As part of Lone Star College–University Park's "Invitation 2 Innovate" program, dozens of enrolled students have submitted ideas to address issues facing higher education. One program that has gained national recognition is the Education and Career Positioning System—a downloadable application that maps a student's educational progress and career pathways.
"Every major industry incorporates the ability to track and navigate consumers to their destination," said Mike Mathews, LSC–UP's chief strategist for innovation and entrepreneurship who initially developed the architecture behind the program. "Education has left to chance the fact that people mystically find their way to the right educational institution and right career."
The ECPS was created to compile students' information ranging from transcripts to standardized test scores to personal interests, along with labor market statistics and potential career pathways. The system allows students to access and navigate their records and helps the student choose a career path tailored specifically for them.
"Experts believe this could be one of the greatest ideas with the potential to align the students' education with the needs of the industry," LSC–UP president Shah Ardalan said. "This is critical to the success of students, because for us, success is when our students go on to the university they desire or get the job they want."
After a student's data is collected, it is stored in a secure personal educational vault. The program then steers students toward their final destination by analyzing personal traits and abilities, Mathews said. The ECPS lists possible career and education options correlating to a student's personal strengths and works to connect employers looking for specific skills with future graduates.
"The problem [students] seem to always have is that they want to to do something and they know they are good at something, but they don't know how to get there," said LSC–UP student John Carter, who has been involved with developing and testing the program since May. "The ECPS helps to answer these questions and gives you a path that you can follow and keeps all your information in one spot."
The ECPS program was nationally recognized after winning the U.S. Department of Education's 2012 National Education Startup Challenge, which invited students across the nation to introduce innovative solutions to problems in the education system.
