How to compare entry level candidates

Comparing entry level candidates with no or limited work experience can be difficult. Fortunately, there are a few tools that will help the skilled HR Manager assess an applicant’s background.

“Simply put, not every institution is what it appears to be and you will want to know the difference between diploma mills and accreditation.”
-Karen Pedersen, Vice President Southwestern College Professional Studies

So you have to fill several entry level positions and here you are looking at all these resumes of new college graduates. How do you really compare and contrast the resumes that have not much more than educational experience to go on? Of course you will look at any part-time employment the applicant has had and any college activities in which they participated. But should you really discount those applicants who really concentrated on their education only?
When comparing colleges and universities, one of the first things you should check into is accreditation. Simply put, not every institution is what it appears to be and you will want to know the difference between diploma mills and accreditation.

The U.S. Department of Education has published the "positive list" of schools that are accredited by accrediting agencies recognized by the Secretary of Education. The list can be found at http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation. This is a list of postsecondary institutions and programs that have chosen to be accredited by accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. One of the reasons that institutions seek accreditation is so that their students are eligible to receive federal student aid or other federal benefits.

Accrediting agencies, which are private educational associations of regional or national scope, develop evaluation criteria and conduct peer evaluations to assess whether or not those criteria are met. Institutions and/or programs that request an agency's evaluation and that meet an agency's criteria are then "accredited" by that agency.

The U.S. Department of Education does not accredit educational institutions and/or programs. However, the Secretary of Education is required by law to publish a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies that the Secretary determines to be reliable authorities as to the quality of education or training provided by the institutions of higher education. An agency seeking national recognition by the Secretary must meet the Secretary’s procedures and criteria (http://ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg14.html) for the recognition of accrediting agencies, as published in the Federal Register.

There are two basic types of educational accreditation, one identified as "institutional" and one referred to as "specialized" or "programmatic." Institutional accreditation, such as accreditation by The Higher Learning Commission (www.ncahlc.org), normally applies to an entire institution, indicating that each of an institution's parts is contributing to the achievement of the institution's objectives, although not necessarily all at the same level of quality. The various commissions of the regional accrediting associations, for example, award institutional accreditation, as do many national accrediting agencies.

Specialized or programmatic accreditation, such as the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, normally applies to programs, departments, or schools that are parts of an institution. The accredited unit may be as large as a college or school within a university or as small as a curriculum within a department.. Most of the specialized or programmatic accrediting agencies review units within an institution of higher education that is accredited by one of the regional accrediting commissions. However, certain accrediting agencies also accredit professional schools and other specialized or vocational institutions of higher education that are free-standing in their operations. Thus, a "specialized" or "programmatic " accrediting agency may also function in the capacity of an "institutional " accrediting agency.
In addition to accreditation, you may want to check learning assessment data and /or educational program outcomes data for the colleges and universities of your candidates. The best way to do this is to visit the actual web site of the college or university in question. Many colleges and universities have entire sections of their web sites devoted to assessment. Another tool to use if you are comparing adult education programs is the College Choices for Adults web site. This site was created by Transparency by Design (http://www.wcet.info/2.0/index.php?q=TransparencyByDesign), which is a groundbreaking initiative undertaken by regionally-accredited institutions that focus on serving adult learners. Launched in August 2009, the College Choices for Adults website is initially featuring program-level information including statements about what students will learn in each program, how each program measures what students learn, and how recent students performed on those measures. WCET (http://www.wcet.info/2.0/), a division of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (http://www.wiche.edu/), is a third-party organization entrusted with quality assurance for the data reported.

What about an online degree vs. a more traditional on ground degree? Should you be worried about the quality of education someone taking all of their college classes online received? Interestingly, in June of 2009, the U.S. Department of Education released a meta- analysis of controlled studies comparing online and face-to-face instruction (http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/06/06262009.html). A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified over 1,000 empirical studies of online learning. Of these, 46 met the high bar for quality that was required for the studies to be included in the analysis. The analysis showed that “blended” instruction – combining elements of online and face-to-face instruction – had a larger advantage relative to purely face to face instruction or instruction conducted wholly online. The analysis also showed that the instruction conducted wholly online was more effective in improving student achievement than the purely face to face instruction. In addition, the report noted that the blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions.

Of course, you will also want to review any additional learning the applicant may have such as any certificates or additional courses taken. Some entry level candidates may belong to professional organizations which may also give them more experience than another candidate. Looking at these factors along with the accreditation of an educational institution, learning assessment data and educational program outcomes will give you many tools to check into an applicant’s background. So don’t be too discouraged if your candidates don’t bring with them a wealth of work experience. There are other ways to check to see if an applicant will meet the needs of your organization.