If a student does not want to provide employment information, I would remind the student the information is for state (and in most cases accreditor) reports and will not be shared with anyone except school and state officials. I would tell them this information helps determine if school programs are meeting the needs of students and employers. If they are still resistant, I would ask if there is another member of the school staff or faculty whom they would be comfortable speaking with.
Increasing student participation in reporting employment information can be increaesd by starting the relationship with Career Services personnel early in a student's program. The student is more likely to report if they have a strong relationship with Career Services and perceive them as having been a major benefit.
The best way to determine what category an employed student falls into would be to identify if they are working in the field directly related to their training (per the catalog) and to review what role the school played in the acquisition of that job. It would be best to take a look at the school record showing if that student attended job fairs, interviews, or meetings with that employer that were coordinated by the school.
Our campus works hard to engage the students early in sharing their successes so that when they do find employment, they are excited to share the news.
As students have met with various staff throughout the exit process, some of them have struck up conversations and found out where students were employed. Because various staff members had built a rapport with one student or another, they were able to coax out the information that the student wasn't as willing to give to Career Services. Building relationships throughout the lifecycle of the student helps in all sorts of ways!
This is a very good practice.
These are dangerous times. We use a very conservative approach including a corporate level audit and swapping reports with other campuses to verify data.
BTW . . . Can you tell me, is this correct? It came from the reading materials. Regarding PS-186 for small schools. Is the fee really %501.00?
The initial application fee for a small school is $1001.00. The reason for the $1 is the rules state that any fee over $1000 can be made in payments.
I believe this is an excdellent way to help the Job Placement Coordinator determine the student's status.
Hi Mr. Hammack,
It is difficult to determine employed, P or NP if you do not understand the classifications. We use job descriptions, student and employer interviews, but more importantly, our Home Office verifies all of our placements. This seems to be very effective in getting a true "picture" of the classifications.
Thanks
Vicki Gidney
Remember that P = placed, the school had an active part in getting the student the job in the career field, i.e. scheduled interview, brought employer to school for job fair, etc. NP = Not placed, this means the student is employed in the field but the school did not help them get the job. CSC looks at the catalog at the employment opportunities listed in the program discription to determine if it is in the filed.
Frank
Good point--it's easy to forget that there are a wide variety of resources avilable for our students outside of the Education Departments. Career Services (or a similar placement office) can have a huge impact, especially if they are involved throughout the student's career rather than at the end.
You are so right, career services should start working with students at the beginning of the students experience with the school.
Students that don’t want to disclose their employment status are explained that it helps future students by showing a more accurate employment and placed number. If they don’t want to give us the information after that then we put them into the Other Category.
Letting the student know that it is a requirement of the state to report this information might help.
Frank
You would need to claify this information by speaking with the student. Be sure to convey the importance of obtaining this information fromt he student. The school does need to us the PS-072A -- the form can also be completed by staff while on the phone with the student or during a face to face meeting with them as well.
These are all great points. I also encourage Career Services staff to document details of employment assistance activity provided by recording information in our database, for example: Date + arranged interview with Employer X. It helps keep records of assistance provided especially if employment is secured before graduation.
Using the detailed job description is the best way to determine what field the employment falls into.
A good way to determine if they are considered employed in the field is to look at the course description found in the catalog to see what potential jobs are listed.
Frank Hammack
Job Placement Coordinators should maintain an on-going log of all employment offers and jobs that our students are accepting so that we are always prepared in cases for CSC audits.
The PS-072A is the survey form and must be keep on every graduate and available for review at TWC viists.
Frank H.
