WorkKeys Prepares Criminal Justice Students in New Mexico for Industry Demands

Their performance on eight ACT WorkKeys^® assessments carries a lot of weight for students in the criminal justice program at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM).

To graduate, they must achieve specific skill levels on the Applied Mathematics, Applied Technology, Listening, Locating Information, Observation, Reading for Information, Teamwork, and Writing assessments.

Students at Central New Mexico Community College listen as an instructor explains an assignment. CNM is using eight WorkKeys assessments in several of its associate degree programs.

“Students need to attain the median skill levels required for the police patrol officer WorkKeys occupational profile,” said Kevin Daugherty, director of the criminal justice program at CNM. “We use this profile because it best reflects the skills needed in the industry as a whole.”

Daugherty knows what the industry needs thanks to local employers who serve on the program’s advisory committee. Criminal justice students take the Listening, Reading, and Writing assessments upon entry into the program as a pretest and again upon exit as a posttest to measure gains in their skill levels. They take the five other assessments upon exit from the program.

Students’ WorkKeys scores account for 30 percent of their grade in the criminal justice capstone course, a one-credit hour competency course students take as they prepare to exit a program.

While preparing for and taking the WorkKeys assessments means extra work for students, Daugherty says the benefits have been significant. “Students’ academic performance overall improves as their WorkKeys skill levels increase. Our graduates tell us how well the program prepared them for the workforce and that they appreciated the opportunity to improve their skills.”

The majority of CNM graduates go on to complete a four-year degree in criminal justice. Others enroll in police academies, and some go directly to work in corrections, probation and parole, security, and forensics. A few students are active duty police officers, who enroll in the program to earn a degree for promotion purposes.

Criminal justice is one of 18 associate degree Career and Technical Education programs into which CNM has integrated the WorkKeys system. Faculty in these programs teach the skills that are assessed by WorkKeys.

Students take various WorkKeys assessments upon entry into or exit from programs to ensure they meet the skill levels required by the occupational profiles. CNM uses several assessments to qualify students for entry into two of its more popular programs—diagnostic medical sonography and radiologic technician. A growing number of the college’s technical proficiency certificate programs—dental assistant, clinical laboratory assistant, and phlebotomist—also require WorkKeys testing.

In addition to their program degree or certificate, students earn a “WorkKeys Testing Results” document that lists the assessments taken and the scores earned. Students may also be eligible for a National Career Readiness Certificate by registering through the ACT system.

Requiring WorkKeys at CNM has proven to be a win-win situation for faculty, graduates, and employers.

“Faculty get better qualified students in their programs and are assured that their students are acquiring fundamental skills. Graduates gain a competitive edge by mastering skills in demand in the workplace, and employers get staff who are well prepared for their jobs,” said David Licht, career analyst for CNM.

“We consider Central New Mexico Community College to be a major mover in economic development. An important part of our mission is to help provide New Mexico with the most highly trained labor force possible so we can be more competitive nationally and globally. WorkKeys assessments help us do just that.”

Associate Degree Programs at Central New Mexico Community College Using WorkKeys Assessments