ABAC has reliable data on its Momentum initiatives and retention and graduation rates (internal tracking, USG Qlik, and IPEDS). The top data gaps for ABAC identified during the Momentum VI Summit include:
- the ability to capture what our graduates are doing after graduation and workforce-related data,
- data to support funding of programs to support our Black students,
- trauma-informed data to help guide appropriate academic interventions, which has been shown to improve retention and graduation rates
- data related to the relationship between participation in campus recreation
Career Data
USG’s initiative on career development and workforce will aid ABAC in filling in our data gaps. ABAC has begun the process of creating a centralized Career Center. One of the responsibilities of the Career Center will be to gather and house data related to Career Services (focus surveys, First Destination Surveys, Graduate School, etc.)
Activity One Additional Update. During the 2023 Momentum Summit XI, the ABAC Complete College Georgia Team also identified three other areas as follows:
Racial Data
Data reports continue to show that our Black students are not being retained and graduating at the same rate as their racial peers. A deeper dive into the data is needed to help fund programming and outreach efforts targeted to help Black succeed.
Trauma-Informed
Research has shown that identifying students who have experienced trauma and offering the appropriate support resources is correlated to increased retention and graduation rates. ABAC would like to implement a trauma-informed survey given to incoming students during the summer. Data collected can help assist in academic services to aid a vulnerable population at risk of not being retained and progressing toward graduation.
Recreation Data
Research has shown a positive association between physical exercise, including recreational sports, and mental wellness, retention, and graduation. Due to budget cuts following the pandemic, recreational sports programming was cut, and access to physical exercise (gym) has been limited.
For the Racial Data, ABAC has developed a separate team that is utilizing racial data and other data to identify at-risk populations so that the team can develop and apply for the Federal TRIO Student Support Services grant, which ABAC housed at one time. Additionally, ABAC brought back the African American Male Initiative (AAMI) and was awarded a grant by the System Office to conduct services and activities to serve this population. These programs are expected to contribute to the success of minoritized and at-risk student groups, which will also be reflected in the overall Complete College Georgia data.
The ABAC Complete College Georgia Team discussed trauma-informed data. Given the nature of the survey and the broader campus concern of collecting the data and having adequate resources for identified students, this endeavor was placed on hold to research more thoroughly. Lastly, recreation data is being used in the partnership between Career Services and Student Affairs for the student involvement milestones in the Thunder’s Bucket List program that parallels academic pathways.
Evaluation Plan and Measures:
Career Services generally measure their success across three domains:
- Student engagement (number of career advising appointments, workshop attendance, interviews)
- Job search support (number of career fairs, number of employers posting jobs/internships, total number of jobs/internships)
Student success (job placement rates, graduate school placement rates, etc.)
|
Core Function |
KPIs |
Method/Data Source |
|
Assist students with career decision-making |
#of students served |
Tacking of appointments Focus-2-Career Assessments given Utilization of Stepping Blocks |
|
Job Search Services |
# of employers at fairs % of students employed post-graduation % of students attending graduate school post-graduation |
Handshake Event Tracking First Destination Survey |
|
Maintain positive employer relations |
# of employers posting jobs and internships #of jobs and internships #of employer visits |
Handshake |
|
Core Function |
KPIs |
Fall 2023 Data |
Method/Data Source |
|
Assist students with career decision-making.
|
#of students served |
|
Tacking of appointments Focus-2-Career Assessments given Utilization of Stepping Blocks |
|
Job Search Services |
# of employers at fairs % of students employed post-graduation % of students attending graduate school post-graduation |
|
Handshake Event Tracking First Destination Survey |
|
Maintain positive employer relations |
# of employers posting jobs and internships #of jobs and internships #of employer visits |
|
Handshake |
Goal or targets (for each KPI) and Time period/duration:
- # of students served: 75% of the student body over three academic years
- 2023 – 2024: 37%
- 2024 – 2025: 56%
- 2025 – 2026: 75%
- # of employers at fairs over three academic years
- 2023 – 2024: 80
- 2024 – 2025: 100
- 2025 – 2026: 120
- # of students employed/continuing education post-graduation (still under review)
- 2023 – 2024: 80%
- 2024 – 2025: 85%
- 2025 – 2026: 90%
- # of employers posting jobs and internships three academic years
- 2023 – 2024: 700 approved employers
- 2024 – 2025: 900 approved employers
- 2025 – 2026: 1200 approved employers
- # of jobs and internships posted over three academic years – baseline still being determined
# of employer/grad school visits – still under review
ABAC’s centralized Career Center was fully launched in fall 2023. During the fall 2023 semester, ABAC has secured and implemented these student resources: Handshake, Stepping Blocks, and Focus-2-Careers. A Career Closet was also implemented to provide students with professional dress for career-related activities and events. The data above show that the Career Center successfully reached students during its initial launch. In an effort to better engage students and achieve the KPI goals, the Career Center has reached out to develop key contacts in each of the four schools and with Student Affairs.
For the 2023-24 academic year, ABAC’s Career Center will focus on data collection to better guide the KPI goals, aligning with the College’s newly launched strategic plan. Additionally, the Career Center will begin surveying students about services to determine additional needs, areas of improvement, and strengths. Lastly, in collaboration with Student Activities, the Career Center is developing a four-year career and engagement plan (currently called Thunder’s Bucket List) that will coincide with ABAC’s program maps.
Financial and budget constraints are the primary challenges for the Career Center. Budget constraints may limit the ability to fully staff the Career Center to serve the student body adequately.
From the System Office, collected Career/Workforce data by the System disseminated back to its institutions. Additionally, access to dashboard resources, such as Microsoft Power BI, to help showcase data to students, their families, employers, and others interested in the ABAC community.
