One practitioner noted that learners themselves often do not want to change their goals:

Most students who attend a college-based program have their eyes set on attending a post secondary program when they complete the upgrading. It is only after the students have been in the program for some time that we get a clear picture of whether their goals are realistic ones or not. It is difficult to steer someone away from the college if they have their mind set on the fact that college is the right place for them.

This observation was partly supported by learners who were asked how willing they were to change their goals and the focus of their program. 6 out of 60 learners said they were ‘not willing’ to change their goals. Another 23 said they were ‘somewhat willing’.

Short-term and long-term goals

One comment, in particular, highlighted an important distinction about goals:

It depends on the goal. If it is a career goal, then perhaps some students stay with an unrealistic goal too long. But if it is providing motivation, then it doesn’t hurt for a time. With regular evaluation of progress, the student can’t help see over time that the goal is beyond his/her abilities in terms of financial resources, time commitment, or marks requirements. Teachers and advisors can help redirect the student to pursue other interests while the student is holding on to his unrealistic goal.

Both long-term and short-term goals are important to the learner and it is critical that programs understand the differences between them.

The long-term goal is what the learner eventually wants to be able to do. Statistics show that most adults choose the LBS college program for further education or training, i.e., post secondary or trades. We also know that many learners leave the program before achieving those goals and are not considered successful. Long-term goals are, nevertheless, important to establish for two main reasons: they help shape the kinds of learning activities the learner engages in and they provide an important source of motivation for the learner.

The short-term goal is what the learner can achieve within a shorter time frame. This time frame is usually the amount of time the learner is able to commit to the program. Statistics show us that most LBS students are prepared to commit six months. Consider a learner who needs to improve his/her communications skills to get a job or to perform better at his/her job. It is quite possible that the learner can achieve his/her short-term goal within a six-month time frame. Likewise, it is possible for a learner whose goal is post secondary to achieve his/her short-term within the same time frame. Here, the short term-goal represents one step towards his/her long-term goal.