HE Careers Student Engagement

8/13/2019 HE Careers Student Engagement

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Student Engagement in HE Career and Employment Services December 2010

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Student Engagement in HECareer and Employment

Services

Prepared by Ed McLean December 2010


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Table of Contents

Table of Contents ..................................................................................................... 2

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 3Executive Summary.................................................................................................. 3

Methodology............................................................................................................. 3

Findings : Summary.................................................................................................. 4Services attitudes towards student engagement...........................................................4Managing/planning student engagement......................................................................4Resources ................................................................................................................4Techniques...............................................................................................................5

Findings : Complete Results ..................................................................................... 6

Services attitudes towards student engagement: chart 1...............................................6Services attitudes towards student engagement: chart 2...............................................7

The biggest challenges we face in relation to engaging students in the careers serviceare;........................................................................................................................8

Do you have a written plan/strategy for increasing the number of students using yourservice? ..................................................................................................................9

Do you have quantitative targets for increasing the number of students using yourservices?...............................................................................................................10

Do you have access to the email addresses of ALL students at the university? ............. 11Aside from on-the-job experience in a careers related role, within the careers service doesat least one person have at least the following amount of full time experience in: ......... 12

Do you intend to use the following methods of supplying careers guidance more or lessoften over the next 12 months compared to the previous 12 months?..........................13

Do you intend to use the following methods of promoting the careers service more or lessoften over the next 12 months compared to the previous 12 months?..........................14

Do you intend to use the following online/new media methods of promoting the careersservice more or less often over the next 12 months?..................................................15

If you measure the effectiveness of your engagement techniques in any way pleaseexplain how...........................................................................................................16

Please share any techniques or initiatives that you have found have been particularlyeffective in engaging students with the careers service. .............................................17

Please share any engagement techniques or ideas not listed in this survey that you areconsidering using. ..................................................................................................18In the event of an increase in the total number of students using the service, we wouldprefer them to use the following methods:................................................................19

Recommendations.................................................................................................. 20

To pursue increased engagement: Yes or No? ............................................................20Plan the engagement strategy ..................................................................................20Emulate the success of small business marketers........................................................20Investigate funding potential ....................................................................................20


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Introduction

Student engagement is defined as the practice of raising awareness of and promptingstudents first use of the careers service.

This report investigates services attitudes and approaches to engagement, the resourcesthey have at their disposal and the engagement techniques they employ.

The aim of this report is to begin a conversation within the HE career guidance communityaround the importance of engagement. It is not intended to be a definitive academicinvestigation.

Executive Summary

There is a disconnect between the reported importance of engagement and the planning and

resources heads of service are able to give to it. Services should consider whether increasingthe number of students engaged is in line with their mission and, if so, should plan, settargets and allocate resources appropriately, wherever possible.

Efforts to increase the number of students engaged by the careers service are hampered by alack of resources. Services should seek to emulate the well-documented success of smallbusinesses that reach their target markets on a limited budget.

70% of heads of service believe that showing an increase in the number of students theyengage would help them justify their funding. Services should investigate whether thenumber of students engaged could become a performance measure for funding bodies.

Methodology

The survey was conducted using the SurveyMonkey online survey facility. Heads of universityservices who are AGCAS members were informed of the survey via email. 26 heads of serviceparticipated fully, providing results which should be considered indicative.


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Findings : Summary

Services attitudes towards student engagement

Increasing the number of students engaged is a high priority but funding

is limited93% of respondents agree that increasing the number of students using the careers service isconsidered a high priority for career services and 89% would like their staff to spend moretime on encouraging first use. However, only 12% of heads of service disagree that findingfunding is one of their biggest challenges in relation to engaging students.

Respondents believe that increased success in engagement may be asurvival/growth strategy for the career service itself70% of career service heads agree that showing increases in the number of studentsengaged would help them justify their funding.

Confidence in the services ability to engaging students is high96% of respondents believe that their effectiveness in engaging students is the same or

higher than three years ago.

Managing/planning student engagement

Many services do not formally plan an engagement strategyAlthough almost all career services consider increasing student engagement to be a highpriority, one third have no written plan for increasing the numbers of students engaged. Thewritten plans of the remaining two thirds are usually part of wider-reaching strategic plans,however one service had a dedicated Marketing and promotions plan.

Only one third of services have any kind of quantitative target for student engagement.

Resources

There is a lack of formal engagement know how in HE careers servicesMany services cannot afford to prioritise the selection of staff based on their engagementskills and/or training, which has resulted in 42% of services employing no one with any salesand marketing experience from outside the service itself.

However, respondents are making up for this by adopting a make do approach, focused oninnovation, with 67% regularly employing new techniques to increase student engagement.

Service heads comment:

It's amazing what you can pick up on the job!We are constantly reflecting on enterprising ways to access students.


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Techniques

The channels for reaching students are constantly changing74% of services use different techniques for reaching out to students than they did threeyears ago.

Many have yet to try new internet channelsIn comparison with responses to the questions about offline engagement channels thereare overall many more Have never used and Will use more responses. The immediatepriorities as stated by heads of service are improving and developing the careers servicewebsite (61%), Facebook (46%) and other web 2.0 tools (54%).

Necessity is driving the use of low cost engagement offline techniquesServices intend to increase their use of low cost techniques of promoting their services. Topamong these:

Encouraging referrals by lecturers (61%) On-location drop in / advice (e.g. a stall outside the student union) (50%) Press/PR in student publications (61%) Word-of-mouth (61%)

One extension of such techniques that was not included in the original question was the useof student brand managers. Numerous verbatim responses indicate great enthusiasm for thistechnique.

Proactive techniques may provide significant gainsA handful of services anecdotally report significant increases in engagement as a result ofshifting from reactive (waiting for students to approach them) to proactive approaches toengagement:

o Taking careers resources to the students' dining room and setting up 'shop' thereonce a week this has led to an increased use of our service, interviews booked,resources downloaded, etc..

o We set up CV doctor sessions along the lines of Street Doctor from TV

Services are seeking to deliver career guidance at a lower cost per studentHE career services are moving towards favouring cost efficient methods of deliveringguidance to larger groups of students, with services intending to use more information andguidance on website (55%), career modules (48%) and workshops (59%) as their top threemethods of supplying careers advice and guidance.


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Findings : Complete Results

Services attitudes towards student engagement: chart 1

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Answers

To what degree do you agree with the following statements?

1. Increases in the number of students using the careers service would help me tojustify the departments funding

2. It is easier to get students to use the careers service today than it has ever been inthe past

3. We struggle to keep up with and master new technologies for interacting withstudents, for example web 2.0 technologies like Facebook

4. Increasing student engagement in the careers service is considered a low priority byuniversity management

5. We regularly employ new techniques to encourage students' "first use" of thecareers service

Verbatim responses

We pilot new techniques on a small scale but don't have the resources to developthem as we'd like to

If levels of student engagement were low, then university management would take abig interest in what we're doing wrong

We are based in the Library and IT Dept, with a lot of access to e learning staff andweb experts.

It would help to have a dedicated Web 2.0 staff member


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Services attitudes towards student engagement: chart 2

1 2 3 4 5

Answers

To what degree do you agree with the following statements?

1. Increasing the number of students using the careers service is considered a highpriority

2. Our effectiveness in engaging students is decreasing

3. My staff is highly skilled in techniques to successfully engage students4. I would like my staff to spend more time on encouraging students "first use" of theservice

5. On the whole, we use the same techniques to reach out to students that we did 3years ago

Verbatim responses

Staff are highly skilled in engaging students once they visit the service, but notnecessarily in enticing them in!

We are always aware of non-users, however this is increasingly difficult to determineas students can describe themselves as 'non-users' but use our website extensivelynevertheless.

We are more reliant on technology. We engage with our students from day one through the Induction and the Academic

Programmes The more channels we use to get our messages out to students but students seem

more disinterested in the services available.


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The biggest challenges we face in relation to engagingstudents in the careers service are;

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Answers

1. Staying up-to-date with new methods of reaching out to students (Facebook, etc)2. Finding funding/resources for engagement initiatives

3. Lack of know-how in engagement methods4. Engaging hard-to-reach student groups

Verbatim responses

Funding is a major issue, but new free technologies make this easier I don't think (lack of) student engagement is an issue for us Our big challenge is funding. We can use the technology but we lack focused marketing expertise and support


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Do you have a written plan/strategy for increasing thenumber of students using your service?

Verbatim responses

Employability strategy action plan - in production We don't want to increase the numbers coming through the door, but do want more

awareness and 'distance learners' We've got xx,xxx already using our Service - there aren't many students who need us

who aren't using us We are constantly reflecting on enterprising ways to access students.

Part of Student Affairs strategic planning Service Development Plan 09-2012 Marketing and Promotions Plan


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Do you have quantitative targets for increasing the numberof students using your services?

Verbatim responses

We check on patches of low engagement, whether department, year, nationality,college or whatever and then target that group

I have to note this in annual report


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Do you have access to the email addresses of ALL studentsat the university?

Verbatim responses

Students must sign up to our interactive system in order to bookappointments/events etc. so we capture their emails that way

Data protection - can only use signed-up students (about 50% have) We use this facility only for very important items and use Blackboard announcements

and Facebook instead Some courses get better response than other by email We can email students by School; I would love to be able to email all students, but

we do not have the facility to do this. We're allowed 2 or 3 mail outs per year We email carefully selected info to all students, to avoid overload.


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Aside from on-the-job experience in a careers related role,within the careers service does at least one person have atleast the following amount of ful l time experience in:

Verbatim responses

Graphic design is covered by the University's Design and Print department. Closelinks are maintained with the University's Marketing and Communications Section andit is vital that the Careers Centre adheres to University corporate strategy in thisarea.

It's amazing what you can pick up on the job! We are constantly reflecting onenterprising ways to access students.

Experience gained in their current roles and also previous roles, before joining us


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Do you intend to use the following methods of supplyingcareers guidance more or less often over the next 12 monthscompared to the previous 12 months?

Note : Percentage values excluded for brevity and clarity. Available on request.

Verbatim responses

Due to embargo on staff recruitment and losing approx 30% staff, activities will haveto be curtailed

Some of the above is dependent upon resource and demand, so may, in the event,vary.

We are developing a VLE based e-module which will form the basis of CEIAG in the

coming years (Anonymous university) doesn't provide students with curriculum-based careers

teaching, lectures or mandatory sessions We are a very small Careers Service but would like to develop more resources for

students


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Do you in tend to use the following methods of promoting thecareers service more or less of ten over the next 12 monthscompared to the previous 12 months?


Verbatim responses

(Anonymous university) covers a wide physical footprint - there is no one place allstudents gather

Employment of Campus Brand managers will increase 'word of mouth' Careers lanyards


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Do you intend to use the following online/new mediamethods of promoting the careers service more or less oftenover the next 12 months?


Verbatim responses

SMS only used for DLHE We've already got 87% of finalists engaged with our service - additional marketing

isn't a priority for us also use the learning space / Moodle We use an interactive e portfolio, PebblePad with links to web 2.0


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If you measure the effectiveness of your engagementtechniques in any way please explain how.

Verbatim responses

Count web hits, Facebook fans, focus groups to discuss web provision etc. Numerous ways, including measures of impact We survey students attending events and ask how they found out about the event. Surveys and evaluations (e.g. on First Destination Survey, final year groups, at fairs),

occasional focus groups, monitoring feedback from clients Only through annual evaluation process Questions on feedback forms on how heard about us. Occasional focus groups Asking how students found out about the service and its activities Our only formal measure is asking those who come for guidance where they heard of

the service. We also occasionally (every few years) carry out a survey. Feedback forms We measure student use of our service across half-a-dozen measures including

attendance at events, appointments, website registrations, personal visits to our

building etc. We can 'cut' this date by year, gender, course, College, nationality Review at Team Meetings We run focus groups and send a survey monkey Matrix quality review, annual on-line evaluations. Employer events evaluation,

employers and students. Measure both quantitative and qualitative data through trend analysis and

comparison between methods also use it for timing of events and service provision We always measure how the students found out about talks, workshops,

presentations or other events that we run and feed these back the academic schoolsand back into our marketing plans

Feedback from students, employers, partners


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Please share any techniques or initiatives that you havefound have been particularly effective in engaging studentswith the careers service.

Verbatim responses

Ran a joint 'employability week' with the SU, which allowed us to collect lots ofdetailed feedback from non-users who it would otherwise have been hard to reach

'Careers on Tour' Events, particularly fairs. Seminars where academic staff are also engaged in delivery

and promotion, once-off events responding to imminent need e.g. closing dates Integrating careers management skills sessions within core modules of programmes Creating an interactive careers resource on Blackboard and getting academic staff to

use it as well (e.g. in their own CV workshops) - and using its announcements facilityfor particularly interesting opportunities. Also getting the SU to follow one of ourprojects on Twitter - they've put a live feed to their newspaper web page.

Informal word of mouth recommendation amongst students has the greatest effect Through lecturers or their course website VLE - Careers and jobs pages written specifically for each School of study Free lanyards with careers website on Plasma screens, recommendations through lecturers via the Staff newsletter, which

re-enforces the messages we send out via the students' intranet; face to face standswork very well, too.

Direct email Emails Personal referral is best. Graduates access our services through a funded HEFCW

project. We also benefit from the pan Wales HEFCW funded Go Wales SME employerprogramme.

Feedback. Electronic booking. Themed road shows. Students ambassador. Promotionleaflets under doors of residences. CV doctor sessions along the lines of Street Doctorfrom TV.

Academic Embedding; targeted e-marketing to specifically advertise an event or ajob; Tutor / Academic Referral and / or embedding Taking careers resources to the students' dining room and setting up 'shop' there

once a week this has led to an increased use of our service, interviews booked,resources downloaded, etc.

Talking directly to all returning 2 year and final year graduates at Induction for 30mins about options after graduation and reinforcing the support networks andresources available


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In the event of an increase in the total number of studentsusing the service, we would prefer them to use the followingmethods:


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Recommendations

To pursue increased engagement: Yes or No?Services should consider whether increasing levels of student engagement is the rightstrategy for them, their funders and those they serve.

Answers to questions such as the following may help provide insights: Is increasing the number of students engaging with the service in line with our

mission / raison dtre? What might be the knock on effects of increased engagement (better outcomes for

graduates? Over-stretched resources? A requirement to shorten interventions?) If a strategy of increased engagement is pursued, what changes need to happen

within the service to facilitate an increase in engagement?

Plan the engagement strategyServices that consider engagement a high priority should create a first draft of anengagement strategy, detailing:

o The desired outcomes of the initiative.o The anticipated knock on effects of increased engagement and how the service will

prepare for or react to.o Measurable targets in order to track and report success / failure.o A programme of engagement activities, against a timeline.o The resources that will be committed to these activities.o Areas of weakness / lacking and how they can be addressed.

Emulate the success of small business marketersAlthough many have already used their ingenuity to great success Its amazing what youlearn on-the-job!, services would benefit from emulating the well-documented marketingstrategies and tactics of small businesses with limited resources. Books like GuerrillaMarketing by Jay Conrad Levinson provide numerous tips for engaging target markets at littleor no cost.

Forums should be set up for the exchange of ideas and experience. Learning should feedbackinto the services engagement strategy.

Investigate funding potentialServices should investigate whether the number of students engaged could become aperformance measure for funding bodies.

Documents

HE Careers Student Engagement