DEVELOPING A CAREER PORTFOLIO:

THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY APPROACH

by

Robert Reardon, Ph.D.[1]

October 14, 1997

Introduction

In responding to a suggestion by President D’Alemberte following the Seminole Futures luncheon on September 12, 1997, faculty and staff in the Tech Center[2] set about to examine programmatic ways to teach and/or certify the development of workforce skills in FSU graduates. In doing this work, the Tech Center drew upon prior career development research and service undertaken at FSU (Peterson, Sampson, & Reardon, 1991; Peterson, Sampson, Reardon, & Lenz, 1996). This work is based on a Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) theory of career problem solving and decision making, and we think it is an especially useful model to guide the current project. In the following paragraphs, we will use the CASVE Cycle, a generic problem solving model taken from CIP theory, to explore the use of career portfolios in the development of workforce skills in FSU graduates.

At the outset it is important to define two terms, career and work (Sears, 1982). Career is defined as the “working out of a purposeful life pattern through work undertaken by a person.” A career is unique to a person; it is a process of balancing life roles, e.g., student, parent, spouse/partner, citizen, worker, which occur through one’s lifetime. Work is defined as “activity that produces something of value for one’s self or others.” This includes unpaid, volunteer work, as well as paid employment.

A Concept Proposal

Communication

In CIP theory, career interventions focus on the “gaps” between a current and ideal state of affairs. These gaps are communicated to students, policy makers, and educational leaders in many different ways, both formal and informal. In the present situation:

1. Many college students would value having a strategic career plan at the time of graduation which would strengthen their career pursuits.

2. FSU would benefit from producing the kinds of workers needed in the global workforce characterized by lean production and new ways of working.

3. Employers of FSU graduates would value assurance that FSU students are ready to make effective contributions in the contemporary workplace.

4. The State of Florida would benefit from more cost-effective use of public funds.

A desirable university-based career intervention would address these conditions as experienced by students, the university, employers, and public officials. Reduction in these gaps would increase the economic productivity and career satisfaction of Florida citizens.

Analysis

In CIP theory, analysis involves a review of all the causal factors that contribute to gaps. It is beyond the scope of this brief paper to review all of the relevant factors, but several aspects can be suggested.

· Generic workforce skills and learning outcomes needed by college graduates have been identified by government agencies, professional associations, and private consortia. This prior work can be adapted for this project.

· FSU has been engaged since 1970 in developing innovative career services and programs that directly connect to the teaching/learning mission of the university. For example, a variable credit course, SDS 3340 Introduction to Career Development, provides instruction directly related to the workforce skills noted earlier.

· The successful institutionalization of career interventions in universities is related to curriculum infusion and the development of learner centered activities. Career programs should ideally draw upon strengths from both academic affairs and student affairs. Course-based interventions provide a mechanism to recover costs for services, academic credibility for the quality of the intervention, and recognition of learning on the academic transcript.

· Career services is a boundary spanning function that links education and employment; it provides for connections between education and work organizations. In social systems terms, employers provide a feedback mechanism to the university regarding the effectiveness of its educational program. Employers have important contributions to make in the identification of the learner outcomes regarding career.

· A “career portfolio” is one possible focal point of a program to enhance workforce skills of FSU graduates. Portfolio development could be incorporated into the SDS 3340 course. This portfolio program could also be initiated by lower division students or final term seniors, and it might provide documentation to employers regarding specific learning activities undertaken by the student to operationalize a strategic career plan.

Synthesis

In CIP theory, synthesis involves reviewing all possible options for program design and operation. For example, one might envision a grid with one side listing workforce skills and the other side listing alternative methods for developing such competencies. The identification of all variables in such a grid is beyond the scope of this paper. However, several aspects of a possible career portfolio program are noted below.

· Program initiated and managed by FSU students in consultation with career services professionals.

· Program available in both a course format and noncredit learning activities.

· Program has a strong academic content base, e.g., Career Development and Planning: A Cognitive Approach (textbook presently underdevelopment at FSU).

· Course instruction eventually available in alternative formats, e.g., self-paced modules, distance learning, weekend workshops.

· Courseware available in varied sites, e.g., FSU Career Center, public library, Internet.

· Program competencies certified by a panel of FSU employers, e.g., Placement Partners, Florida Chamber of Commerce.

· Program would encompass most learning activities presently available through the FSU Career Center (full development of this program idea would require additional funding for the Career Center).

Valuing

In CIP theory, valuing involves examining all the possible program alternatives identified in synthesis and prioritizing alternative program options that will remove the gaps identified in the communication stage of the CASVE Cycle. In this preliminary paper, we can illustrate this process by selecting the career portfolio option as a programmatic solution to the four gaps identified earlier.

A career portfolio might include lists of workforce skills identified by employers that FSU students could use to think more strategically about their career planning. The career portfolio could also list alternative credit and noncredit activities that would enable students to certify their capability to demonstrate various workforce skills and competencies.

The content basis of the career portfolio would include knowledge in course materials included in SDS 3340, as well as other learning activities already available to FSU students irregardless of their major. Engaging in specified career portfolio activities would enable FSU to conceptualize and promote how these learning events enhance the workforce development of FSU students.

The career portfolio would also enable employers of FSU graduates to participate in selecting generic workforce development skills desired in new hires. Taken together, the career portfolio might assist students in thinking more strategically about their careers and to align their career goals more closely with the workforce trends in Florida and the nation.

Execution

In CIP theory, execution would involve a tryout of a career portfolio program or some other program option on some limited basis. Pending a formal request from administrative leaders or groups (an RFP), execution would require the development of a full program proposal specifying all the personnel, materials, facilities, and organizational arrangements needed to launch a program. Given present staff commitments and constraints, it is anticipated that the development of such a proposal would take 10-12 months.

Many of the learning resources and intellectual capital needed to launch a career portfolio program are already available at FSU. In this sense, the career portfolio program could be infused into already existing organizational structures and programs; it would not need to be “added on” to what is already present. The Tech Center could provide leadership in this endeavor.

However, new staff resources would be required to offer this program on an extended basis and 10 months are needed to complete the SDS 3340 courseware materials presently under development. Other resource needs would await the development of a formal program proposal.

Summary

This paper has briefly outlined an approach to helping FSU students develop a strategic career vision that reflects the realities of present and future workforce needs in Florida. A very preliminary review suggests that a career portfolio program might provide a way for students to develop workforce skills that will provide a foundation for career success. The Cognitive Information Processing theory developed by FSU faculty and staff was used to guide the development of this program idea.

References

Peterson, G., Sampson, J., & Reardon, R. (1991). Career development and services: A cognitive approach. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Peterson, G., Sampson, J., & Reardon, R., & Lenz, J. (1996). A cognitive information processing approach. In D. Brown & L. Brooks (Eds.), Career choice and development (3rd ed., pp. 423-475). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Sears, S. (1982). A definition of career guidance terms: A National Vocational Guidance Association perspective. Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 31, 137-143.

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[1] Contributing authors: Dr. Jeff Garis, Dr. Janet Lenz, Dr. Gary Peterson, Dr. Jim Sampson.

[2] Center for the Study of Technology in Counseling and Career Development, a unit of the Career Center (Division of Student Affairs) and the Department of Human Services and Studies (College of Education), at The Florida State University.