Knowing they wanted to provide students with more accessible opportunities for experiential learning, the Isenberg School of Business at UMass Amherst integrated Forage virtual job simulations into their virtual career center (powered by uConnect).
Since adding the Forage simulations in 2022, the Isenberg career team has seen a 242% increase in enrollments in Forage virtual experiences. This increase has been largely driven by three strategies:
- The Isenberg team requires all students in a mandatory career and professional development course to engage with at least one Forage simulation.
- Career coaches consistently recommend appropriate simulations to students in 1:1 advising appointments.
- The Isenberg team uses uConnect’s Experiences Module to curate Forage simulations (based on major, identity/affinity, career interest, etc.) and pulls them directly into their virtual career center—rather than direct students away from the site with a link.
Read our Q&A with the Isenberg team below for the full story.
Curious how uConnect’s virtual career center platform can bring together all of your career resources (including free ones like Forage)? Check out our virtual demo. If you already use uConnect, contact your customer success manager or fill out this form to learn how to add the Experiences Module (and Forage) to your virtual career center.
1. What problem(s) were you trying to solve when you partnered with uConnect and integrated Forage?
We had multiple goals in mind with regard to Forage. Most importantly, we wanted to provide Isenberg students with additional opportunities to build their skills and enhance their resumes outside of participating in a formal internship. It was extremely appealing from a DEI perspective because participation in a Forage simulation is an accessible option for all of our students regardless of age, prior experience, major, or financial background. We were optimistic that it would be an especially powerful tool for younger students and international students, populations for whom formal internships can be more challenging to secure.
We were also excited about the ability of the Forage simulations to provide students with insights into the tasks and responsibilities that would be required within a given job role. This knowledge could help a student choose an appropriate major and identify any skills gaps that would need to be addressed to successfully pursue a desired internship or full-time job opportunity.
In addition, we felt that participating in one or more Forage simulations would provide students with strong content they could call upon to use during interviews and networking conversations. If a student is pursuing an opportunity with a particular company, completing a Forage simulation for that company and discussing what they learned would further demonstrate their commitment and interest to recruiters.
2. How did you use uConnect and Forage’s external content library to solve the problem(s)?
We use our IConnect platform (powered by uConnect) to highlight Forage job simulations across the virtual career center. We work with our coaches to publish new or continually relevant options every month and highlight them across the platform on our major-based community pages, as well as our identity and affinity-based and career topic area pages. You can see some examples on our Accounting, LGBTQIA+, and Master of Finance community pages.
Our career coaches also consistently recommend appropriate simulations to students in 1:1 advising appointments. In addition, a class assignment in our mandatory career and professional development course for first-year students requires all students to engage with at least one Forage simulation. Not surprisingly, the highest usage rates corresponded with those required classroom assignments.
3. What results or outcomes have you seen since implementing Forage?
Over the course of the 2023-2024 academic year, we had nearly 3,000 exits from IConnect (our virtual career center) to log into Forage and engage with the job simulations. This was a 242% increase in engagement compared to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Our most popular simulations were:
- Electronic Arts’ Product Management
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Excel Skills
- White & Case’s U.S. Debt Finance
- lululemon’s Omnichannel Marketing
- lululemon’s Merchandising
- Red Bull’s Off-Premise Sales
In addition to helping our undergraduate students explore their skills and interests in a safe, low-risk environment, the Forage simulations have provided great value to our master’s and international students.
Graduate students hoping to transition into new industries found Forage simulations a valuable resource for building new skills and familiarizing themselves with industry-specific terminology and practices. International students leveraged participation in simulations to gain critical knowledge and experience without needing to secure sponsorship.
Curious how uConnect’s virtual career center platform can bring together all of your career resources (including free ones like Forage)? Check out our virtual demo. If you already use uConnect, contact your customer success manager or fill out this form to learn how to add the Experiences Module (and Forage) to your virtual career center.
