Case Study: WorkKeys^® Integral to Curricula in Associate's Degree Programs at Central New Mexico Community College

September 2009

The Organization:
Central New Mexico Community College

The Challenge:
Ensuring students are adequately prepared for occupational programs, evaluating student and program performance, and graduating students with the skill levels they need to succeed

The Solution:
Incorporating WorkKeys assessments into the curricula leading to many associate's degree and certificate programs

The Results:

• Students learn skills that help prepare them for lifelong learning and career success
• Graduates are more competitive in seeking employment
• Faculty members see more highly qualified students enter their programs and more highly competent graduates exit
• Employers have a less subjective way of measuring applicants
• The college gains an objective way of measuring successes across programs and in comparison to other institutions

Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) recently became the largest postsecondary institution in the state. With enrollments approaching 27,000 part-time and full-time students, demand has extended the waiting list for many of the college's most popular programs. Students may wait as long as three years for admission, with some choosing to leave their programs in the first semester because they weren't adequately prepared for the academic demands of the curricula. This situation frustrates students, faculty, and administrators, as well as those remaining on waiting lists.

Faculty and administrators face other demands, as well. Many students complete their required coursework and graduate with respectable grade point averages, but some fail to demonstrate the core employability skills they need to be successful in their chosen careers. At the same time, faculty members and administrators need better methods of evaluating students and programs to measure performance within CNM and with other colleges.

"We had challenges selecting the right students, ensuring that our graduates were really prepared for their careers, and measuring the success of our efforts on an individual and program basis," said David Licht, who serves as a career analyst at the college. "It was clear that an objective measuring tool was needed." Licht joined CNM in 2001 to develop WorkKeys job profiles and work with faculty to explore methods of integrating WorkKeys assessments into the curriculum. He admits that he struggled at first, but he no longer has to "sell" the idea—now faculty members come to him.

As acceptance has grown, Licht said that, "we now use WorkKeys extensively to measure student academic achievement. It is much more effective to use a nationally recognized, validated, and objective test instead of one homegrown rubric or another. Homegrown measurement tools are open to interpretation by every instructor or administrator. If everyone uses the same test, you have a more objective way of determining real skill levels."

Licht said that once faculty members fully understand the value of integrating the WorkKeys system into their curricula, they discover that their students "are not only learning essential employability skills, they are gaining proficiency in fundamental learning skills. These are skills that support lifelong learning."

"Instructors really bought into the value of WorkKeys assessments when they saw that they could turn out better graduates in terms of their career-specific skills, as well as their ability to learn new skills for a lifetime."

David Licht, Career Analyst, Central New Mexico Community College

As an example, he cites an analysis he conducted using the required textbooks, readings, and lecture content associated with one CNM program. The analysis concluded that minimum score levels in two WorkKeys skill areas—Listening and Reading for Information—would help ensure student success in the program. Faculty members quickly recognized that this approach would enable them to "raise the bar on the technical side," because they could be confident their students were capable of studying materials and mastering technical concepts that are more complex. "Instructors really bought into the value of WorkKeys assessments when they saw that they could turn out better graduates in terms of their career-specific skills, as well as their ability to learn new skills for a lifetime," said Licht.

WorkKeys assessments are used at CNM in a variety of ways:

• As an entry requirement—Some programs use the assessments to ensure incoming students have the skills needed for academic success.
• As an exit requirement—Students must complete assessments in order to graduate from some programs leading to an associate's degree or technical proficiency certificate.
• As an evaluation measure—Students complete assessments in the early stages of some programs and are tested again before they finish to document gains achieved.

CNM currently employs WorkKeys assessments as part of 18 associate's degree programs (see table). In addition, a number of the college's technical proficiency certificate programs, including Dental Assistant, Clinical Laboratory Assistant, and Phlebotomist, incorporate the WorkKeys system into their curricula. The list continues to grow as additional programs are added.

Licht's expertise as a WorkKeys job profiler plays an instrumental role in curriculum development, as well. He developed a profile for one CNM program that was just beginning to use WorkKeys assessments. When faculty members reviewed the profile report and critical task list, they indicated that these documents essentially defined the curriculum for them. Licht also noted that some programs, such as Dental Assistant, are using the profile task list to help students self-assess skill levels. Students are asked to rate themselves on a scale of zero to five for each task identified by the job profile—a zero if they have not yet performed the task, a five if they feel they are very proficient. Results of these self-assessments help guide the allocation of teaching time, enabling faculty to focus on building proficiencies directly related to critical tasks.

WorkKeys assessment scores contribute to student grades in many CNM programs. "Capstone" classes, which are one-credit-hour competency courses taken as students prepare to exit a program, require successful completion of three to eight WorkKeys assessments. According to Licht, 20 percent of a student's grade is based on WorkKeys scores in most Capstone classes. The Criminal Justice associate's degree program has used the WorkKeys system training for seven years and now requires students to complete eight WorkKeys foundational skills assessments to graduate. WorkKeys scores account for 30 percent of a student's grade in the Criminal Justice Capstone course.

"Our graduates consistently come back and tell us how important it was for them when they began their new careers, and how much they appreciate the value of improving their skills."

Kevin Daugherty, Director, Criminal Justice Program, Central New Mexico Community College

"The benefits have been significant," said Kevin Daugherty, director of CNM's Criminal Justice program. "We see our students' academic performance improve in all their coursework as their WorkKeys skill levels improve. At the time, the students may not like the extra work this requires. But our graduates consistently come back and tell us how important it was for them when they began their new careers, and how much they appreciate the value of improving their skills."

"I'm a big fan of WorkKeys assessments," said Licht, who recognizes the significant advantages shared by all stakeholders engaged in the New Mexico initiative to upskill the state's workforce:

• Students benefit because they become more competitive in their search for employment.
• Faculty members benefit from higher-quality students entering their programs and more highly skilled graduates exiting CNM for a four-year degree or to begin a career and more objective methods of evaluating students.
• Employers benefit from more reliable methods of evaluating job applicants, often resulting in reduced turnover and lower training costs.
• The college benefits by instituting an objective means of measuring success across its programs and in comparison to those of other institutions.

"We consider Central New Mexico Community College to be a major mover in economic development," said Licht. "An important part of our mission is to help provide New Mexico with the most highly trained labor force possible so we can be more competitive nationally and globally. WorkKeys assessments help us do just that."

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