Why Kuder?

• Success Stories

Success Stories

Our solutions are being used across the country by thousands of students and adults everyday. Read how our customers are using the Kuder Career Planning System and our curricula to make a difference in the lives of students and adults.

We love to hear from our customers!

If you have a success story or a best practice you would like to share, please contact Bethney Larson, Director of Communications at 800.314.8972 or larsonb@kuder.com.

Success Stories

• Implementing the Arkansas College & Career Planning System, powered by Kuder, statewide has allowed our community colleges to work directly with their regional high schools. This partnership has enhanced communication, provided career information for students on an individual basis, and allowed businesses to discover where career interests match with future jobs on local, regional, and statewide levels.

  Dr. Edward Franklin, Executive Director
  Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges
  Little Rock, AR

• With the Kuder system, there are a variety of activities for students to do and these activities are real situations for the kids. This program simulates adult decisions, but in a safe environment and with guidance. That’s why I use it. We just love it.

  Ann Hudson, Career Orientation Teacher
  Bryant Middle School
  Bryant, AR

• To me, a large part of a program’s success is reflected by the students' own evaluations. We have had students evaluate the Kuder Career Planning System (KCPS), and more that 95 percent feel it has benefited them and that they will use this valuable resource on their own. Personally, I have been involved in Career Education for 32 years and I have never experienced this type of enthusiastic student response. The KCPS has engaged students in a way that allows them to connect the relevance of high school classes to their lives in the future. I feel that the adaptability of the Kuder system to each school’s needs make this program valuable and a fundamental necessity for school systems.

  Sebastian Lampe, Counselor
  Pleasant Grove High School
  Elk Grove, CA

• The College & Career Exploration Center is committed to helping learners develop informed, attainable plans for success in higher education and careers. The Kuder Career Planning System is a foundational piece in the process. The Kuder system helps guide individuals as they answer key questions: “Who am I?” “Where do I want to go?” “How do I get there?” Local research has shown that informed, empowered learners are more likely to advance along their chosen career pathways.

  Marsha VanNahmen, Director
  College & Career Exploration Center
  Columbus, IN

• A major component of the Kuder system is that it has been built around Iowa’s six Career Pathways. This adaptation by Kuder demonstrates a commitment to our state and a commitment to change future options to meet the needs for our students in Iowa.
  
  Kuder not only offers a web-based program, but they offer different levels of curriculum for High School students and Middle School students. The Develop Your Future curriculum is helpful to the classroom teacher for building career plans and helping to make a personal connection with students and teachers.
  
  With Iowa’s new legislative requirements for the 4-3-3-3 plan and 8th grade individual career plan, Kuder was again a leader in providing the means to meet this legislation. With their database management system, the Charles City Community School District students can complete their individual career plans online and update them as changes take place. This is another example of Kuder’s ability to adapt and change to meet our needs.
  
  I would highly recommend the Kuder system for all students. It is an opportunity for our students to grow, build a future, and be successful in our global economy.

  Todd Forsyth, ETC Coordinator
  Charles City Community School District
  Charles City, IA

• ADM Middle School utilizes the Develop Your Future text for our extensive Career Planning unit that I do with all the 7th grade students. I have found it to be extremely helpful and save me so much time in prep time! I like how it is set up in modules and the organization of the entire text. I would recommend it to anyone that does Career Planning at their school!

  Kim Timmerman, Counselor and Dean
  Adel-Desoto-Minburn Middle School
  Adel, IA

• For the past 18 months, it has been my pleasure to provide support services for the Kuder Career Planning System to local schools. Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) has partnered with Kuder, Inc. to provide the customized DMACC College & Career Planning System (www.dmacc.kuder.com) to the 55 school districts served by DMACC. In my work with the system, I provide training and support to teaching staff and administration within the districts. Additionally, I assist with administration to students in grades 8-12 at these schools.
  
  I have observed these strengths of the Kuder system:
  • The Kuder system is developmental in nature. Activities exist for all students in grades 7-12. It is easy for students to build on previous activities and experiences as the students move from grade to grade.
  • The Kuder system is comprehensive. Students are taken from knowing little to nothing about their interests, skills, and work values to locating educational options about careers that relate to the student.
  • The Kuder system provides very extensive information that is easy to read about careers and educational opportunities.
  • The Kuder system provides assistance for students to become organized as the student experiences the career development process. Many students lack the skills to organize, but through use of the system’s Education Planner and Note Taker students are able to build and maintain four-year plans and document important career experiences.
  • The Kuder system provides valuable assistance with learning job-seeking skills. The ability to locate jobs, create resumes, and understand the interview process is vital as students face these needs at different times throughout their lives.
  • The Kuder system provides great assistance for families seeking information on financial assistance. This is especially true for families that are completing the FAFSA for the first time.
  • The Kuder system is very user-friendly. With students at all different levels of achievement and performance, the system’s easy-to-understand content and simple navigation make it a success across the board.

  Dave Kissinger, Educational Consultant
  Des Moines Area Community College
  Des Moines, IA

• Missouri Connections, powered by Kuder, is a valuable new resource for the citizens of Missouri. Through Missouri Connections , students and adults will have web-based tools and resources for meaningful educational and career planning, and job placement. Emerging technology now allows Missourians of all ages to utilize Missouri Connections, and have at their fingertips the opportunity to identify their interests and skills, explore careers and educational opportunities related to those careers, and develop relevant personal plans of study to assist them in reaching their goals. We are proud to be able to provide Missouri Connections to the citizens of our state.

  Bragg Stanley, Director of Guidance
  Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
  Jefferson City, MO

• The Kuder Career Planning System has been extremely helpful with all of our students and the adults that attend Autry Technology Center. It is with our eighth graders that the system has successfully directed parental involvement. Through the Kuder system we are able to e-mail parents and invite them to a Parent’s Night, during which they receive student results, learn how to access the system, and find out how to help their children plan for the future.

  Linda Belknap, Career Counselor
  Autry Technology Center
  Enid, OK

• With the Kuder system approach, there is a great increase in students who use career planning tools, and they’re not just going through the motions. With the 16 Career Clusters, students can see their choices narrowed, and the ways that career and tech education will give them jobs to pay their way through higher education, should they continue on that path. Additionally, I work with a lot of construction-type industries. It’s a huge job field here, and we are able to provide a large pool of potential employees. In looking at aggregate results from the KCPS database, we can tailor career fairs and employer visits to our students’ interests.

  Ann Jordan, Career Development Manager
  Great Oaks Career Campus
  Cincinnati, OH

• A key strategy of our College and Career Transitions Initiative (CCTI) Site Improvement Plan has been merging career exploration, English/language arts competencies, and computer skills into one comprehensive package. The combination of the web-based Kuder Career Planning System with academic skill development is a winner for kids and a vital new component for our overall CCTI pathway development efforts!

  Ron Kindell, CCTI Project Director
  Sinclair Community College
  Dayton, OH

• The Kuder Career Planning System is impacting our colleges’ marketing, recruitment, retention, and workforce development efforts. More importantly, those students who take the assessments are able to make more informed decisions when planning careers, selecting majors, and choosing classes.

  Russ Bumba, Senior Manager for Student Services
  South Carolina Technical College System
  Columbia, SC

• What I like about the Person Match feature of the Kuder Career Search (interest assessment) is that it highlights careers that might not be on the radar of most high school students. It lets them think outside the box and consider occupations that are not on a typical career chart. We had one student whose closest match was a funeral director. This is a career they hadn’t ever considered, but when we were able to strip away the title, and get down to the qualities that a funeral director had, the student saw why it was a match. This feature expands the thought process beyond first impressions.

  Tanya Ickowitz, Director of Student Outreach Services
  EdSouth
  Knoxville, TX

• I feel the most significant use of the Kuder system is the in-depth research which enables students' to obtain important information regarding career ladder pathways, college majors, college/university matches and other information to build a specific student portfolio. Several career and technology teachers require such a document as part of their students' education. By utilizing the Kuder system, each student gathers their assessment results, creates a career ladder for career advancement, determines education levels to reach for career advancement, and even researches the amount of potential income they can earn.
  
  Kuder, Inc. has also kept the Kuder system updated and relevant each year. With so many changes occurring, it's essential to provide accurate and current labor market information so that students or young adults can make the best decisions for themselves. With the support of the teachers, counselors, parents, and even peers; students utilizing this valuable tool can explore options to reach their educational and career goals.

  Linda S. Sanchez, Director, Guidance and Counseling
  South San Antonio Independent School District
  San Antonio, TX

• As the Career Development Specialist at Colonial Heights High School (CHHS), I am always on the look out for a new and different approach to help students to focus on their futures. I have been in this position for almost nine years now, and I’ve logged many hours online looking for any site, any inventory, and any test which would serve as the “one” that a student will grab hold of and run with. The Kuder Career Search with Person Match assessment is where I begin with my students, because Virginia’s Career Planning System, powered by Kuder (www.va.kuder.com) meets them where they are and shows them a pathway to success.

  Lori Patton
  Career Development Specialist
  Colonial Heights High School
  Colonial Heights, VA