The Career and Academic Assessment Center aims to increase career literacy for prospective and current students, equipping them with the knowledge, tools and support they need to make informed career decisions, create a career plan and enter an academic pathway.
The Career and Academic Assessment Center supports this mission through the following strategies: -Deliver student career assessment, exploration and planning resources and guidance -Support student work-based learning opportunities -Connect high school students, parents and counselors with Butte College pathways -Facilitate employer engagement with students, faculty and educational programs -Integrate career development services and curriculum with classroom instruction -Cultivate data and perform research for high impact, equity and access focused, scalable, sustainable and measurable outcomes that align with the college's strategic direction -Recommend English and Math courses and supports according to academic experiences and goals reported by students within the Career and Academic Profile (CAP Tool) -Assist students in challenging prerequisites, and award credit for AP, CLEP and IB exams
Operating Budget for office supplies and materials
Funds are/were used for operating costs, printing, materials and equipment for use by staff working remotely.
Non Instructional Computer Technology
Used to purchase Strengths Finder Codes to support students career exploration. This funding was eliminated for 2021-2022 by budget reduction planning of 4%.
Student Assistants
These funds were not used in 2020-2021 since staff were working remotely and student assistants were not used.
The Career and Academic Assessment Center completed an SLO cycle. Because the program is changing its mission and goals to support career exploration, new SLOs and assessment processes will be developed in Spring 2021.
The Career and Academic Assessment Center's (CAAC) goals are to support students surccess by providing career exploration services, work based learning opportunities and one-on-one advising to help students develop a career plan and enter an appropriate academic pathway. Workshops, career exploration tools and support services will focus on specific student populations to reduce equity games. These strategies and services directly support the Vision for Success Goals; specifically: a) increasing by 20% the number of students aquiring an Associates Degree, or Credential; b) increasing by 35% the number of students transfering to UC or CSU; c) increasing the percentage of CTE students being employed in their field of study; and d) reducing equity gaps.
The CAAC supports the following Strategic Directions:
Implementing AB 705: The department continues to collaborate with English and Math faculty, CAS, Counseling, Institutional Research and IT to improve support services to students taking transfer level English and math.
Implementing Guided Pathwasy: The department aims to help students identify a career and academic pathway during their first semester and strives to provide career exploration services, workshops and plan event to provide academic departments to showcase their programs.
Closing Equity Gaps: The department strives to work closely with specific services and student populations to close equity gaps. Student Success Specialists will work closely with undecided students to develop a career plan.
Foster and Culture of Inclusiveness: The department strives to develop and deliver services to foster a culture of inclusiveness. A primary goal of the department is to coordinate activites that provide opportunities for faculy and students to connect and learn more about academic pathways and career options.
The Career and Academic Assessment Center conducted their Program Review and Site Visit in early fall 2019. The following recommendations will be addressed in 2020:
1) Develop a Career Exploration Advisory Committee
2) Collaborate with the Dual Enrollment Coordinator and First Year Experience to ensure services are appropriately provided to high school and new students
3) Develop a staffing structure and professional development to support implementation of the Career Studio
Develop strategies and support services for Undecided Students
Develop Career Exploration Services (i.e., Canvas, Focus 2 Career, Major Workshops, Academic Showcases)
Support specific student populations to reduce equity gaps (i.e., Inspiring Scholars, UndocuCenter, Queer Resource Center, EOPS, Identiy Nights, Workshops)
Increase student engagement with our center
Integrate Self Service Into Program
Professional Development (i.e., Anti Racist conversation, Professional Conferences, Trainings, Identify Professional Organizations/Memberships)
Develop Career Hub Concept in SAS (i.e., one-on-one, drop in advising)
Develop a Career Advisory Committee
Strategy 1 - Develop Career Exploration Services
Develop and deliver career exploration tools in Canvas including career assessments, labor market information and opportunities for students to get exposure to career and academic pathways. Coordinate workshops and events that provide academic departments and students to connect and share information about career and academic pathways.
A primary goal of Guided Pathways is to improve the onboarding experience for students, integrate career counseling into the onboarding process and first year experience, support students with identifying and following an academic pathway, and eliminate equity gaps. New career services will include career assessments, workshops on developing a career plan, developing services to support the five meta major communities.
Strategy 2 - Develop a Career Hub
Establish a Career Hub open lab environment where students can drop in to explore pathways and design a career plan and recieved one-on-one support.
Career exploration and identifying a career and academic pathway are essential to the goals of Guided Pathways, but practices are still lacking on campus
Strategy 3 - Staff Development
Staff Development is essential to effectively implementing these goals. Staff job responsibilities and roles will be changing and future training and staff development will be necessary to support staff with their new roles and responsibilities.
Staff development is critical to supporting staff in their implementation of best practices. These activities allow staff to improve services to students and support District and statewide outcomes.
Strategy 4 - Develop support services for undecided students
The department is adding a question to the Career and Academic Profile Tool asking students if they are still undecided about an academic pathway. Student Success Specialists will develop targeted and intrusive strategies to reach out to undecided students to help them develop a career plan during their first semester.
Students are required to identify an academic program and educational goal prior to Counseling and registration. Many students are undecided about their career and academic pathway. Supporting students with identifying career options is a primary goal of the Guided Pathways initiative.
Strategy 5 - Coordinate with specific programs to reduce equity gaps
The department will coordinate with special programs (e.g., UndocuCenter, EOPS, Inspiring Scholars, Student Success Services, TRiO SSS) to serve students from low income and first generation backgrounds.
This stategy directly supports the Vision for Success goals of reducing equity gaps and increasing the overall percentage of students recieving degrees, certificates and supports transfer to CSU, UC.
Strategy 6 - Develop Career Advisory Committee
The department will develop a Career Advisory Committee to elicit feedback from on and off campus colleagues to share information about career opportunities, work-based learning, and labor market needs.
Collaborations with on and off campus entities is essential to providing services to students. Faculty and community partners need to be coordinate to provide students with up to date career opportunites.
Strategy 7 - Integrate Self Service Platform into Processes
Self-Service is replacing WebAdvisor as the central student portal. Developing Self Service modules will support students with better understanding their Career and Academic Profile report.
Self Service will be used to communicate the results from the Career and Academic Profile tool. Online fillable forms can be developed to the enforcment of prerequisites and overrrides.
The following non-financial resources are being requested:
$321,036 - District
$211,078 - Categorical (SEAPAC) (Classified Assessment Technician), Student Assistants, 70% Student Success Specialist)
| Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
| Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
| 1 | Career and Academic Assessment Center | Operating Expenses | 11-000-709-1-632001 | 54500 | $4,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Operating expenses for the Center | Operating budget for copying, office materials and supplies, marketing materials. In 2019-2020 the Center requested and received $4000 for an operation budget. For 2020-2021 the Center is requesting a one-time augmentation to develop marketing materials and resources for the Career Studio. |
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| 2 | Career and Academic Assessment Center | Personnel | 12.200-709-1-632001 | 52368 | $44,200.00 | $0.00 |
| 5 Student Assistants | To provide customer service and support during the fall, spring and summer periods. Will support the administration of the Career and Academic Profile tool, prerequisite enforcement and supporting Career Counseling services |
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| 3 | Career and Academic Assessment Center | Personnel | $0.00 | $32,000.00 | ||
| Converting 60% Student Success Specialist to 100% | The primary goals of the Student Success Specialists are to support students with entering career and academic programs, explore careers and labor market trends, provide workshops and events to get students connected with faculty and coordinate with special programs to support equity efforts and reduce equity gaps. Currently the department has a 100% Student Success Specialist and a 60% Student Success Specialist. The Student Success Specialists are planning one-on-one sessions and programs and events for undecided students. Currently, this structure does not provide enough support to meet with students individually, plan workshops and activities and support our special populations with career exploration. This structure only allows for 1.6 FTE employees to support the Guided Pathway efforts into the five Communities of Interest. This augmentation is to convert the 60% Student Success Specialist to 100% to support these critical goals. |
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| 4 | Career and Academic Assessment Center | Operating Expenses | 12-262-709-1-632001 | 54511 | $6,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Maintain License to Use Web Based Career Exploration and Develeopment Platform - Vita Navis (also listed in Career Counseling Unit Plan) | This augmentation is for purchasing the Focus 2 Career assessment platform for students to use to explore careers and develop career literacy; acquire a comprehensive student educational plan sooner; expand Career Counseling services (the current student to Career Counselor ratio is about 10,000 to; increase connection to career services by building a stronger bridge between newly enrolled students and in-person career counseling. |
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| 5 | Career and Academic Assessment Center | Equipment | $7,300.00 | $0.00 | ||
| 7 New staff chairs | This augmentation is to order new Knoll Life chairs for staff. Staff's current chairs are wearing out and need to be replaced. |
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