External Reviews

Back by popular demand, SoACE is proud to offer External Reviews (either in person or virtual) to all member schools.  An External Review is a service provided for interested schools to help enhance organizational performance.  We are now taking requests for external reviews that will occur in December 2021.  Be a part of this exciting opportunity to keep your organization on the cutting edge of our industry.

Interested in Being Reviewed? Click Here

Interested in Being on a Review Committee? Click Here

For questions, please contact Courtney Edwards, Louisiana State University, SoACE Chair - Consulting Services Committee, [email protected] or Emmanuela Stanislaus, Florida International University, SoACE Assistant Chair - Consulting Services Committee, [email protected].

Interested in Being Reviewed?

In person external reviews typically entail a site visit by a consulting/engagement team, whereas a virtual external reviews entail virtual engagements with the consulting team. The team provides a professional evaluation and recommendation on the effectiveness of your campus relations/college recruiting operations.

Each SoACE consulting team typically consists of 2-4 representatives from career centers and employers (optional). This combination provides the client with the requisite variety of expertise and experience to help them answer questions such as:

• How progressive is our organization?
• What does our organization need to do to make it or keep it cutting edge?
• What should be done or eliminated in order for us to be more efficient and effective? If the office is efficient and effective, how can it remain so for the next 5 years?

In addition to answering the above questions, a consulting team will provide useful feedback which may result from:

• SWOT Analysis: An overview of organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
• GAP Analysis: Examination of the current state and future/intended state analyzing the tactics and strategic changes required to achieve the intended state.
• Cost Benefit Analysis: Determined Break-even points for increased investments in products, services, staffing level offerings.
• Benchmarking Analysis: Comparison of world class business practices or procedures that may improve organizational synergy and operational efficiencies.

Possible methods to use on your visit include:

• Employee interviews to include management, peers, and subordinates
• Customer/client interviews
• Competitor profiling
• Job content analysis
• Job shadow sessions
• Employee, customer, and management surveys
• Focus groups
• Market research to include examination of labor market conditions, other environmental factors

Timeline

For in person reviews, to ensure enough time for planning the site visit, please allow 3 months (6 is ideal) of planning time before the proposed site visit date.  For virtual reviews, please allow 3-4 months of planning before the review start date.

For more information, please visit the SoACE External Review Consulting Visit Form.

Interested in Being on a Review Committee?

SoACE is proud to offer a curriculum-based training for members who wish to be a part of an External Review Committee.  Trainings are offered a few times per year and any potential reviewer only needs to participate in one training session (where all training modules are completed) to be placed in the database of professionals that may be asked to serve on an external review team. 

Participant Qualifications

The lead reviewer will always be a director of a career center.  The minimum qualifications (for both lead and team members) to attend the training are:

• 10 years of experience in the profession (career and/or HR)
• Supervisor support desirable but not required
• Supervisory experience desirable but not required

Please see attached for the Training Curriculum. 

For More Information