Introducing the Academic and Career Readiness M.A.P.S. (Milestones for Academic and Professional Success)
Higher education institutions across the country are navigating a shared challenge: while academic programs are carefully designed to support degree completion, many students—particularly online, adult, and working learners—continue to express uncertainty about how their coursework translates into career readiness. Students often complete their programs having met all academic requirements, yet struggle to clearly articulate the skills they have developed, identify gaps in their preparation, or confidently connect their learning to employer expectations. At the same time, institutions are increasingly called upon to demonstrate how academic programs align with workforce needs and prepare graduates for meaningful employment.
The Marshall Online Academic & Career Readiness M.A.P.S. (Milestones for Academic and Professional Success) were developed in response to these intersecting challenges.
Marshall Online designed Academic and Career Readiness Maps—
structured, semester-by-semester guides that intentionally align academic coursework with career readiness milestones and skill development, used alongside existing program plans of study, for students to engage in purposeful professional development at each stage of their degree.
Marshall partnered with Lightcast, a leading provider of labor market intelligence, to ensure the maps reflected current employer expectations and emerging workforce trends. Using Lightcast tools, the team identified in-demand skills, common job titles, employer requirements, and alumni career pathways for their pilot programs, then used a generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) prompt workflow to:
- extract skills taught in the curriculum,
- identify skill gaps,
- generate ways for students to build missing skills, and
- sequence the experiences across semesters
This toolkit documents not just the final maps, but the process used to create them. It provides a practical, adaptable framework that institutions can customize based on their own programs, tools, and student populations. By combining curriculum review, labor market data, AI-supported workflows, and collaborative validation, institutions can develop readiness maps that make learning visible, intentional, and career-connected.
This work is about empowering students with clarity, confidence, and a competitive edge—while providing institutions with a sustainable approach to career-connected advising that response to both student needs and workforce realities.
This toolkit, developed by Marshall Online, was funded by the pitch competition hosted by the Advising Success Network in 2025. Download and customize this toolkit to support your students.