Missouri's MoSCORES Plus Career Exploration

Missouri Data Insights and Innovations Award Nomination: MoSCORES Plus Career Exploration

Contact Information of Individual Submitting Nomination

Nominator: Ronda Anderson

Email Address: ronda.anderson@ded.mo.gov

Agency Name: Missouri Economic Research and Information Center

Missouri's MoSCORES Plus Career Exploration

MoSCORES (Missouri School Credentials for Occupations Resulting in Employment Success), located at https://jobs.mo.gov/jobseeker/training-and-education, is a high impact product allowing users to explore career opportunities at different education and training levels, including traditional credit programs and non-credit credentials. Results for employment rates, wages, graduation/credential rates, and industries hiring graduates are displayed by school for each program of study. Users can compare tuition, program requirements, and training locations. The development of MoSCORES, through the workforce longitudinal data system, provides the ability to research programs and outcomes to make informed decisions on investing time and money into careers. The product supports Missouri's Eligible Training Provider List.

Career exploration tools compliment MoSCORES. Quick answer reports, queried by degree level, display program results. An adult-focused career exploration tool in Missouri Connections identifies in-demand occupations statewide and regionally, while career pathways are mapped for 10 industry groups. Each tool serves as a resource for broad audiences.

Statement of results, accomplishments, impacts and any other appropriate information that demonstrates why the nominee's efforts were an exceptional contribution.

In 2014, the Missouri Community College Association (MCCA), along with the consortium of community colleges, received TAACCCT grant funding to build a system to collect and report non-credit student outcomes. MCCA and several state agencies collaborated for this multi-year project. The Data Advisory Task Force (DATF), comprised of community college staff in Institutional Research, Workforce, and the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL), provided guidance from the school perspective throughout the project.

The workgroup knew the system needed certain features. The public-facing system must be user-friendly, provide comprehensive program/school information, outcome data by school and program, and be relevant to multiple user groups, including students, parents, counselors and adult learners. Student records and data must be transferred securely. The latest technology should be utilized in the longitudinal system to de-identify and protect individual records. The system must be sustainable and low maintenance after grant funding ends. Another recognized benefit is that the system supports Missouri's state WIOA compliance by supporting the ETPL.

Through the workgroup's efforts, a system was created with data tools to sustain the project long-term. Technical guides/manuals provide documentation of each component, ensuring understanding/use of the system over time.

MoSCORES –Comprehensive data system with program information and outcomes (employment, wages, credential rates) for non-credit credentials and traditional credit programs, allowing searches of education/training options and outcomes to make decisions on investing training dollars.
- Reporting Tab – Only available to schools through login credentials, institutions can access aggregated data on their programs from the longitudinal database.
Non-credit Supplemental Data File –DATF agreed on data elements to collect and report. This new data file is uploaded into the secure data collection system used by the Department of Higher Education (DHE).
Program Upload File – Data file replaces a manual data entry system used by ETPL and collects additional data points not previously captured by DHE. All institutions may use the upload file to populate program information in MoSCORES whether seeking ETPL approval or not.
Missouri Connections – Adult-focused version of the career exploration tool provides interest assessments, occupational information, and options. Missouri's data on in-demand occupations and career pathways aids in locating careers with long-term employment potential.
Quick Answer Reports – Customizable, printable reports answer frequently asked questions. Select an education level to view program outcomes.
- Top Paying Programs
- Most Popular Programs
- Programs by School
- All Program Work Outcomes

Other significant contributions

Missouri is a leader in collaborative data projects for education and workforce purposes, and MoSCORES has already received national attention, serving as a model for other states.

While many states have college scorecards, Missouri is one of the first nationwide to collect and report outcomes of non-credit students, numbering over 4,500 individuals reported to date. MoSCORES has received the attention of other states through product demonstrations sponsored by the Department of Labor (TAACCCT grant funder), and sessions during national Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) and ACT conferences, allowing Missouri to share experiences, processes, and materials with states interested in developing similar systems. A multi-agency data sharing agreement is the basis for the state workforce longitudinal database containing data to populate MoSCORES. Tables were added to the existing longitudinal database, expanding student data and connecting educational information for both credit and non-credit programs on the public-facing site. Standardized files allow collection of program and non-credit student information. These files and the methodology are published, allowing schools to easily join and provide information for MoSCORES.

Another feature is an adult-focused version of a career exploration tool. The University of Oregon developed intoCareers, dubbed Missouri Connections, for career exploration and course planning in middle and high schools. This project led to the creation of a version with content specific to adults including WorkKeys scores, impacting areas using the Certified Work Ready Communities program nationwide and states with intoCareers. Brian Rowe with intoCareers shared "The Adult Missouri Connections system represents a more focused set of career development tools for adults both seeking immediate employment and further growth toward career security. This model presents an opportunity to learn for national application. As a first step, the ACT WorkKeys scores for each occupation are being made available nationally through the Adult Missouri Connections project."