Dive Brief:
- An online college and career mapping tool helps students determine which majors are likely to yield their ideal mobility in professional, personal development.
- The 'Launch My Career' online guide, which debuted in Colorado and Tennessee and will add Minnesota and Texas next year, provides students with analytics on projected earnings, career satisfaction, and job demand based upon graduate feedback from professionals in their states and program performance metrics.
- The technology has received grant support from USA Funds, and officials say states which collect and produce specific data relative to college outcomes are in the best position to use the technology.
Dive Insight:
Researchers have recently examined the negative impact rankings have on schools, and this new tool serves as yet another ranking measure, which could impact recruitment and reporting. Much in the way the federal College Scorecard threatened funding and enrollment for schools who weren't seen as measuring up, this tool could provide another barrier to recruitment as students seek to evaluate quality of life after college, defined by earning potential and personal satisfaction.
Colleges in these states may have to more clearly define outcomes to account for the 'Launch My Career' emphasis on income and lifestyle. Metrics like graduate school entry, study abroad opportunities, and scholarship availability, may present alternatives views of what a school can offer, and how certain campuses can be professionally beneficial beyond the borders of a campus, or even a state.