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2 The Integration of Targeted Academic Resources and Guided Pathways

As Kirkwood continues to implement the guided pathways model and explores the trend of awarding digital badges,  the committee suggests the strategic integration of academic resources in conjunction with these efforts. The Guided Pathways Model is an integrated, institution-wide approach to student success. This approach consists of clear, coherent, and structured educational experiences, guiding each student effectively and efficiently from their point of entry through graduation.

Kirkwood Program Areas

Lorraine County Community College in Ohio raises a critical question in the application of guided pathways: “How does infrastructure facilitate improved student progress and persistence in their pathway?” The answer to this question may lie in the clear alignment between academic services and program areas.

Support services like tutoring, writing services, and career services can be aligned with program areas, allowing students to experience a community of students and faculty with similar career interests, program area-specific resources, career exploration, and skill-building. Currently, when asked how well Kirkwood is preparing students for career readiness, the fall 2023 survey of Kirkwood students indicates that approximately 70% of students “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that Kirkwood was adequately preparing them to be successful in the workplace. Developing strategic intersections between support programs and career paths could improve that measure.

For example, Career Services could highlight a career path such as a “data analyst” currently categorized as a potential career under the “Business” pathway. The unique opportunity to explore this career path and learn from a practitioner in the field could be strategically offered to students in the business program area and/or related program areas.

If each academic resource were to offer aligned opportunities with guided pathways, students may experience a more personalized education in alignment with their selected program area while building practical workplace skills for their future.

This strategy is currently being implemented by Lehigh Carbon Community College in Pennsylvania. After institutionalizing the Guided Pathways approach, LCCC found increased student success rates when integrating academic services within program areas.

In a related effort, Kirkwood is currently exploring the implementation of student badges. A digital badge recognizes that a student has mastered a specific skill or achieved a milestone. When applied, students can earn digital badges for out-of-class learning achievements or career-related skills. The University of Nebraska Omaha offers a similar approach to badging and recognizes one of the many benefits is that badges can motivate students to participate actively in educational activities. As stated in the article, “They break learning into smaller, achievable goals, fostering a sense of accomplishment and progress.”

Academic support services may in the future offer programming in alignment with digital badge offerings, incentivizing students to engage more frequently and thoughtfully with the resources available to them.

 

 

 

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Increasing Awareness of and Access to Academic Resources Copyright © 2023 by rbiderman. All Rights Reserved.