Overview of the First MetLife Counselor Community of Practice Call

1. MetLife Project: Counselor Community of Practice Call 2/23/12
Attendees:
Columbus State Community College Portland Community College
-Chandra Bell -Valorie Adler
-Clare Jordan -Andrew Roessler
-Lori Brown -Mariette Schlep (PCC Partner)
-Clayton Gibson
-Terri Long Red Rocks community College
-Amanda Jennings -Sarah Goepel
-Nancy Carlson
Hennepin Technical College
-Judy Swanson
-Matt Gustafson
Community of Practice Topics and Discussion
Topic: Working with the Mature Student
-How do we make mature students a priority?
-Are there opportunities for credit for Prior Learning Assessment to ease the transition back
into the classroom for mature students?
Discussion:
At some colleges enrollment has leveled out a bit, giving counseling staff time to step back and take a
look at the bigger picture and begin to plan more targeted efforts around certain demographics of
potential students, such as the mature worker. In several cases the colleges have mentorship programs
where mature students or veterans mostly, can take on leadership roles among the other students and
help in providing counseling and registration services. This model allows likeminded students to
connect with each other and feel more at east transitioning back in college or coming in for the first
time.
In terms of Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), specifically at Red Rocks Community College there are plans
of study for all career and technical programs and within each of these PLA opportunities are specifically
called out and highlighted for the student’s benefit and use. Also, at Portland Community College, the
counseling and advising offices provide lists to students with give an overview of the PLA policies at the
post-secondary (2 and 4 year colleges) institutions in the region. This has proven to be very helpful for
the student so that they aren’t getting PLA credits at one institution with ambitions of transferring, only
to have that credit unable to transfer.
Nancy Carlson at Red Rocks:
Topic: Resources to Make Your Job Easier
-What is your best resource?
-What is your best assessment?
-What else could you use?(What is best resource? Best Assessments?What else could you use?
Discussion:
Some good national resources to keep on your radar and use for reference—

2. College Café, clearing house of guidance information to help your students decide what they want to
focus on when they return to college - http://www.cafecollege.org/home
In Ohio, there is a new job posting clearing house – OhioMeansJobs.com
We encourage other states to advocate for similar portals of localized employer job posting information
to help advise your students.
Career Awareness Websites:
BioOhioWorkforce.org
Aarp.org
Mymajors.com
Wiscareers.com
Assessments:
Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) used now in HS in Colorado. This is a cohort of
students from high school to the community college level – they will see the first cohort of
seniors coming out with the ICAP in 2014. This develops a comprehensive career pathway plan
for the students from the time of high school all the way through post-secondary.
Many colleges use the STRONG Inventory
Self-directed searches are used by most colleges
What Other Tool would be Useful? :
It was suggested that there should be a tool or mechanism in place at the community college level to
better engage faculty to draw upon and capitalize on their experiences and career path. This expertise
could be better utilized within the counseling and guidance aspect of student intake.
Current labor market information seems to be of interest and need for all colleges. In North Dakota
uses a labor market analysis tool that pulls very current information (data that represents the last two
months). Below is a link to see their information.
Online job openings report:
http://www.ndworkforceintelligence.com/gsipub/index.asp?docid=529
- Select your data area from the scroll down box
- The data areas consists of statewide and the Govenor’s Planning Regions
- Govenor’s Planning Region Map:
https://www.ndworkforceintelligence.com/admin/gsipub/htmlarea/uploads/lmi
_ndrefmapplanregion.pdf
State Labor Market Information Centers:
http://dlr.sd.gov/lmic/relatedsites_state_lmi_shops.aspx