ABE-to-College Transition

Career Planning for SUCCESS

The NCTN Promising Practice Series presents detailed descriptions of strategies from the field that are designed to promote the successful transition of students from ABE/ESOL to postsecondary education.

Contributed by
Joan Keiran
Coordinator/Counselor/Instructor
jkeiran@capecod.mass.edu

Cape Cod Community College
SUCCESS College Transition Program
540 Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
(508) 778-2221
http://www.acccess.org/transition.htm

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Program Context

The Adult Collaborative of Cape Cod for Educational and Support Services (ACCCESS) provides free educational services on Cape Cod, Massachusetts for individuals 16 years of age or older to improve their reading, writing, listening, speaking, math, science, and social studies skills. We serve approximately 500 adults yearly.

ACCCESS offers ABE, GED and ESOL classes, career planning and placement services, a DTA Welfare to Work Program, PACT (the college adult transition for ESOL students), and the SUCCESS (Students Utilizing Cape Cod Educational Support Services) GED-to-College Transition Program. The SUCCESS Program is an intensive, regional GED-to-college transition program designed to open the doors to higher education for adult learners who have attained a GED or adult diploma.

Rationale and Background of the Practice

Career planning has always been a part of the SUCCESS program. We firmly believe that it is critical for students to have a solid understanding of the required coursework for the specific fields in which they are interested, and for students to know the whole sequence of preparing for, getting into, succeeding in college, and then getting a job afterwards.

When the SUCCESS program started in 2001, the career counseling piece was addressed by having students do a final project that included writing a college-level paper and developing and presenting a PowerPoint presentation on what they learned. We refined our program when we found that: 1) the paper requirement was too overwhelming for students and 2) even after completing the project, students did not know enough about career choices after college.

Few students were familiar with the process of citing sources and using the Modern Language Association (MLA) system that the paper required. While some students were very proficient with word processing others were not able to work quickly on the computer making the paper very time consuming. Students needed to build additional academic skills to be able to write at a college level. We found that students were spending so much time trying to write the paper that it was overshadowing the benefits: learning about careers and preparing for the college experience. The process of writing the paper was not sufficient to help students develop a basic understanding of what they could expect when they went to college, how their studies would relate to career decisions, and what to expect when looking for a job after college.

Description of the Practice

The students’ final project now focuses on doing a PowerPoint presentation about a chosen career path. The program itself has also been redesigned so that career planning is integrated nearly seamlessly into the overall transition program by providing more ongoing guidance and support to students in their research, connecting students to college and career information, and introducing students to the college departments, staff, and faculty that can provide them with the support they will need once they enter college.

Seamless Integration
We talk to students about their final project during the intake process even before orientation to the SUCCESS program. At orientation students are given the questions that they will need to address in their final project:

Why did you choose this particular career?
What will you study to reach your goal? (Prerequisites and requirements for degree)
Where are the job opportunities? Will you have to relocate in order to get a job in this field?
Will this career align with your family responsibilities?
How much money will you make in this career? Will it be enough for you to live on?
Are there other opportunities with this degree in case you choose a different job/career in the future?

Researching and answering these questions gives students concrete information about what jobs pay, how they will have to adapt their life to do this work, and how their chosen degree is transferable.

The SUCCESS transition program requires students to take three, three-hour classes that meet once a week: Computers, Study Skills, and Math. While students are expected to complete much of their final project outside of class time, they are also able to work on their projects in two of their three classes. In their computer class, students learn how to use PowerPoint and can begin developing their computer presentation in this class. They also receive instruction about how to begin doing their research, which is mainly done through the Internet. The Study Skills class includes much more than its name implies. Students in this class are improving their skills in reading, writing, and career planning, and building their knowledge about how to enter and succeed in college. This course is structured so that students can do some of the writing for their presentation during that class time.

We offer formal, individual career counseling sessions to students. In addition, we create many informal opportunities for students to receive counseling and guidance both before and after class, and over the telephone. Teachers are available during the study skills/writing class on Mondays and during the all-day computer class on Saturday to speak with students during class time about progress with their project.

Utilizing College Career Resources
The Study Skills class is where students get all of the “nuts and bolts” they need to develop and complete their PowerPoint presentations. One important element of this class is helping students identify the types of careers they may enjoy. Because the SUCCESS program is housed at Cape Cod Community College, we have been able to take advantage of the many resources available at the college to advise students about career choices and pathways to college.

About four weeks into the program, a career counselor from the main campus comes into the Study Skills class to do the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Test with SUCCESS students. This counselor also helps students understand what the different types of personality preferences mean and how they apply to making career choices. The counselor provides two of the important materials used for student research, both of which are published by the Career Planning Office of Cape Cod Community College. One is Careers for Your Personality, which helps students see what careers match up with their Myers-Briggs type. A second is the Career Choice Guide, a college career planning booklet that provides an overview of job outlooks and salaries. Students also receive and review several college catalogues and their class schedules. All the materials students received in this class are put right into class binders so they have them organized and accessible.

Learning about College Life and Resources for Students
We invite many members of the college community to come into the Study Skills class to meet with students and share information.

Financial Aid
For each cohort of students, the director of the Financial Aid department provides an in-class workshop on filling out the financial aid forms. Having the Director there, in person, is particularly important since many students’ financial situations are complex and she can provide answers to their questions on the spot. The director also sends a packet of additional information and forms for scholarships that students can review to determine which they are eligible for. Some scholarship programs are designed for specific types of students (e.g., for women) or a specific career pathway. In a later class, we fill out the scholarship program applications selected by each student.

Academic Support Programs
SUCCESS students are also introduced to two different support programs within the community college that they may take advantage of when they enter as college students. Each program provides workshops to SUCCESS students about what they offer in terms of academic (tutoring, mentoring) and other forms of support intended to help students persist in college. Even if students choose another college to attend, these workshops familiarize them with the kinds of support they are likely to find at other colleges that will help them successfully reach their career goal.

Members of the College Community
We also include visits from deans and the college president in the Study Skills course. In addition, we introduce students to the staff from the academic advising center and other people within the administration to get students comfortable with who is in the college. One faculty member in particular is very committed to meeting each of the SUCCESS students and she provides a wonderful role model for them. This faculty member received her GED, went to Cape Cod Community College, then to Wellesley College, and finally to Harvard for her master’s degree. She is now a professor of English Composition at CCCC. All of these meetings serve to familiarize students with people and resources at the college and build their knowledge of what to expect when they get to college.

Challenges

The main challenge we’ve had is that this information is still very new to students and it’s hard for them to integrate it. Even though we start talking about it as soon as they enter the program, and work on it throughout the program, students really don't understand the value of what they are learning until they are actually ready to register for their college courses. It is at that point that they how important it is. Students might say, "Oh my gosh, I can't get the class at the time I want it!” or, “Now I understand why you kept talking about prerequisites.” Many times I hear students say they're going to pursue nursing only to suddenly realize that they have many prerequisites. It is at that point that they take a second look at the time involved to pursue their career choice. Often students change their minds as they really begin to focus on the realities of college.

Cost and Funding

There is no direct cost to our program for implementing this practice because it is integrated into the entire transition program. Additional costs that a program may incur, if they cannot access existing college resources, may include costs for administering the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test. There is career exploration software, like DISCOVER that programs may wish to purchase. Programs may find the free website, College for Adults, helpful because it “walks” students through the career choice process.

It is not necessary to have any particular constellation of classes to do this practice. What is important is to identify career planning resources and to integrate career planning within your existing program.

Evidence of Impact and Effectiveness

The SUCCESS career counseling component helps students focus on what they have to do to get to college and understand what will be expected of them once they are there. As a result of the integrated career counseling in the SUCCESS program, students are more prepared to enter and succeed in college. Most students follow through by pursuing the major that they’ve been researching and students seem to be sticking with it better. From the fall 2005 cohort, 10 out of 13 students are actively involved in college and on target with their career plans.

Where are they now?
After almost five years of this program, we are now beginning to see students take next steps. For instance, one student’s goal was to be in the Marine Special Forces from the day he walked in to get his GED. He took the required five college courses and immediately went into the Marines. He's now in Iraq. We also have our first formal acceptance in the RN Program. It took more than two years for this student to complete prerequisites but she achieved a perfect 4.0. Another student, a single parent with three children who also has a 4.0 GPA, has already met with admissions staff at Wellesley College and is preparing to transfer. Another student graduated last year as an LPN and three other students are working at a hospital so they can get financial assistance through their jobs to help pay for their degrees. Other students are pursuing education degrees, banking, and office administration work. Three students are continuing their studies while working at Cape Cod Community College—one in Admissions, one in the Advantage Program, and another in Financial Aid. Many of our students are reaching their education and employment goals as a result of their participation in the program.

Finally, the use of a PowerPoint presentation is a wonderful tool. Students learn presentation skills that are important skills they will be using in a college environment. Presentations also mean that students share their research and knowledge of a specific career field with their classmates. This is a “multiplier” effect, increasing students’ knowledge of several different career fields and their academic paths. It is particularly helpful for students who may have researched and presented on a career but who may come to the conclusion that the career they investigated is not the right one for them. These students get a comprehensive overview of several other potentially interesting careers by way of other students’ research.

Implications for Practice, Policy, and Research

Implementing a career component similar to the SUCCESS career counseling model could absolutely be done at other programs. In our program the Study Skills/Writing instructor also does the counseling and coordinates the career planning component. While the other instructors support and participate in the career planning component, there is a specific coordinator. With this type of arrangement, the ideal student cohort size is about 15 students because many students need individual attention. A bigger group would require more counseling staff. This group size is also important for students because the cohort group is tight and they contribute to each other’s learning. A smaller group would likely have less interaction and energy between students.

The SUCCESS program also demonstrates the importance of developing and strengthening collaborations between college transition programs and local community colleges. It is to the program’s benefit to identify and utilize all the resources available to them whether or not they are housed at a local college.

The main policy implication is to advocate for flexible funding for programs because this population has such diverse needs. Many funding sources have stringent requirements that make it difficult for programs to adapt or change their program design. Funders like the Nellie Mae Education Foundation have found a way to design overall requirements and structure for grantees while maintaining the flexibility that encourages adaptation and program improvement. This allows programs to meet the changing needs of their adult student population.

Looking toward the future, the staff at the SUCCESS program would like to conduct at least one longitudinal study to examine the long-term impact of their career planning program. Another question worth pursuing is how SUCCESS students, who have the benefit of an integrated career counseling component, compare with the traditional students who are entering college.

About the author:
Joan Keiran has been in her current position since 1995 and in that job she wears many hats. She is the coordinator, counselor and a teacher in the GED ACCESS Program. In addition, Joan is also the GED Examiner for the Cape, a position that she finds very helpful in terms of recruitment for the transition program. Joan has an M.Ed. with a focus on adult learning. Prior to coming to Cape Cod Community College, Joan worked in business.