Effects of College Career Courses on Learner Outputs and Outcomes

This review of career course literature in 147 documents traces the history of career courses in colleges and universities and reviews 74 reports or articles of the effectiveness of the various career courses offered in institutions of higher education, primarily in the U.S. More than 21,829 participants were involved in these studies from 1976 to 2011. This review of 82 results or findings has been framed in terms of the outputs and outcomes of career course interventions. We reviewed 61 results of career course outputs, such as career thoughts, career decision-making skills, career decidedness, and vocational identity, which are theoretically related to outcomes of career interventions, such as persistence (retention) in college, and job satisfaction or satisfaction with field of study. In this analysis, we found 55 (90%) reporting positive gains in measured output variables, and 6 (10%) reporting no changes in output variables. We reviewed 21 results or findings of career course outcomes and found 19 (91%) reporting positive gains in measured outcome variables, and two (9%) reporting no changes in outcome variables. These findings are similar to the studies regarding output variables and the effects of career courses. The paper concludes with an analysis of this body of research and implications for further research in this area.