ONE CLASS, MANY DIRECTIONS:
EXPLORATION IN THE CLASSROOM
Tiffany Fritz
Academic Advisor and ALS 114 Coordinator
Oregon State University
A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT…
Academic Learning Services (ALS) 114: Career
Decision Making is a 2-credit, graded elective
class that provides structure to students’
academic and career exploration to help them
make well-informed decisions regarding their
futures.
 Restricted to students with less than 90 quarter
credits (first and second year students)
 ALS 114 meets twice a week – one hour is lecture
based and a second hour is small group
discussion with activities to help students explore
individual career paths.

A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT
The class has been housed in University
Exploratory Studies Program (UESP) since 1995
 Coordinated and taught by an advisor within
UESP with the help of campus professionals,
graduate teaching assistants, and interns
 I took over the class fall of 2008 – shift in
perspective/philosophy

WHY RESTRICT ENROLLMENT?
To get first and second year students thinking
about academic options and career development
early in their academic careers
 Heavily geared towards self-assessment and
exploration
 Exposes them to resources early in their
academic careers

WHO ENROLLS IN THE COURSE?
University Exploratory Studies Program
students and students in declared majors
 Students who have identified a major, but are
unsure what they would like to do with it
 Students that have identified a career field, but
are unsure how to get there
 Students that are unsure about both their
academic and career options
 Students that have been advised to take the class
by their advisors, but aren’t quite sure why they
are in the class… 

ALS 114 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the conclusion of the course students will:
1. Know how the career/life decision-making
model can be used to make exciting career
choices.
2. Have identified career-related values,
interests and personality and use this
information to consider college majors and
careers.
3. Know how and where to gather information
in the present and future, about college
majors, careers, and the job market.
ALS 114 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the conclusion of the course students will:
4. Know how to effectively explore occupational
possibilities and obtain the information for
informed decision-making.
5. Have developed effective written and oral
communication skills for the world of work.
ALS 114 ENROLLMENT DATA 2011-2012
Fall 2011
 Total enrollment: 85 students
 Percentage of the class coded as UESP: 74%
 Winter 2012
 Total enrollment: 85 students
 Percentage of the class coded as UESP: 69%
 Spring 2012
 Total enrollment: 87 students
 Percentage of the class coded as UESP: 61%

ALS 114 ENROLLMENT DATA 2012-2013
Fall 2012
 Total enrollment: 75 students
 Percentage of the class coded as UESP: 72%
 Winter 2013
 Total enrollment: 87 students
 Percentage of the class coded as UESP: 71%
 Spring 2013
 Total enrollment: 74 students
 Percentage of the class coded as UESP: 62%

PHILOSOPHY: CAREER DECISION MAKING
MODEL
Assess yourself
Explore academic
& career options
Decide and act
CAREER DECISION MAKING CONTINUUM
Very
Decided
Tentatively
Decided
You know!
Confident,
beginning
to
implement
In Process!
Perhaps
feeling
pressure to
make the
right choice
Undecided
Seriously
Undecided
Indecisive
Feel
Feel
Not Ready
Overwhelmed Incapacitated
Actively
No idea
High level of
exploring,
where to
anxiety,
some anxiety
start, and
unclear of
but you know
your goals at anxious about
you’ll figure
looking
this time
it out
SELF ASSESSMENT – CAREER
COMPONENTS
Personality
Skills
Career
Options
Interests
Values
SELF ASSESSMENT
Skills Inventory
 Hard skills versus soft skills
 Transferable skills
 Values Identification and Ranking
 Strong Interest Inventory
 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

EXPLORING ACADEMIC AND CAREER
OPTIONS
Online Resources
 Oregon State University website
 Sigi³
 Occupational Outlook Handbook
 Career Services website
 College Presentations
 Informational Interviews
 Roadtrip Nation
 Career Services/Career Fair
 Experiential and Service Learning

DECIDE AND ACT
Goal Setting (SMART Goals)
 Specific
 Measurable
 Attainable/Action-Oriented
 Realistic/Relevant
 Time-Oriented
 Money Matters
 Active Reflection
 Identification of transferable skills
 Engaging in the decision making process

ALS 114 ASSIGNMENTS OVERVIEW
Assignment
Format
Learning Outcomes
Values Reflection Paper
Out of class
2, 5
Assessments Reflection
Paper
Out of class
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
College Exploration
Worksheet
In class
2, 3, 4
Informational Interview
(Proposal, Summary, Pres.)
Out of class/In
class
2, 3, 4, 5
SIGI³ Worksheet
In class
2, 3, 4
Career Research
Assignment
Out of class
2, 3, 4
Final Paper
Out of class
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
FEEDBACK AND EVALUATIONS

"This course has taught me a good number of
things about myself. A lot of the activities helped
me learn more about myself and I think that is
great. My interests have become a lot clearer to
me now so I can move forward with the process of
making a career decision." (winter 2012)
FEEDBACK AND EVALUATIONS

“I really liked taking the MBTI and SII, to see
which jobs fit my type of values and
characteristics. I also like learning more about
my values. Beaver job net was also a handy tool
available for us to use. I had no idea about it
before and now I will look into careers using
this.” (winter 2013)
FEEDBACK AND EVALUATIONS

"Thank you so much for helping me through my
decision making. I feel confident that I have the
correct tools if I ever change my mind again. I'm
so grateful to have had the experiences I had in
your class. Thank you so much!" (fall 2012)
ALS 114 INSTRUCTION
Professional Advisors
 Career Services Counselors
 Graduate Teaching Assistants
 Graduate Interns
 Counseling and Psychological Services Interns
 Teaching Faculty

ALS 114 INSTRUCTION…IS IT
SUSTAINABLE?

Things to consider:
 How often is it offered?
 What is the structure of the class? Discussion?
Lecture?
 Who do you have teaching the class?
 What office/department/college is supporting
the course?
QUESTIONS? WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON
YOUR CAMPUS?