TPC Journal V8, Issue 4- FULL ISSUE

376 The Professional Counselor | Volume 8, Issue 4 One high school counselor described Naviance’s academic, college, and career online resources: “Naviance is the best setup I’ve seen in my 20-plus years of being a counselor. It’s a one-stop shop and really simple to use.” Two other high school counselors described the ability to cross-share information with other Naviance counselors nationwide. For instance, a male high school counselor stated, “I no longer need to create student surveys! Other counselors who use Naviance in other states have created a battery of surveys across entire grade levels that I can export and electronically use with my students.” Overall, most of the middle and high school counselors reported that Naviance was easy to use; however, some school counselors somewhat disagreed. For example, one high school counselor mentioned, “When Naviance is working correctly and the students can complete the activities, Naviance is easy to use. As a counselor, Naviance feels like busy work [record keeping, student follow-up, having groups of students logging in to a system], especially when there are issues with connectivity.” Another counselor reported, “Naviance is not user-friendly at the high school level. It’s too cumbersome and time consuming.” Perceived Usefulness On the survey questionnaire, when asked whether Naviance increases job-related effectiveness and productivity, in both instances most school counselors (79%, n = 30) strongly or somewhat agreed, while some were neutral (5%, n = 2) or somewhat disagreed (16%, n = 6). When asked whether Naviance enhances counseling practices, 84% of school counselors ( n = 32) strongly or somewhat agreed, while 16% somewhat disagreed ( n = 6). When asked whether Naviance was useful 92% of school counselors agreed ( n = 35), while 8% ( n = 3) somewhat or strongly disagreed. During the interviews, eight of the 10 middle and high school counselors reported that the Naviance system is a comprehensive counseling solution that allows for the collection and quick retrieval of information that shows measurable results of their work, which increases their job effectiveness and productivity. For instance, school counselors identified the ability to retrieve overall assessment results, graduation status, academic progress, individual and small group tracking, pre- and post-outcomes, analysis on college application and acceptance rates (i.e., 2- and 4-year acceptances), field trip numbers, PSAT/SAT/ACT historical data, and more. The collection, analysis, and reporting of data from Naviance was perceived by school counselors as a useful strategy that supported their effort in becoming more data-driven, with data needed for school counselors to establish credibility in their role, evaluate their impact, and demonstrate program accountability that promotes student outcomes. The perception by many middle and high school counselors was that the Naviance system facilitated evidence-based practices. One high school counselor put it this way, “administrators understand data, and if we want to demonstrate our value to stakeholders, we must show how our work impacts student outcomes.” A middle school counselor stated, “Presenting survey data and responses from students after each presentation or field trip shows teachers, administrators, and parents the effect of our efforts.” When asked whether Naviance enhances their counseling practice, one middle school counselor stated, “I think that Naviance makes our jobs a lot easier. . . . Naviance has helped to streamline the college, career, and academic process and make it very clear. Everything about our job as counselors is more fluid.” Another middle school counselor stated, “I think Naviance is very beneficial to my role. I can track student progress, communicate to teachers about relevant meetings, quickly deliver services, and actively engage to find digital resources to address needs.” A counselor at the high school level stated, “The more I used Naviance, the more I saw the many benefits, possibilities, and connections to the work that I do every day. Naviance has become a really important tool in my arsenal.” A high school counselor commented that Naviance helps capture whether students are