Measuring Developmental Career Readiness

A Cross-Campus Equity Imperative

Abstract

There is growing research that career success is a key motivator for students pursuing higher education, yet career development often exists in a silo on campus, and there are increasing calls for a more integrated approach. In this case study from Smith College, career development professionals have collaborated with institutional research to work toward systematic measurement of career learning prior to graduation and first-destination outcomes. This allows for real-time data on competency gaps over a student's developmental journey and the opportunity for more targeted use of programmatic interventions.