Pathways

A pathway is a method of searching for a career that fits a student's interests and lifestyle and then allows the student to build academic courses around it. The pathway recommends individual high school courses – both academic and career-related – to concentrate on which are specifically geared toward the student's chosen career. All of this planning starts as early as middle/junior high school and continues as the student advances through high school.

Educator's Guide to Pathways - PDF

School counselors use Career Pathways to help secondary students explore options for the future. Current information on the academic, technical, and college requirements for a wide range of careers will be readily available.

Help students gather good information.
Help students make meaningful plans.
Utilize Pathways as a tool.

Student Education Occupation Plan (SEOP)
The Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Program (CCGP) and in particular the Individual Planning component-including the Student Education Occupation Plan or SEOP- is critical to the success of the Pathways Initiative. The SEOP process and conferences include:

• Objectives by grade level
• Assessments
• Advisement
• Goal setting and planning processes
• Student direction
• Supportive guidance curriculum activities

For students in grades 7-12, the written document that results from the SEOP process includes the student's:

• Goals
• Next-step plans
• Four-year-plus plans
• Education and career goals
• Graduation requirements and progress
• Parent or guardian signature
  

Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance enhances the opportunities for students and their parents to understand the full range of high school and postsecondary education and career options. Students are supported in the development of a plan that helps connect their personal characteristics (e.g., interests, aptitudes, work values) with education and occupation goals that can help them maximize their potential.

Career Information Delivery System
A key tool that is being used to maximize the benefits of CCGP, and promote broad utilization of Pathways for Utah students, is the state-sponsored Career Information Delivery System, Utah
Choices. Career Information Delivery Systems (CIDS) are:

Computer-based systems that organize, analyze and deliver national, state and local information to individuals who are exploring careers or seeking employment. CIDS generally provide national, state and local information on civilian and military occupations, educational institutions and training programs. CIDS are used to help individuals learn about the wide range of career opportunities available to them. CIDS help individuals become more aware of occupations that suit their interests and preferences, to learn about educational and training opportunities and encourage them to seek out more information on their own.

-Training Manual
Improved Career Decision-making in a Changing World

An ambitious project is underway in partnership with the publisher of the Utah CIDS to assure broad dissemination of information about the Pathways. Work has already begun on the development of the database that will:

• Reflect the 62 statewide pathways, including the academic and CTE courses that have been defined to help students achieve high school graduation and transition to college and careers.
• Link all of the regional post-secondary pathways (i.e., programs of study) to facilitate an efficient search and sort process in order to provide information specific to a user’s needs.
• Be accessible to regions, districts and specific schools so their resident programs can be marketed to their own students as well as to students beyond their borders.
• Provide the content to help drive the guidance process currently being designed for delivery via the CIDS.
• Assure that students will be able to search both secondary and postsecondary programs of study as a function of their interest in a particular occupation, a particular school, a college major, an industry, a national career cluster, or via a myriad of other connections already searchable in the CIDS.
• Facilitate the customization of course listings to attract
  potential students to particular programs.

Updated May 1, 2008