About the Career Pathing Program
The Career Pathing Program is in the pilot stages at Northwest and is an enhanced Student Employment Program. The Program came about as a result of a collection of research. Northwest conducted its first Student Employment Satisfaction Survey in 2003. The information collected from the survey along with research conducted by a Marketing Research Class Project initiated the development of the Career Pathing Program.
Student Employment Satisfaction Survey
The Student Employment Satisfaction Survey was implemented to enhance student employment at Northwest by gaining insight into the attitudes and opinions of current on-campus student employees.
The Student Employment Satisfaction Survey is conducted annually. The participation of the survey has continually increased over the years since it has begun. In November 2006 nearly 80% of all student employees participated in the survey.
Some of the conclusions of the first survey conduced in November 2003 were:
- Student employees wanted the opportunity for advancements in pay with increased responsibility and challenges
- Student employees wanted the opportunity to build relations that would enhance future careers
Marketing Research Project
The objective of a Marketing Research Project completed by seven Northwest students was to gather information on other training/compensation based programs at other colleges and universities. The research was conducted in Spring 2004. There were 38 out of 41 peer institutions that were contacted by telephone and participated in a survey.
Conclusions of the Marketing Research Project
- Jobs are on an application basis
- The Student Employment Office is usually located in the Office of Financial Aid
- Most peer institutions do NOT have student employment training/orientation of any kind
- There is a lack of advancement opportunities offered to student employees.
- A large amount of schools reported they would like to offer a training program or more training if they already had one.
Career Pathing Program Criteria for Advancement
Student employees have the opportunity to advance to a new level of pay and responsibility once they have completed the specified criteria.
- A student employee must work both fall and spring in the same Pilot Program Department.
- A student employee must attend at least 3 out of the 8 trainings offered per trimester.
- A student employee must have a satisfactory performance evaluation completed by their supervisor.
Levels of Advancement
| Level |
Title |
Wage Increase |
Example |
| Level I |
Student Employee |
Starting Salary |
$6.65 |
| Level II |
Student Assistant |
Pay plus raise of $0.25 |
$6.90 |
| Level III |
Student Associate |
Raise another $0.25 |
$7.15 |
| Level IV |
Student Manager |
Raise another $0.25 |
$7.40 |
| Level V |
Student Trainer |
Raise $0.50 |
$7.90 |
Career Pathing Participation
Spring 2005
- 12 Departments participated in the pilot with a total of approximately 100 student employees (10% of population)
- 47 of the participants advanced to Level II (Student Assistant)
Fall 2005
- 17 Departments participated in the pilot with a total of approximately 160 student employees (20% of population)
- 14 of the participants advanced to Level II (Student Assistant) and 11 advanced to Level III (Student Associate)
Fall 2006
- 28 Departments participated in the pilot with a total of approximately 230 student employees (30% of population)
- 7 of the participants advanced to Level II (Student Assistant)
Spring 2007
- 31 Departments participated in the pilot with a total of approximately 245 student employees
- 32 of the participants advanced to Level II (Student Assistant), 1 advanced to Level III (Student Associate), and 4 advanced to Level IV (Student Manager)
Fall 2007
- 32 Departments participated in the pilot with a total of approximately 248 student employees
- 7 of the participants advanced to Level II (Student Assistant), 1 advanced to Level III (Student Associate), and 1 advanced to Level IV (Student Manager)
Spring 2008
- 32 Departments partcipated in the pilot with a total of approximately 262 student employees
- 16 of the participants advanced to Level II (Student Assistant), 15 advanced to Level III (Student Associate), and 1 advanced to Level V (Student Manager)
Career Pathing Results
- Promotes increased student employee responsibility
- Creates opportunities for pay advancement
- Encourages continual feedback for personal development and professional development
- Promotes long-term employment relationships with departments
- Contributes to Northwest's Service Initiative and Culture