Love and Careers: A Quiz

February 10, 2017

“Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” — Confucius

XAP’s products place a lot of emphasis on finding a career path that students will love by connecting their skills and interests to possible careers. And, because sustaining love takes some work, we give them the tools to make those plans a reality.

But students can also learn a lot on our sites about the careers that make love happen. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’ve assembled a quick quiz on romantic careers. You can find out more about each of these careers in our career planning products.

Admissions Streams: A Parent’s Guide

November 10, 2016

What exactly does early admission mean, and how do you know which if it is right for your student? Before you can answer that, you need to understand the different ways that colleges admit students.

Case Study: XAP’s Career Pathways Work in Colorado

October 11, 2016

XAP’s current Career Pathways Initiative is a collaboration with our clients at College In Colorado and the Colorado Workforce Development Council. We have posted a case study describing the legislated challenges faced by Colorado and how XAP is helping address the needs and meet the goals in the areas of outreach and marketing of career pathways for student and adult career exploration and planning.

To learn more about how XAP can help with your career pathway program objectives, contact XAP at 800-281-1168 to learn more about our innovative solutions.

XAP at the National Career Pathways Network Conference – Our Goals and Progress

October 4, 2016

XAP’s Chief Product Strategist, Don Phillips, is attending the National Career Pathways Network Annual Conference in Indianapolis this week. XAP is excited about our work with career pathways and the opportunity to learn more and share our ideas at the conference. We asked Don to put together a blog entry explaining what we’re working on. Look for Don at Booth 37 at the conference!

While the concept of career pathways has existing for a long time, numerous national and regional economic and social realities have made career pathways even more relevant and important today. Read more…

XAP at NACAC: How We Can Help with College Application Challenges

September 21, 2016

“May you live interesting times.”

You’ve probably heard that expression before – it’s often credited as being a Chinese curse. However, researchers haven’t been able to find any evidence to support this, and, like many often-quoted expressions, there is some debate on the Internet about its origins.

One thing is certain: “interesting times” can be both a blessing and a curse. It all depends on how we respond! Just consider today’s postsecondary landscape. As we will hear repeatedly at NACAC’s national conference from September 22-24, today’s campuses face a lot of “interesting” challenges when students apply, including rapidly increasing demands for training in new fields, a greater emphasis on accountability, and financial concerns for both students and institutions. Read more…

Helping Students Meet Their Goals

September 14, 2016

Do you have goals for the new school year?

That was the question we asked students using our Choices360 site last week – and the results were impressive! A full 80 percent of students said they were starting the academic year with some goals in mind. Read more…

A Parent’s Guide to Helping Teens Organize College Applications

August 26, 2016

You made it through the newborn days, handled the toddler and teen years with style, and now you’re facing the arduous task of helping your son or daughter apply for college or university. Does the fun ever end? Now is a good time to start the year off on the right foot so you avoid a last-minute panic looking for all the necessary documents.

On Your Mark…Get Set… FAFSA Changes On Deck

August 17, 2016

Every January, many students start the new year by vowing to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (commonly called the FAFSA). To keep those students on task, educators often launch campaigns reminding students not to procrastinate on filling out the FAFSA forms.

But this year, students can start even earlier – and smart students will. Why? Because the FAFSA opens up on October 1, 2016. And because some financial aid is given on a first-come, first-served basis. That means filers who submit on October 1 could get more money – and that’s never a bad thing.
Read more…

The New Skills For Youth Initiative, Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

June 10, 2016

This year, a multi-disciplinary team of organizations created a new initiative which aims to create opportunities for economic success for those without high school degrees, and those who have graduated but do not have sufficient skills to begin a meaningful career. The New Skills For Youth (NSFY) program was created by the Council of Chief State School Officers, National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium and Education Strategy Group, and is funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Read more…