AFRICAN CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE II GRADUATE TRACER STUDIES

AFRICAN CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE II GRADUATE TRACER STUDIES ACE II Technical and Advisory Meeting Addis Ababa, April 28 2017

WHAT ARE GRADUATE TRACER STUDIES? ACE II Ø GTS are surveys designed to capture critical labor market information on graduates of HE and TVET institutions ØMost ACEs and host universities do not systematically trace their graduates Ø A planning tool for ACEs ØCan be expanded to include Employer Surveys to understand demand for skills and their feedback on the graduates’ performance and their suggestions on how to improve the skills 2

Example of employer survey questions ACE II 3

Example of employer survey questions ACE II 4

WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION IS GATHERED ACE II ØThe content of the GTS varies– the more detailed, the more interesting ØObjective information: ØBackground information: gender, household size, household heads education level etc. (used in regression analysis) ØProgram information (first degree, field, was it first choice, type of programpart-time, full-time, day time, night time etc. ) ØEmployment ( where they work, type of employment and status, how many months to find, remuneration etc. ) ØSubjective information: ØPreparation level for work place in terms of skills, knowledge. ØRating of study provisions and conditions in the program ØIdentify weaknesses in program, incl. irrelevant courses ØSuggested improvements to program 5

WHEN TO CONDUCT A GRADUATE TRACER STUDY? ACE II ØThe points of data collection vary, depending on the predefined objectives of the institutions Education program Graduating cohort Exit survey Graduate Tracer Study Graduation + 1 year Graduate Tracer Study Graduation + 3 years ØIdeally an annual exercise 6

WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES OF GTS? ACE II ØInformation is empowering for the institution, the students • Evaluate the relevance of programs offered in labor market • Development of institution curriculum/ course • Accountability mechanism which contributes to accreditation process [benchmarking] DATA FROM SURVEYS • Source of information for students, parents, lecturers and administrators 7 Based on University Kassel INGRANET schema

WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES OF GTS? (2) ACE II ØAccountability: Developing best practices at the institutional level. ØLinked to DLR 2. 8 : Institutions participating in benchmarking exercise which will include GTS ØInformation for students, parents, administrators and faculty: ØAdministrators may use the information as marketing tool for programs ØDeveloping direct channels with employers/private sectors– jobs fairs, direct recruitment ØTool for administrators: e. g. using data from strong programs to support the creation of financing instruments with commercial banks to allow a greater number of students to enroll (repayment upon employment) 8

DESIGN OF GTS ACE II ØThe design of the survey should be informed by the predefined objectives (what information is the institution seeking, how is it going to use the information) ØConsiderations: ØAll graduates or sample-based? ØAt what level? (Institution, Faculty, Department) ØCross-sectional or panel surveys? ØFrequency- graduation+ 6 months, graduation+ 1 year, graduation+ 1. 5 years, graduation+ 3 years…or combination 9

APPROACHES TO GRADUATE TRACER STUDIES ACE II ØSome of considerations/ trade-offs in deciding on the type of GTS: ØCost constraints: all graduates or sample-based, cross-sectional or panel, how many data points for each cohort ØCapacity to carry out this exercise on an annual basis: 1. Developing in-house capacity within the planning and development departments of HEIs. Numerous customizable tools are available online (INGRADNET e. g. ) 2. Contracting out the task: this allows to build on the expertise of companies specializing in this type of task, and may ensure greater efficiency and accountability (MYCOS has a portfolio of 900 universities) • Caveats: contractors should be well-versed in the context of the institutions and labor market • It may come at a higher cost 10

CHALLENGES ACE II ØData, data: the single most important source of information to ensure a successful GTS is the student information. ØAvailability of exploitable student records at the HEI level is key. There is often inaccurate, incomplete or missing information on the student, including contact information which is key to ensure a successful implementation ØLow response rates (especially through online) ØThe practice could be institutionalized. For example, requiring students to complete online data surveys prior as pre-requisite to conferring of degree ØDevelop incentives to motivate students to participate post-graduation 11

Thank You