From College To Work

Practical solutions for improving higher education opportunities for disadvantaged students Too many disadvantaged college students in America do not complete their coursework or receive any college credential, while others earn degrees or certificates with little labor market value. Large numbers of these students also struggle to pay for college, and some incur debts that they have difficulty repaying. The authors provide a new review of the causes of these problems and offer promising policy solutions. The circumstances affecting disadvantaged students stem both from issues on the individual side, such as weak academic preparation and financial pressures, and from institutional failures. Low-income students disproportionately attend schools that are underfunded and have weak performance incentives, contributing to unsatisfactory outcomes for many students. Some solutions, including better financial aid or academic supports, target individual students. Other solutions, such as stronger linkages between coursework and the labor market and more structured paths through the curriculum, are aimed at institutional reforms. All students, and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, also need better and varied pathways both to college and directly to the job market, beginning in high school. We can improve college outcomes, but must also acknowledge that we must make hard choices and face difficult tradeoffs in the process. While no single policy is guaranteed to greatly improve college and career outcomes, implementing a number of evidence-based policies and programs together has the potential to improve these outcomes substantially.

This book disrupts the false dichotomy of college versus career by showing how young people and the programs created to serve them integrate the worlds of college and career readiness as students work to learn against the odds and strive toward lives that matter to them. Work-based learning at each stage of the K–college experience is crucial to the development of young people. Through analysis of national policies on college readiness and work-based learning, as well as through illustrative case studies of young people in work-based learning programs, the authors highlight the programs, voices, and experiences of young people from middle school through college. Through interviews, participating students share their views, aspirations, and preparation for both college and career.

How can educators ensure that young people who attain a postsecondary credential are adequately prepared for the future? Matthew T. Hora and his colleagues explain that the answer is not simply that students need more specialized technical training to meet narrowly defined employment opportunities. Beyond the Skills Gap challenges this conception of the “skills gap,” highlighting instead the value of broader twenty-first-century skills in postsecondary education. They advocate for a system in which employers share responsibility along with the education sector to serve the collective needs of the economy, society, and students. Drawing on interviews with educators in two- and four-year institutions and employers in the manufacturing and biotechnology sectors, the authors demonstrate the critical importance of habits of mind such as problem solving, teamwork, and communication. They go on to show how faculty and program administrators can create active learning experiences that develop students’ skills across a range of domains. The book includes in-depth descriptions of eight educators whose classrooms exemplify the effort to blend technical learning with the cultivation of twenty-first-century habits of mind. The study, set in Wisconsin, takes place against the backdrop of heated political debates over the role of public higher education. This thoughtful and nuanced account, enriched by keen observations of postsecondary instructional practice, promises to contribute new insights to the rich literature on workforce development and to provide valuable guidance for postsecondary faculty and administrators.

A three-step career system to help you tap into your own unique value to find a deeply meaningful and engaging job, whether you're a college student, a recent graduate, or a new professional looking for a fresh start. “Snyder’s proven step-by-step plan shows you how to create a meaningful career you will love.”—Tasha Eurich, New York Timesbestselling author of Insight and Bankable Leadership In Finding Work You Love, award-winning University of Southern California business school professor Kirk Snyder helps you match the value you alone bring to today's new job market with work that rewards you for who you are in the professional world. When you find a role that leverages the exact strengths and abilities you have to offer, you set yourself up for a rewarding career that matters. Based on the top-rated course he teaches to graduate and undergraduate students, Professor Snyder's "Working You" system has three simple steps. First you take a guided inventory of your professional value: Who are you and what makes you special? What can you do that sets you apart? How are you personally motivated to be who you want to be? Next, you evaluate different fields, companies, and roles that truly fit with your personal inventory. And finally, having created a job bank of twenty-five high-potential positions just for you, you learn how to turn your right fits into tangible offers. Along the way, stories from current students, college grads, and new professionals who have used this system show you how easy it is to navigate the process. If you're ready to find the fulfilling and successful career you've dreamed of, start here.

Since its publication in 2004, Doing Honest Work in College has become an integral part of academic integrity and first-year experience programs across the country. This helpful guide explains the principles of academic integrity in a clear, straightforward way and shows students how to apply them in all academic situations—from paper writing and independent research to study groups and lab work. Teachers can use this book to open a discussion with their students about these difficult issues. Students will find a trusted resource for citation help whether they are studying comparative literature or computer science. Every major reference style is represented. Most important of all, many universities that adopt this book report a reduction in cheating and plagiarism on campus. For this second edition, Charles Lipson has updated hundreds of examples and included many new media sources. There is now a full chapter on how to take good notes and use them properly in papers and assignments. The extensive list of citation styles incorporates guidelines from the American Anthropological Association. The result is the definitive resource on academic integrity that students can use every day. “Georgetown’s entering class will discover that we actually have given them what we expect will be a very useful book, Doing Honest Work in College. It will be one of the first things students see on their residence hall desks when they move in, and we hope they will realize how important the topic is.”—James J. O’Donnell, Provost, Georgetown University “A useful book to keep on your reference shelf.”—Bonita L. Wilcox, English Leadership Quarterly

The future looks bleak for today's college graduates: 53 percent of Millennials are jobless or underemployed after graduating college, and 36 percent have moved back in with their parents. College tuition has tripled in the last decade, debt at graduation has risen to a full year's salary, and more graduates are forced to default on their student loans. Meanwhile, college is not preparing students for the modern job market—wages are stagnating, employers aren't hiring, and young people today can expect to change careers five or six times in their lifetime. The old rules for succeeding in college just don't work anymore. "Put College to Work" is the new rule book that shows how to make today's college environment work for you. "Put College to Work" presents a step-by-step plan to use the resources available to you in college (the resources you're already paying for!) to enhance your education with practical experience, make connections with employers, market yourself as a dynamic and creative employee—and land a job before you graduate. "Put College to Work" shows how to identify your strengths, find the right career field and major to pursue, leverage your skills, and create your own opportunities. You'll learn how to network to employers through your university's career center, alumni association, and major donors, plus the industry and research connections of your professors. Written by a Millennial for Millennials, "Put College to Work" is a supremely practical guide to how college really works today that will empower you to take action now to build your education, your career plan, your business contacts, and your job prospects.

In this book, the author builds on decades of complex research to examine the gender pay gap and the unequal distribution of labor between couples in the home. The author argues that although public and private discourse has brought these concerns to light, the actions taken - such as a single company slapped on the wrist or a few progressive leaders going on paternity leave - are the economic equivalent of tossing a band-aid to someone with cancer. These solutions, the author writes, treat the symptoms and not the disease of gender inequality in the workplace and economy. Here, the author points to data that reveals how the pay gap widens further down the line in women's careers, about 10 to 15 years out, as opposed to those beginning careers after college. She examines five distinct groups of women over the course of the twentieth century: cohorts of women who differ in terms of career, job, marriage, and children, in approximated years of graduation - 1900s, 1920s, 1950s, 1970s, and 1990s - based on various demographic, labor force, and occupational outcomes. The book argues that our entire economy is trapped in an old way of doing business; work structures have not adapted as more women enter the workforce. Gender equality in pay and equity in home and childcare labor are flip sides of the same issue, and the author frames both in the context of a serious empirical exploration that has not yet been put in a long-run historical context. This book offers a deep look into census data, rich information about individual college graduates over their lifetimes, and various records and sources of material to offer a new model to restructure the home and school systems that contribute to the gender pay gap and the quest for both family and career. --

The future is in your hands—not Harvard’s TO: All students wondering “Can I get into my dream college?” CC: All parents wondering “Can we afford it?” FROM: Educational consultant Kristin M. White MEMO: COLLEGE RANKINGS DON’T MATTER. This claim might sound crazy, but it’s true: Research shows that where you go to school makes little difference to future financial success or quality of life—personal qualities such as ambition, perseverance, and a sense of purpose are all more important. Kristin M. White has helped hundreds of parents and students look beyond the dream-school hype and focus on what’s most important. Now, in It’s the Student, Not the College, she shows how to avoid unrepayable debt and set yourself up to grow, excel, and enjoy yourself at any school. Instead of obsessing over GPA cutoffs and SAT scores, students will learn how to build a personal “Success Profile”—by adopting the traits that help stellar students make the grade in school and life. Plus . . . Why what you do in school counts more than where you go 14 surefire ways to develop your Success Profile as a student and beyond Criteria to consider when choosing a college How to find a good fit for your family’s finances And tips for graduating career-ready and landing a great first job. Expensive, elite colleges have too much sway over the minds and bank accounts of students and parents. It’s the Student, Not the College breaks that stranglehold—and reveals the real secrets of success.

How is it possible that both university graduates and unfilled job openings are both at record-breaking highs? Our world has changed. New and emerging occupations in every industry now require a combination of academic knowledge and technical ability. With rising education costs, mounting student debt, fierce competition for jobs, and the oversaturation of some academic majors in the workforce, we need to once again guide students towards personality-aligned careers and not just into college. Extensively researched, (Re)Defining the Goal deconstructs the prevalent "one-size-fits-all" education agenda. The author provides a fresh perspective, replicable strategies, and outlines six proven steps to help students secure a competitive advantage in the new economy. Gain a new paradigm and the right resources to help students avoid the pitfalls of unemployment, or underemployment, after graduation.