Doris,
That is correct. Career Services/Placement personnel need a thorough understanding of this and must maintain accurate records including a TWC completer follow up form for each and every graduate.
JP Mehlmann
I've found it challenging to gather information from current students and I anticipate challenges with graduating students. On this forum,I've read some interesting ideas for meeting those challenges. Thanks!
Gemma,
Thank you and thank you to the many people who have shared their ideas and best practices.
JP Mehlmann
Our Career Services Coordinator also teaches our Business Communications class and is very involve in guiding the students from their first meeting at orientation to the business class they share with him in their last term. From the beginning, he encourages students to think about the job opportunity they would most like to have, and then as they work through the program, to begin to focus on their strengths. He also encourages them to keep an open mind about areas they might not have considered, if only to develop a broader range of experience. In his class, the instructor works very closely with each student to develop a professional resume, demo reel, website, interview skills, etc., so that by the time they graduate they have built trust and tend to be very open with him about their employment status. While it's great statistically to receive credit for placing students(P), it is also great to see them use the tools they have developed to find their own placement(NP), especially in such a competitive field. Communication is a key factor, not only for our Career Service Coordinator, but for all of our instructors who continue to work in their field of training and maintain considerable contacts. Students are offered opportunities to take short term free-lance jobs(E) through many of these contacts. Job opportunities are posted at least weekly, email blasts are sent to all graduates and interviews for jobs opportunities made available through our school are schedule through Career Services, so those would be considered placements. The goal, of course, is a job or internship in their field of training.
Pam
Pam,
Great answer. It sounds like you have a very thorough approach with your career services department. In addition to email blasts, texting and social media (facebook, twitter, etc.) can be effectively utilized to maintain contact with graduates.
JP Mehlmann
Our rule of thumb is "Did the school assist the graduate with placement. Did we send him to an interview, did we give him a list of available employment." If the answer is yes, then he would be marked as "P" If student did not use any personnel at the school - instructors, career services, director than you would mark "NP" as he found his own job.
Ashley,
That sounds correct. Just be sure to document how you arrived at P or NP on the TWC CSC completer follow up form and keep on file any additional supporting documentation.
JP Mehlmann
My career services department goes to great lengths to code each graduate properly. We conduct an independent verification of the report by an external agency to ensure that the information is correct. Students complete a release form as partof their graduate packet that allows us to collect employment information.
Miguel,
Thank you for participating in these forums. One purpose of this forum question is to differentiate from Placed (P) versus Not Placed (NP), in the context of the TWC CSC report: i.e., both P and NP referring to graduates working in their field of study. Placed (P) is where the graduate found employment with the help of the school and; NP is where the graduated found employment without the school's assistance. Note: the TWC CSC annual report instructions and forms must be carefully followed and completed.
JP Mehlmann
When determining which category to place a student in. We use our employment verification forms and graduate student surveys. We track the students we send leads to and those who were placed through our leads. We then send an employment verification form to the employer where they list the responsibilities of the student/employee the salary. This is signed by the employer they work for. If a student is already placed in-field through there own efforts they indicate this on the graduate student survey. We still send an employment verification to the employer to complete with the student's responsibilities and salary. We know from the survey if this student was placed at the company through their own efforts. We speak with our students upon graduation to let them know if they do not have a job infield that we would assist them.
Ashley ,
Employer verifications are increasingly important to regulatory compliance in the area of graduate placement data. In addition to any company forms you use, be sure to have a completed TWC CSC, PS-072A Completer Follow-Up Survey for each graduate. CSC often verifies your annual report, in part, by looking at these forms. The form can be completed by either the graduate or school personnel over the telephone. Be sure to follow the instructions.
JP Mehlmann
You have to ensure first if the student is actually employed within their of study, then follow-up accordingly with employer to be able to verify employment, identify each criteria, place of employment, date of hire, job title, wage/salary, obtain accurate job description, immediate supervisor, correct contact number, and that wil identify correctly on whether to have student placed or not placed in field. Most of time a student may be working but does not necessary mean that students is working within their field of study, then that is when it becomes tricky and you would need to be able to determine the relevancy of the employment.
Cecilia,
"Placed" and "Not Placed" are terms used in the TWC annual report to identify if the school assisted the student in finding employment in their field (Placed) or, if the student found employment in their field without the schools help - which still counts as employed for the school but in the "Not Placed" column on the report. What do you do with graduates who you believe are employed, but refuse to provide information?
JP Mehlmann
A student who is nearing the end of a program should be working with the Student Services Coordinator or Program Chair. Employment is generally the desired outcome and has been a topic of discusion between the student and the school representative. A check list for each student on desired out-comes and employment strategies is helpful to keep an open and updated dialogue between the school and the student. If we are communicating with our students disclosing thier employment status should be a common topic.
Karina,
I agree that good communication with students is the key to their cooperation not only for report completion, but ultimately to help in their career search efforts. The first part of this forum question (re: "placed" vs. "not placed", pertains to the TWC definitions for the annual report. i.e. "placed" means the school had a first-hand action in helping the student find employment in their field of study. "Not placed" means the student found a job (also in-field), without the help of the school.
JP Mehlmann
Is there a verification process to check that the students employment data is accurate?
Ronald,
Many schools utilize a 3rd party verifier to call employers or use other resources to verify reported placements. The TWC CSC has called employers to verify placements reported in school's annual reports and may now be using other electronic tools for verification. The TWC CSC also modified the annual report to include student social security numbers, and electronic reporting. On the TWC website, there is a link to a 2011 letter to schools outlining concerns and steps taken with the annual report. The letter is dated July 26, 2011 and includes:
"During the past several months, TWC has worked to strengthen the protocols that are used to test the accuracy of the annual outcome data reported for each program. In the course of those efforts and through recent investigations of reported performance, issues with the accuracy of some of the reported data have been uncovered." AND, "Further, please be aware that the data reported to TWC is subject to verification protocols and that there is the potential for administrative penalties or sanctions for inaccurate reporting, up to loss of program or school approval."
JP Mehlmann
P and NP are confusing and they must be correct. We have an exceptional employment department and really don't have this problem. It is tough to sometimes find a completer if they have moved, changed phones, any number of reasons...However, most employed completers have no problem bragging on their new job, unless it is a McJob and not in the field of study.
Thomas,
It would be great if all graduates maintained positive communication with the school. Unfortunately, some do not and in today's environment, 1 placement could make the difference between meeting or missing the required employment rate. Maintaining a positive relationship throughout the student's training is the first step to maintaining communication after they finish their training. Periodically, updating all their references can help find them later. Some schools use incentives for the graduate to stay in touch and/or report their employment status - be sure any incentives are company/legal dept. approved.
JP Mehlmann
We use employment specialists to work with students and graduate. They will ofetn get the needed information directly from the graduate, but they also work closely with employers and manufacturers to gather this info.
