Effects of College Career Courses on Learner Outputs and Outcomes

This updated review of career course literature in 78 documents traces the history of career courses in colleges and universities and reviews 50 studies of the effectiveness of the various career courses offered in institutions of higher education in the U.S. More than 18,994 students were involved in these studies from 1976 to 2005. This review has been framed in terms of the outputs and outcomes of career course interventions. We reviewed 40 studies 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 36 studies (90%) reporting positive gains in measured output variables, and 4 studies (10%) reporting no changes in output variables. We reviewed 16 studies of career course outcomes and found fourteen studies (88%) reporting positive gains in measured outcome variables, and two studies (12%) 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.