Monday, December 21, 2020

CollegeNET's StandOut AI Video Practice Prepares Students to Excel in Job Interviews

The StandOut® video interviewing system boosts confidence and develops critically important interviewing skills in the age of social distancing

Here's the latest customer feedback about StandOut:

“As soon as we looked into StandOut, we understood it was more impressive than anything else on the market. The bank of questions, the ability to customize questions, and the AI speech recognition all blew us away. It perfectly complemented the work we were already doing on career and professional development. It’s really a plug and play model – we were up and running with it in three days. And the students immediately loved it. It’s easy to use; they can review and re-record their practice interviews, and they get instantaneous feedback. We see it as a game changer.” – Bradley Bond, PhD., Dean and Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies at Northern Illinois University Graduate School

“The platform is intuitive and quick to learn – easy for students and advisors to navigate. Our students have the ability to re-record and watch their practice interviews; they can reflect on and share their responses with me, as well as invite feedback from their peers. Feedback can include verbal or written commentary about eye contact, distracting mannerisms, clarity of speech, answering all parts of a question, and so on. This kind of experience boosts students’ confidence, helps them learn to speak clearly, and succinctly, and to elaborate effectively. They tell me StandOut interviewing practice is their favorite part of the course.” – Elizabeth Wilkins, Ph.D., Professor and Coordinator of Graduate Career and Professional Development at NIU

“StandOut builds online interviewing skills that are critically important especially now, during COVID-19. The system’s bank of questions and the ability to customize questions were huge selling points for us. Plus, closed captioning allows for accessibility, along with visually reinforcing the questions being asked.” – Elizabeth Wilkins

Learn more here:

https://corp.collegenet.com/pdfs/CN-F-861%20NIU%20Customer%20Success.pdf 



Wednesday, December 2, 2020

The 2020 Social Mobility Index (SMI) Recognizes Schools that are Advancing Economic Opportunity, Even in the Face of a Pandemic

California and New York colleges and universities dominate the list of top 20 institutions in advancing social mobility.  

See the 2020 SMI rankings here

The 2020 Social Mobility Index has been released at a time when Covid-19 is disproportionately affecting low-income students, forcing them to abandon, delay or alter their pursuit of a college degree and the potential that degree provides for social mobility.

"One of the many silent killers of this disease is that it is taking higher education away from too many students," says Dr. Marcheta P. Evans, President of Bloomfield College in New Jersey. "Those affected the most have been first-generation college students and those who face tremendous economic and social challenges to begin with. Ultimately, we are seeing our own epidemic in higher education. Great students, students who in the process of creating generational change for themselves, are being robbed not only of an education but the opportunity and the ability to create a better future for themselves." 

"We may all be in the same storm, but we are most certainly not all in the same boat," Carol Christ, Chancellor at UC Berkeley, stated in her recent pandemic message to students.

Higher Education is the most important asset in reducing the growing wealth gap in this country


According to Jim Wolfston, President of CollegeNET, Inc.,"If we can distribute higher education across the economic spectrum, we can optimize our nation's human capital development, prepare the next generation for citizenship, and ensure social and economic opportunity.

"Unlike other college rankings that are aimed primarily at helping students select a college," says Wolfston, "the SMI helps families and policymakers determine which colleges are addressing the national problem of economic mobility. Administrators have a better chance to help strengthen US economic mobility and the promise of the American Dream if they can identify and learn from colleges that are skilled at doing this."

Learn more here: https://socialmobilityindex.org/