Best Practices: Harper College

Harper College, a community college in Palatine, Illinois, helps students on probation by providing intrusive advising so that their academic struggles can be addressed and students can achieve academic success. One method to help students is to incorporate the Clifton StrengthsFinder into individual and group counseling. When students know about their strengths -- or even become aware that they have strengths -- they are more likely to have positive feelings about their abilities.

Under the direction of the Director of Academic Advising and Counseling, a strengths-based counseling and advising team met several times in fall and spring 2010. The team developed a pilot program that involved incorporating a strengths-based approach in group and individual advising and counseling. A training session for all counselors was held in fall 2009 and continued in staff meetings throughout the year. A group workshop and online tutorial was piloted in October 2009 for students interested in the strengths approach but who had not necessarily taken the StrengthsFinder. This workshop remains active on the Harper College student portal.

To focus on the needs of students on probation, an online tutorial was created to increase student awareness of the strengths-based approach as part of small group counseling and advising sessions. During these groups, students were encouraged to share information about their unique Signature Themes and ways in which they had developed them or used them to achieve success in academics or in other aspects of life. Participants were also encouraged to think of ways that they could apply their strengths toward academics. With professional counselors facilitating the groups, student participation was active and concrete, and many action-oriented ideas were developed. Students often expressed an increased sense of hope regarding future academic achievement and gratitude that their talents had been identified. This was a refreshing alternative to their typical experiences of negative feedback. Similar reactions were voiced during individual sessions. The number of individuals served in fall 2009 was 509, and 108 were served through groups.

Surveys were completed to judge the effectiveness of individual and group counseling/advising sessions. Of a sample of 31 probation students who received strengths-based individual advising/counseling during Spring 2010:

• 97% indicated "strongly agree" or "agree" with the point-of-contact survey item "I am more aware of how to use my personal strengths to improve my academic standing."
• 97% listed at least one way in which they planned to use their personal strengths to improve their academic standing, with a mean of 2.9 strategies listed.

Of a sample of 44 probation students receiving strengths-based group advising/ counseling during fall 2009 and spring 2010:

• 100% 0 indicated "strongly agree" or "agree" with the statement "I am more aware of how to use my personal strengths to improve my academic standing."
• 100% listed at least one way in which they planned to use their personal strengths to improve their academic standing, with a mean of 3.9 strategies listed.

Of the 47 students completing the assessment following the online tutorial, 100% indicated "strongly agree" or "agree" with the statement "I now have a general understanding of the strengths approach," "I see how discovering my talents and developing them into strengths can benefit me," and "I intend to take the StrengthsFinder assessment to discover my talents."

In fall 2009, a sample of 405 individuals probation students who received strengths-based counseling/ advising and enrolled for fall received individual counseling/advising using a strengths-based approach. These students achieved a 96% fall semester completion rate, a 79.5% fall to spring retention rate, and a 65.8% fall GPA of 2.0 or greater. A sample of 436 students who received strengths-based counseling/ advising in fall 2009 and enrolled in spring 2010 achieved a 93.6% spring semester completion rate and a 70.3% spring GPA of 2.0 or greater.

Using Strengths in Career Counseling

The Career Center at Harper College, a 2-year community college in Palatine, Illinois, is using strengths in Career Counseling in three ways: For undecided students in one-on-one appointments, through a workshop and in job search assistance.

One-on-One Appointments. Strengths are a natural fit with the topics that typically surface in career counseling. When a student is undecided about a major or a career, one of the ways in which a counselor might try to help the student become more focused will be through the use of the StrengthsFinder and other inventories. A code for the student to take the StrengthsFinder is given at the same time that a referral is made for the student to take the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The student will then set up two or more return appointments to review the results of the inventories. Typically, once the student has received an interpretation of their Strong and Myers-Briggs results, along with lists of the careers that seem to mesh well with those results, the counselor then will ask the student to spend some time reviewing his or her results and choosing the top three to five careers that most intrigue him or her.

Time is then spent with the student discussing his or her Signature Themes and asking about ways the student sees himself or herself using those strengths in daily life. Looking back at the careers suggested by the previous inventories, the student determines how his or her strengths might be used in those careers. Together, the counselor and student brainstorm ways in which each strength might come into play with each career. Students often feel affirmed in their strengths and the ways that their natural tendencies could be used in careers of interest. Whe Career Center Surveys were collected in spring 2010, 100% of students responded positively to the statement "As a result of this visit, I have a better understanding of how I can make career/major choices."

Group Workshops. The Career Center uses StrengthsFinder for its undecided students in a six-hour workshop called "Major in Success!" In much the same way as an individual appointment, students take career assessments for personality and interests along with StrengthsFinder. The group facilitator helps students explore the results to create a picture for decision making. The advantage of a group workshop is that students become aware that they are not the only students who are undecided and that there are many options to explore. Participants respond especially positively to the results from StrengthsFinder. In evaluations of the program, students were asked to rate their agreement with the statement "As a result of taking the StrengthsFinder, I have a greater understanding of my unique strengths" on a scale of 1 to 5; the average rating was 4.33. Students were also asked "As a result of this activity, are you able to identify possible options for your college major and/or career?", and 100% answered yes.

Job Search. Incorporating strengths in the job search -- in resumes, cover letters, and interviewing -- is a powerful tool that can separate job candidates from other applicants.

• Job Search. Students are encouraged to use their strengths to analyze job descriptions and determine their fit for the position. They are also encouraged to tailor their resumes to reflect their individual strengths, experience, and skills. For the experienced candidate, unique strengths should be noted when writing the career summary portion of the resume. For example, "Responsible professional adept at dealing with problems and cultivating the potential in others." (Responsibility, Restorative, Developer)
• Cover Letter. Job seekers should focus on their talents and strengths to present themselves as an attractive candidate for the position by demonstrating their qualifications for the position.
• Interviewing . Many employers ask, "What are your strengths?" This should be an easy question to answer. It is important for job seekers to know their top five strengths and describe them in a way that an employer will understand. For instance, if one of their strengths is "Maximizer," an employer may not be familiar with that term. Rather than saying "Maximizer," the candidate can describe that they have a talent to stimulate personal and group excellence, being sure to give an example of that talent. Candidates should also weave their strengths into their other answers and be prepared for an interview by practicing their answers to sample questions out loud.

Other Resources. All students have access to "Strengths Central," a display rack that holds 34 sheets, one for each strength. These handouts, adapted from the StrengthsQuest book, highlight how to use a strength in academics and career.

Students are referred to the online textbook, StrengthsQuest, at http://www.strengthsquest.com/ for the chapter on "Applying Your Talents in Careers" for additional information on how they can use their strengths in choosing a career.