INVESTIGATING HOW CAREER SERVICES IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES RELATE TO THE SUCCESS OF MINORITY STUDENTS

Overview:To investigate the relationship between career services in community colleges and the academic and professional success of minority students this study examined secondary data from the 2020 NACE Student Survey for students (N = 1,955) enrolled at U.S. two-year community colleges. It was found that attendance and utilization of career service sessions is related to career counseling, resume writing, career assessment, and job search. It was also determined that demographic variables such as age, gender, and ethnicity can be used to predict the likelihood of a community college student accepting a postgraduate full-time job. In the NACE survey interviews, Asian American students reported feeling less career-ready than their Native American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander counterparts, while African American students felt less career ready than their Hispanic American and White counterparts; observations that are supported by a statistical analysis of ethnicity-based mean career-readiness scores derived in this study from the NACE survey data. Logistic regression shows that when considered together, age, gender, and ethnicity cannot be used to predict whether a student was accepted into a bachelor’s degree program, or has accepted a post-graduate full-time job. The odds of having accepted a full-time job prior to graduation improved as a function of age (and was highest for students ≥25-years of age) and was higher if they were White.Author’s Bio:Dr. Ronald E. Kimmons is a licensed practitioner of occupational education, holds a doctorate degree in higher education administration from Morgan State University and has over 20 years of experience as a human resource professional. He is passionate about empowering and helping individuals navigate their career journey to find meaningful careers that align with their passions and values. His values of integrity, empathy and collaboration guides his work as he continues to assist individuals achieve their professional goals. Read more