The San Joaquin Valley is considered a low socioeconomic area and has a large proportion of ethnic minorities, and the college student body is representative of this diversity. Forty-eight percent of the students are white, 20% are Hispanic, 6% are African American, and 26% are Asian or other. A third receive financial aid, many are non-native English speakers, and 55% are women. Consequently, there are tremendous demands for personal, career, and educational counseling and support services.
The framework of the CDC program was designed using the following as guidelines: National Career Development Guidelines, California Community College (CCC) Student Matriculation Plan, CCC Quality Indicators for Gender Equity, and Single Parent/Homemaker Programs. The career life planning process that we teach is primarily based on the trait factor theory of career development, lifework planning, and other resources.
The purpose of the CDC is to enhance student self-knowledge and refine skills in seeking and processing information, analyzing career problems, formulating creative solutions, choosing the most promising career opportunities, and implementing plans to accomplish goals that integrate their personal and career ambitions. The career life planning process goes beyond helping individuals overcome immediate career problems as it helps them acquire the capabilities to manage their own career development over a lifetime.
Services are intentionally designed to provide student assistance from the college admissions process, through retention, to full-time job placement following graduation. The Re-Entry Program (established in 1987) and Job Development Placement Services (established in 1991) function as an integral part of the CDC.
Importance is placed upon flexible and varied methods of delivery to accommodate special student needs. Services are provided on a walk-in basis, prearranged individual appointments, group presentations, and guidance course instruction. Materials are presented in various formats to accommodate the different learning styles (e.g., computerized, videotaped, written, and oral presentations).
Observable outcomes attained by program participants are in the 91% retention rate of students completing career guidance courses; and of the students seeking jobs, 31% successfully secured employment.
The CDC is open from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, on a year-round basis. To accommodate evening hour CDC staffing requests, technician flextime is utilized. Career Guidance courses are offered each semester, including summer, day, evening, on- and off-campus, and interactive television (ITV) courses.
The counselor/coordinator works full-time supervising the program, teaching, and counseling students. The part-time instructors teach re-entry, career exploration, and job seeking courses, which consist of approximately twenty-two sections per semester. The three full-time technicians, who have been cross-trained, each have one program area as their primary responsibility (i.e., re-entry, career, and job development and placement). The Employment Development Department (EDD) representative and the Job Development Placement technician work closely together. However, all staff members, including clerical and peer advisors, willingly assist each other as needed.
The majority of the 3,754 students served during the 1993-1994 fiscal year have special counseling needs as 71% were undecided on their educational goal, 68% are categorized as adults needing training, 41% are considered educationally and/or economically disadvantaged, and 26% are single parents.
The CDC services can be summarized as follows: The Re-Entry Program facilitates adult transitions; self-esteem building; personal, educational, and career counseling; college orientations; campus tours; scholarships/child care grants; emergency loans; and college/community referrals. The career services assist with career self-exploration, occupational and college/training information, decisionmaking and goal setting, and timeline and planning development. The job development and placement services provide résumé development/critiquing, interviewing skills refinement, hidden job market techniques, and connecting the employer with the job-ready student.
The methods of delivery include individual assistance, group presentations/workshops, a sequence of one unit courses, and independent study. All of the courses offered through the CDC were written by the counselor/coordinator and approved in 1988. Guidance 10, 10E, 17, 30, 31, 32, and 33 count toward an AA degree and are transferable to all the California State University campuses. The courses are written in one unit blocks and one course is not a prerequisite to another, providing flexibility to meet individual student needs based on the intake assessment interview. Students may take one course or work through the whole career life planning process by taking all courses.
All CDC materials are organized in five color-coded categories: education (green), career (blue), employment (yellow), government (red), and special topics (brown). The computerized Career Indexing System (CIS) allows a student to print a customized CDC materials list (e.g., computer programs, files, reference library) as a guide for researching a job title of their choice. The CIS allows staff to categorize, track, evaluate, and update materials in a timely manner.
CDC staff are visionary leaders and choose to be a liaison vehicle to bring various campus departments, community agencies, and business entities together to further implement student and workforce preparation initiatives at the local level. These innovative efforts go beyond the boundaries of enhancing the CDC program to provide far reaching student benefits.
Our day begins at 8:00 a.m. sharp. A peer advisor is stationed at the front of the CDC to request students sign-in as they enter the center, to answer questions, and to "direct traffic." The secretary is checking in the first student who has arrived for a counseling appointment and asks the re-entry technician to conduct the intake interview as this is the student's first visit to the center. The career technician is checking in the first couple of students who have arrived for their prearranged Eureka and Sigi Plus computer appointments, while another person has arrived for their prearranged appointment with the VHS viewing station to watch a previously taped local career awareness presentation. The student uses headphones so as not to disturb others in the center. The job placement technician is busy explaining to a peer advisor the job listing updates, which need to be made on the job board located at the front of the center, as she is taking a job order over the phone from an employer. The technicians rotate their lunch times to continue offering services throughout the day.
Since the CDC is used as a lab area, a Guidance 31 class of 37 students arrive with their instructor to begin conducting research with the assistance of the career technician. The job development/placement technician (JDP) is faxing a student's résumé to the Bay Area, while the re-entry technician is processing an emergency student loan and handing out a child care application. One peer advisor is xeroxing materials for a student at the request of the counselor, while another is assisting students at the computer stations. The clerk typist is working on student files all morning and entering student information into the computerized student tracking system. An EOPS counselor personally brings a student over to make a computer appointment and to add Guidance 10E which is a CDC independent study course. The County Office of Education has called and requested a Career Days planning meeting. The secretary has been busy with numerous phone calls requesting counselor and computer appointments, while checking in students at half-hour intervals for scheduled counseling appointments. A student arrives for her appointment with the JDP technician for résumé critiquing. The EDD representative continues to see students looking for part-time jobs at twenty-minute intervals throughout the day.
An English 79 class (an AA degree required course) of 29 students has arrived with their instructor for a prearranged CDC orientation, as career exploration is incorporated into a required writing research class project. A five-inch-thick stack of materials have arrived for the counselor to review prior to tomorrow's campuswide weekly curriculum committee meeting. There are several phone messages: staff at another college want to talk with the coordinator after hearing a presentation made at a statewide conference, and a representative from the Delta Tech Prep Consortium called requesting to use the CDC for the next countywide meeting. The counselor/coordinator is preparing to present a group interpretation of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and the Strong Interest Inventory.
Each day in the CDC is different and fast paced. No two days are the same. It is ever changing and staff must be very flexible to accommodate the request of students, college staff, and the community.
A. Career Development Center Program Plan
An intake interview is conducted, on an individual basis, to determine a student's status, support needs, and their level of career awareness. Part of the intake process addresses which guidance course, CDC resource, or other referral would be appropriate to meet their individual needs. The student information obtained is then entered into the CDC computerized vocational educational student services tracking system, which was developed by the CDC staff and Delta College Computer Services.
The CDC Newsletter is mailed to the students' home addresses to remind and update them regarding our program. (Our first edition was in July of 1994. Prior to that time we mailed an activities calendar on a monthly basis, starting in 1987.) In addition, we conduct various other mailings and actively advertise on-campus and in the community.
The CDC is utilized by counselors, faculty, and other support staff as a resource, lab, and referral center. Therefore, in 1990, CDC staff developed and distributed a detailed Counselor's Reference Guide to all counselors, division chairs, administrators, and board members. Counselors from EOPS, DSS, and general counseling prescribe student activities to be conducted through the CDC. Therefore, part of our process includes utilizing referral forms to complete the communication cycle between CDC staff and others on campus. This also allows a counselor to know if a student followed through with the suggested action plan. This student tracking of services is in the process of being computerized campuswide.
Our program is a comprehensive and developmental one, which serves all students with special consideration given to vocational education and special populations students.
Our primary vehicle to teach career guidance competencies is a developmental series of Career Guidance courses. Approximately 99 sections are taught each semester, and units earned count toward an AA degree and transfer to most universities. Guidance 10E, Extended Activities, a flexible independent study course, can be individually tailored to address any part or parts of the career life planning process and is recommended to accommodate time schedules and variable units.
We conduct interdisciplinary learning activities with various campus departments and secondary education; for example, a joint effort between the English instructors and CDC staff to incorporate career self-awareness into an English writing class activity.
In addition, students further develop the career development competencies through our presentations, workshops, and other special events which are videotaped whenever possible. Specific careers are identified each month, and a featured speaker program, or other workshop is presented. A wide range of computerized programs are available to students at hourly intervals with an unlimited number of return appointments. An up-to-date and extensive selection of written materials are available in the CDC. Varied methods of delivery are used to accommodate the various learning styles of our students.
The CDC career decisionmaking model simplifies the career life planning process and explains the developmental aspects of our courses while giving them a suggested list of resources related to a particular competency.
Considering the special needs of our student population, it is important to note that our students are at varying degrees of attaining the career competencies both by area and level.
Courses - Guidance 17, People in Transition, is especially designed for re-entry students who need to first focus on building self-esteem, becoming more assertive, increasing college awareness, and coping with transitions to ensure educational success. This course also serves as a vehicle to provide staff and peer support and encouragement. The course outline includes campus and community resources, assertiveness training, coping skills, awareness of educational choices, and exploring job/career options.
Specific course objectives for Guidance 17--The student will . . .
Guidance 30, Career Self-Assessment exposes students to the first step of the career life planning process and facilitates an appreciation for the importance of self-awareness in career satisfaction. The components of the course outline include interests, skills/abilities, values, achievements, transferable skills, preferences, and desired lifestyle.
Specific course objectives for Guidance 30--The students will . . .
Resources - To enhance self-knowledge and self-advocacy:
To identify values:
To identify skills:
To identify interests:
Students have a wide variety of career assessment instruments to select from, and one hour individual counseling interpretation appointments are available upon request. Group interpretation is also conducted through workshops and as a part of the appropriate guidance courses. Since the Myers/Briggs Personality Type Indicator and Strong Interest Inventory are the two most highly respected instruments, and because we provide on-site scoring, they are the most frequently used instruments by our students. Other available instruments include Career Assessment Inventory, COPSystem, Self-Directed Search, Job-O, and the Quest questionnaire.
We encourage students to conduct educational and career exploration through the CDC by enrolling in Guidance 31. This course provides frequent structured lab hours to facilitate student exploration activities with the instructor and the career technician. After students have completed extensive CDC research, they are ready for the next occupational exploration step, which is career informational interviewing. To learn this valuable community networking exploration technique, Guidance 32 enrollment is suggested. This often leads to part-time and unexpected future job opportunities.
Guidance 31 and 32 focus on step 2 - World of Work and step 3 - Goal Setting of the CDC career decisionmaking model. It should be noted in reference to the color coding system, students can locate related materials in the following categories: Education, Career, and Government.
Courses - Guidance 31, Career Exploration, includes investigation of job duties, training, and educational requirements, desired employee characteristics, salary ranges, and future employment trends through printed and audiovisual media. The focused resource is the CDC.
Specific course objectives for Guidance 31--The student will . . .
Guidance 32, Career Information Interviewing, teaches students how to obtain information directly from people employed in career interest areas through an organized interviewing process. The focus is on using community resources.
Specific course objectives for Guidance 32--The student will . . .
Resources - To identify educational alternatives:
To identify occupational alternatives:
Courses - In addition to assisting the students with educational opportunities awareness, exploration, and planning, Guidance 10, Orientation to College, also assists a student in the development of a detailed educational course plan. It assists students with transitions and further clarifies the decisionmaking process.
Specific course objectives for Guidance 10--The student will . . .
Resources - To locate educational information:
To locate support services:
Guidance 33, Job Seeking Skills, assists students with successful job search techniques and includes résumé writing, job interviewing, and the hidden job market. It finalizes the process of transitioning from school to work.
Specific course objectives for Guidance 33--The student will . . .
Resources - To locate employment information:
Each year we offer a variety of presentations, workshops, and activities which are especially designed to address the needs of the special populations. In addition, career assessment instruments are available in Spanish and Vietnamese as noted in our advertising handout. Note the CDC advertising material printed in Spanish. Our special topics category addresses the issues and barriers to success of the various special populations we serve. Example topics include self-esteem, study skills, test and math anxiety, financial aid, child care, legal issues, and sexual harassment. We also have a special section for women and nontraditional careers, and our scholarship information contains specific references for women and minorities.
The Re-Entry Emergency Loan Program is supported by private donations and is a revolving account. Funds can be dispensed to students on the day they apply and are available to students who qualify for state and federal financial aid. This is a strong student retention support service as many students who qualify apply late for financial aid and find themselves needing money for books, supplies, and child care. The loan amount is deducted from the students' awards prior to receiving their financial aid checks.
The Re-Entry Program offers the largest Child Care Grant at SJDC for full-time students in good academic standing. The grant will pay up to $200 per month for the school year to a licensed child care provider.
B. Collaboration, Articulation, and Communication
When we conduct workshops for Project Step-Up, we invite family members to functions as this group is made up of women pursuing nontraditional careers and family support is an important factor to success.
A series of Information Exchange Meetings have been held with various instructional and service departments on campus. This gives both parties an opportunity to explain what they do and ask questions of the other department. This has been a strong positive communication connection. As a result, instructors and counselors make various presentations upon request and they are videotaped.
The various Chamber organizations in our service area provide free advertising of the CDC services in their publications and participate in our Job Fair.
For the last five years, we have organized a Job Fair which is especially designed for AA degree graduates and certificate recipients who are seeking full-time employment. Each year a group of volunteer agencies have provided a section of booths to teach students how to turn volunteerism into a career. Various employers have taken turns staffing a résumé critiquing booth during this event. On the average, 36-45 employers attend.
Two years ago, the Eureka Corporation agreed to provide the clerical time needed annually to enter data on all available SJDC Scholarships and information to be included in Eureka's scholarship section. They continue to honor this unofficial agreement. They also provide a countywide K-14 counselors Tech Prep Awareness all-day inservice. Re-Entry Peer Advisor Training is conducted each summer; students are paid to attend and a training handbook is provided.
C. Institutional Support, Leadership, and Program Evaluation
The SJDC mission statement declares,
Our commitment is to prepare our students with the knowledge, skills, and competencies they will need to excel in their educational, professional and personal endeavors and our institutional effectiveness is advanced by linkages with local secondary schools and with other institutions of higher education, business, industry, and local government.
The CDC addresses both institutional goals by teaching the career life planning process and establishing various educational, business, and agency partnerships.
The Policy and Procedures Manual, procedure 3121, Counseling and Guidance Services, CAREER DEVELOPMENT, states, "Career Development is an integral part of the counseling function and supports a career specialist counselor which acts as a liaison between SJDC students, staff and community. In addition, guidance courses are recognized as an integral part of guidance."
In addition, EDD pays one full-time EDD representative to work in the CDC. EDD provides the EDD representative and the CDC job placement technician each with a computer, which allows both to access Job Match, the statewide job listings database. In addition, EDD has provided staff development training to the CDC job development and placement technician. For the last four years, annual funding of $20,000 has been provided by the San Joaquin County Business Council to support the three-day countywide Career Days. As of June 1995, they began offering a SJDC student scholarship due to our cooperative working efforts.
Soroptimist International of Stockton has provided financial support to the
re-entry services for the last eight years. In past years, they have
contributed to our Motivational Re-Entry Seminar, an all-day Saturday
recruitment event, and they have made contributions to our emergency loan
program, supported our re-entry student of the month program, and provided
Christmas baskets to our economically disadvantaged students and their
families. We are now entering the fourth year that they have provided a $1,000
scholarship that is available only to a female SJDC
re-entry student. This
is in addition to the TAP Award. They raise the funds through a tennis
tournament, which they organize.
The coordinator/counselor has a master's degree in educational counseling with an emphasis in career development. The coordinator has 12 years of K-12 teaching and counseling experience and nine years of college counseling/coordinating experience, which includes county and statewide leadership. In addition, the coordinator has a private business background.
All instructors have a master's degree in counseling and specialized experience and backgrounds in the specific areas they teach.
The two technicians have bachelor's degrees and all had SJDC work experience prior to being hired as CDC staff members. The Career Center Technician is currently completing coursework toward her master's degree in counseling. The EDD representative has 28 years of job placement experience.
The two clerical staff members are highly trained individuals. The secretary is full-time, and the clerk typist is shared half-time with another office. The six to twelve peer advisors, who work up to 20 hours a week, are carefully screened and seasoned students who are seen as outstanding role models for their peers.
The CDC staff is multilingual; the languages they speak include Spanish, Cambodian, Tagalog, Punjabi, and Cantonese.
Staff are encouraged to attend relevant conferences. This year, staff attended the CCEA career conference and the CPA job placement conference. All CDC staff were provided an opportunity to attend a Strong Interest Inventory Interpretation Skills Workshop this year and a Eureka on-site inservice is planned for October 1995. The CDC staff work with others and make written suggestions which we send to the Eureka Corporation for updating their Career Information System Database.
Interdisciplinary learning activities are conducted with CDC staff, various campus departments, and secondary education. In addition, the counselor/coordinator is involved in many campus committees, as noted on her résumé, which increases faculty/staff connections with the CDC.
Each instructor conducts written student evaluations during the last class meeting of each course each semester. The results are used to improve our guidance courses for the following semester. In addition, in order to evaluate large events such as our annual Job Fair and countywide Career Days, we collect written employer, instructor, and student evaluations. They are summarized, discussed, and used for the next year's planning.
When students who are enrolled in guidance courses fail to attend, phone contact is made to inquire and to offer follow-up assistance.
Through the computerized vocational education student tracking system, student enrollment is checked each semester, along with continued enrollment and graduation. Follow-up letters for noncompletors are mailed. Phone calls to noncompletors are made by peer advisors as time permits.