Pathways Are:

  • Aligned to a student's needs and goals.
  • Empowering for students.
  • Expansive and flexible.
  • Crafted out of a variety of educational experiences.

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Pathways Are Not:

  • Fixed or pre-determined routes.
  • Isolated or disconnected from the real world.
  • Limited or restrictive.
  • Confined to a traditional classroom setting.
  • One-Size-Fits-All.

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Commonly Used Pathways Terms Defined:

Apprenticeships:

Work-based learning programs that combine on-the-job training with related classroom instruction, leading to a nationally recognized credential and a career in a skilled trade or occupation.

Apprenticeship Utah

Articulations:

Also known as Tech College Transfer Options. Formal agreements between two or more institutions that specify how courses or programs completed at one institution can be applied or transferred to another institution, usually for the purpose of completing a degree or credential.

UVU Articulations

Career Exploration:

A process of self-discovery and research that helps one identify and pursue career goals that are compatible with one’s interests, values, skills, and personality.

Career Technical Education (CTE):

Programs and courses that prepare students for careers in current or emerging professions by providing technical and employability skills.

USBE CTE Opportunities

UVU CTE Opportunities

MTECH Opportunities

College and Career Awareness (CCA):

A course designed to increase awareness of college and career pathways based on interests, skills, and aptitudes while students explore high school, postsecondary, and career opportunities. The USBE CCA program facilitates the curriculum and standards for college and career awareness for all public-school students in Utah.

Concurrent Enrollment/Dual Enrollment:

A process that allows high school students to take college-level courses and earn both high school and college credit.

UVU Concurrent Enrollment

Credit for Prior Learning (CPL):

Also known as Prior Learning Assessment. A process that evaluates and formally recognizes learning that has occurred outside of the traditional academic environment, such as through military service, workplace training, or independent study.

UVU Credit for Prior Learning

CTE Completer:

A measure of whether a USBE student has completed a CTE program of study or a sequence of courses within a career cluster or pathway. Completion credits to total 3 credits to be identified as a USBE CTE Completer.

Industry Certifications:

Voluntary processes that assess and recognize an individual’s knowledge, skills, and competencies for a specific occupation or industry. You can find information on industry certifications through Career One Stop.

Interest Inventories:

Assessments that measure one’s likes and dislikes for various activities, occupations, or subjects, and help identify potential career options that match one’s interests.

UVU PathwayU

USBE Youscience

Internships:

Work-based learning experiences that provide students with opportunities to apply their academic knowledge and skills in a real-world setting, usually related to their field of study or career interest. UVU’s Internship Office has several internship coordinators who are available to help UVU students with their internship interests.

 

Job Shadow:

Short-term work experiences that allow students to observe and learn from professionals in a specific occupation or industry.

Online Learning:

A mode of education that uses the internet and digital technologies to deliver and access instructional content, activities, and interactions, either fully or partially.

UVU Online Programs

Personal Career Considerations:

Factors that may influence one’s career choices, such as interests, values, personality, goals, abilities, strengths, weaknesses, preferences, or constraints.

Post-Secondary Institutions:

Post-secondary institutions are educational institutions that offer tech certifications and formal degrees beyond high school or secondary school education. They include universities, colleges, vocational schools, trade schools, and other types of schools that provide higher education or tertiary education. The Utah State Board of Higher Education (USHE) oversees all 16 post-secondary institutions for the state of Utah.

Prior Learning Assessments (PLA):

Also known as Credit for Prior Learning or CPL. Methods that colleges, universities, another education/training providers use to evaluate prior learning, such as portfolio-based assessments, credit by exam, or evaluation of local training.

UVU CPL/PLA

Secondary Institutions:

Schools that provide secondary education, such as high schools, middle schools, or junior high schools.

Mountainland Region’s Secondary School Districts are:

Mountainland Region’s Secondary Charter Schools are:

Stackable Credentials:

A stackable credential is a type of educational or professional achievement that can be combined with other credentials to form a pathway of learning and career advancement. Stackable credentials are often aligned with industry standards and can help individuals gain specialized skills, demonstrate their competencies, and increase their employability or earning potential.

Technical School Trainings:

Educational programs that provide practical, specialized training in a specific trade or profession, such as electrician, cosmetologist, or dental hygienist.

MTECH Training Programs

UVU Career Technical Education

Transfer Policies:

Rules and procedures that govern how credits earned at one institution are accepted and applied at another institution, usually for the purpose of completing a degree or credential.

MTECH Transfer Policies

UVU Transfer Policies

University Certifications:

Academic credentials that indicate the completion of a series of courses or a program of study in a specific field or discipline, usually offered by a university or a college.

UVU Certificates

University Degrees:

Academic credentials that indicate the completion of a level of education or a program of study in a specific field or discipline, usually awarded by a university or a college after meeting certain requirements, such as coursework, examinations, or research.

UVU Majors and Degree Programs

Work Based Learning:

A term that refers to the type of learning that integrates academic and technical content with work-related activities and experiences, such as apprenticeships, internships, job shadows, or service learning.

Work Experience:

A term that refers to the knowledge and skills gained from performing tasks or activities in a specific occupation or industry, either paid or unpaid.

UVU’s Career and Internship office