Study Says College Freshmen Hunger for Career Help
A new national research study indicates that 66% of entering first-year college students would welcome career guidance assistance. The research was conducted by Noel-Levitz, a consulting firm used by over 1,800 colleges and universities to help address the issues of student recruitment and student persistence to graduation. The survey instrument used for this 2007 National Freshman Attitudes Report was completed by over 97,000 first-year college students last summer and in early fall.
High interest in obtaining career counseling was evident across all institutional types and categories of students. A full 66% of the students said they would like help selecting an educational plan that will prepare them to get a good job. Over 62% of the students indicated they would like to talk with someone about the qualifications needed for certain occupations. Almost half the students reported that they would like some help selecting an occupation that is well suited to their interests and abilities.
“These findings prove the need for consistent and constant conversation with students about degree planning, goal achievement and persistence,” says Kevin Crockett, Noel-Levitz president and CEO.
“Getting a good job and preparing to be better off financially are among the leading reasons students are going to college, according to research done by the Higher Education Research Institute,1” according to the Noel-Levitz summary. “These motives have become even more pronounced in recent years.”
The results from the survey reinforce the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation survey results discussed in the 1999 book Ambitious Generation: America’s Teenagers, Motivated But Directionless, by Barbara Schneider and David Stevenson.
The Sloan study detailed the high college and career ambitions of adolescents and the need for parents and educators to help students plan what they want to do and how to go about doing it. In its summary, the Noel-Levitz findings “bring to light a sobering disparity: Although the vast majority of today’s first year students arrive at college really wanting to complete their degrees, only half of them are likely to accomplish their goal.” The report notes, “In short, the aspirations and intentions of nearly half the respondents are going unrecognized.” There is a need to build on students’ initial commitment to college, address their expectations, and tap their receptivity to assistance.
The increasing evidence found in these research studies continue to build the case for increasing students’ Career Literacy™ knowledge and skills. As adults, we have an obligation to actively assist students in overcoming the obstacles they face in achieving their educational and career goals. Early career and college major planning is key to getting students not only on track – but on the right track – to their success. Only then will we have a generation of new workers who more skillfully manage their careers, maintain employability amidst change, and enjoy making their unique and needed contributions.
1. Higher Education Research Institute, The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2005 (Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA, 2005).