8 new pathways to higher education

Network releases best practices from 8 states offering new pathways to a career-specific degree

network-pathways-education For the first time, eight states have released innovative best practices for other states and local areas interested in helping students land careers after postsecondary education. The Network of states’ practices are revolutionary in that they offer a general standard model of how to create this needed pipeline.

The Pathways to Prosperity Network, an initiative of Jobs for the Future (JFF) and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, began two years ago in an effort to help more students enter not only postsecondary education, but full-time jobs that directly help companies fill critical positions.

An effort that is sorely needed.…Read More

The best and worst colleges for career success

New ranking system measures colleges and universities on their return-on-investment (ROI)

ranking-colleges-career In today’s economy, nothing seems more important to incoming students than whether or not their college or university will help them land a career after graduation…and for good reason.

As part of a recent proliferation of new ranking measurements outside of U.S. News & World ReportTIME’s social media ranking, and eCollegeFinder’s rankings based on graduation rate—a new ranking by Educate to Career lists colleges and universities by which do the best job of improving the earning and attainment of “quality employment” by their students.

“The Index empirically determines the economic value added by each of the over 1200 colleges ranked within our system,” said Michael Havis, founder of Educate To Career, in a statement. “We calculate the improvement in earnings and employability of persons who attended specific colleges, relative to persons who are similarly situated in other colleges.”…Read More

College students: Teaching is for underachievers

New survey reveals high-performing students say teaching is just not worth it

teaching-students-careerIt’s Teacher Appreciation Week this week, a national campaign to thank the often thankless teachers and faculty for their hard work in encouraging and motivating today’s students. Yet, though students appreciate the teachers who make a difference in their lives, many say teachers are just former students who couldn’t hack it.

By now, most everyone is aware that there’s a national teacher recruitment crisis as aging baby boomers begin to leave the profession and current graduating students often see teaching as the least attractive career path.

But why?…Read More

2 ways colleges can guarantee success

New national survey reveals correlations between college experience and career success

colleges-success-gallupIn the current national discussion on whether or not a college degree is worth the price paid, one of the most important considerations (at least in today’s economy) is whether or not the graduate has a “successful” career. But can institutions measure that success?

“When thinking about the ultimate outcome of a college degree, there is almost universal agreement about the value people seek and expect: to increase the probability of getting a good job and having a better life. Yet, there is not a single college or university in the U.S. that has rigorously researched and measured whether their graduates have ‘great jobs’ and ‘great lives,’ said the report.

The report, “Great Jobs, Great Lives: The 2014 Gallup-Purdue Index Report,” focuses research efforts on outcomes that can provide insight into these common aspirations for colleges grads, no matter what type of institution they attend.…Read More

New, vetted tool offers colleges an instant tech makeover

Collegefeed debuts new tech platform for campus career centers

career-college-technologyCollegefeed is right: If there’s one aspect of university branding and technology updating that hasn’t changed with the times, it’s usually the campus career center. But thanks to a new platform, FREE for colleges, universities can not only help their students find jobs in the modern market, but can attract major business and promote their brand, 21st Century-style.

Collegefeed, which connects employers to students and recent alumns, was started by a team of six ex-Google, Microsoft, and McKinsey alumni who graduated from six schools with ten degrees between them. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., more than 500+ companies now use Collegefeed, with students from over 1,200 schools.

Announced yesterday, “Collegefeed for Career Centers,” their new tech offering, allows universities to sign up for free to showcase their brand and students to 500+ hiring companies, attract employers who normally wouldn’t come on campus, and make recruiting a year-round event.…Read More