When you have a designated destination, do you wait until you’ve been driving for a while before you determine which direction to head?  Not if you want to make the most of your time.  Adult learners don’t want to waste their time either, so helping them determine a career destination, map the best route to take, and identify helpful resources is most effective when done before the journey starts.

This week’s principle for effectively serving adults is Life and Career Planning.  During our recent Adult Learner Summit, Barry Nickerson, Director of Initiatives at CAEL stated that Life and Career Planning “examines how the College addresses adult learners’ life and career goals before or at the onset of enrollment in order to assess and align its capacities to help learners reach their goals.”  Adult learners want to identify what their options will be once they finish their studies.   They are focused on how academic studies will provide tangible benefits in employment.  Will this program of study support opportunities for promotion within his/her current job or a better paying job elsewhere?  Most non-traditional learners can’t afford to take classes just for the sake of learning.  Time and resources are scarce, so they want clear connections between what they’re doing as a student and their current or future career.

​​​​​​​AL360 survey results from 2017 and 2020 confirm that VWCC adult learners want to see us place greater focus on Life and Career Planning.  Three out of the four lowest student satisfaction scores connect to this principle.  1. They want to engage with career services early in their program of study.  2. They want a process that can assess whether the knowledge and skills they have already learned through life and work could qualify for credit.  3. They want life and career planning activities integrated into their plan of study.  Get REAL is supporting efforts to increase student satisfaction in these areas. Our CPL Specialist and CPL Team are hard at work designing ways to strengthen CPL opportunities and make them more accessible.  Our newly hired Career Advisor will work alongside current and potential non-traditional students as they explore career options and available education and training opportunities.  She will partner with Career Center staff and the Career and Economic Success Team to explore and recommend ways to embed and expand career services throughout existing academic programs. 

​​​​​​​If you missed the Adult Learner Summit, you can still review the sessions: Adult Learner Advising: Integrating Career Advising into Pathways; Credit for Prior Learning Promotion and Advising; Career Connections in Capstones.