectations at the beginning of the course to ensure that we reset and meet expectations. 100% of students would recommend the course to other students. Some of the ways students noted we could improve the course are by having less assignments, journaling and writing, and to have more class presentations and discussions. They would have liked the opportunity to network with professionals in the field and do more mock interviews. They would also like more explanation on how to use websites, applications and other tools. Students felt the most useful assignments were the job search tools (resume writing, mock interview, letter writing, informational interview, self-assessments). They also appreciated the final presentation in front of a panel of professionals. Some comments include: The informational interview was very useful because it was a realistic approach to my future where I found out a lot of information about my major. It was very useful. Also, the mock interview was a very good preparation for future job interviews as well as school interviews. I believe the greatest exercise was the one where you are required to find a job that best fits your qualifications, because it gives undergraduate students a realistic view of their options. This often can help a student determine whether or not he/she should continue their education or get specific/additional certifications. I think that the final project was the most useful part. It was a twofold accomplishment for students who successfully finished the class. First, it brought everything we worked on in class together to form a greater picture of how much we need to invest into finding a career. Finally, it challenged each student to defend their major in front of a professional panel. What I found the most useful assignment was the final presentation. Getting feedback from a variety of panel members really helped me understand how they got to where they were. It also showed how we all think the same and had gone through similar transitions. Also perfecting my resume has really helped me out in the working field to organize to look like it is working toward something rather than random positions. Prepared by Adrienne McNally, Associate Director of Experiential Education Career Services amcnally@nyit.edu Page 5 of 5