Coaching for Higher Education
The Problem
Do you remember when you were in college? Did you spend the first year or so in and out of the academic advisor’s office changing your every few weeks? When you finally did decide on a major, were you unsure of where to go from there?.
A 2019 study by Ellucian found that members of Generation Z struggle to pick a major and are not confident in their career path. While settling on a major might help narrow down industries for students, there is only so much an academic advisor can do to help students unearth what they want to do, what it will take to get there, and how they will get there.
This confusion, coupled with the fact that students don’t seek needed guidance and/or become obsessed with a prescriptive plan for how they will reach their goals (assuming they know what their goals are), can breed even more uncertainty and frustration for students.
So how do we as coaches convince college students that they could benefit from career coaching?
Making it easy
When you think about the challenges college students face such as adjusting to life without their parents, having to complete high-stakes assessments and projects, and navigating new social paradigms, to name a few, it makes sense that they wouldn’t actively try to add another obligation to their schedule, even if it does benefit them.
Coaching can be expensive, time-consuming, and even emotionally draining, and students may not even realize that coaching is worth seeking out in the first place. Even if they do, the process of searching may be enough of a barrier itself.
To get students to seek out coaching, you must make it easy, and you must make it obvious.
One of the best ways to do that is to reach out to local universities and convince them to set up and subsidize career coaching programs within the university for students.
Most universities are already invested in some form of career guidance for students and alumni and figuring out which universities have gaps that coaching could fill is the best way to get your foot in the door.
Running the program
While the politics of setting up career coaching in a university warrants a separate article, once the program is set up, running it is essential to success.
For one thing, flexibility of location is important for college students, especially since Covid made it clear that most work can be done from anywhere. Making coaching programs accessible via video chat, remote communication, and hybrid events is no longer an incentive, but an expectation.
In addition, empathy is important in any context, but especially with college students. While time misuse is never acceptable and should be addressed, be understanding of missed appointments, lack of preparation, and low commitment – many college students are dealing with irregular schedules and an immense pressure to perform, and so understanding and working around their challenges will encourage them to do their part and get the most out of coaching.
Finally, keeping track of how your coaching program creates value for the university is how you can ensure longevity. Are students who were coached by your program returning to mentor other students as alumni? Are they donating to the program or recommending it to other students? Is the coaching program helping the university get recognized for its student resources in the news and in the community? Quantifying this impact and communicating it to the right stakeholders will increase the lifespan and reach of your coaching program within the university.
Reaching Out
After working with student coaching programs at the University of Pennsylvania for almost two decades – I know that coaching for higher education is rewarding. You not only get to witness students discover what they want out of life, you get to help them chase it.
If you’re a coach and this is a field you’re passionate about or want to explore, reach out to me using my contact form or connect with me on LinkedIn to start a conversation.
Warmly,
Anne Stamer
President and CEO
Stamer Coaching & Consulting