Although many LBS college programs have effective courses and processes in place to help learners set achievable goals, many learners will change and continue to change their goals:

Goal-setting is a developmental process. With more information and confidence, students frequently change their goals. It is important to revisit their goals as well as the progress toward meeting them. (Precure p. 9)

The key to effective redirection is helping learners discover if their goals are still relevant and achievable. The challenge is to discover this in time. There are many factors that influence learners’ goals: their cognitive ability, the length of time they are prepared to commit to the program, outside influences such as the economy and their own personal circumstances. These factors need to be explored with learners on a systematic basis.

Examples of Effective Review Processes

We asked practitioners if they had developed an effective way to help learners review their goals. Of the 35 who responded, 23 affirmed they had. Five more said they had, but only partly, while 7 said they had not. Examples of successful ways included specific programs such as Employment Training Readiness or Essential Skills Training that focus on intensive goal-setting. Another example involved integrating the goals review process into classroom work and demonstrations such as reports and assignments to update short and long-term goals. Most examples, however, involved a regular review process that looked at learners’ progress. Some of these took the form of regularly scheduled meetings with individual learners. Other reviews were conducted in class. The review process was usually conducted by the practitioner.

The importance of keeping good records was considered critical. Various forms are used in the review process to gather and record information from learners.

Practitioners submitted examples of the processes and forms they used and found effective.