Benchmarking Methodology
Vitae’s benchmarking exercise enables a higher education institution to quickly self-assess its employability practices through a short questionnaire. The exercise examines strategies and processes that are related to the employability outcomes of graduates based on good practices around the world. These practices are divided into five dimensions:
- Relevance of learning
- Governance and strategy for employability
- Employer engagement
- Career services and work-integrated learning
- Alumni management
To successfully complete the exercise, the individual completing it must have knowledge of employability outcomes for their institution.
Vitae benchmarking is a free service comprised of 16 questions (some have conditional logic) that are considered by IFC’s education specialists to be the most critical in determining an institution’s level of employability. The results provide an immediate indication of relative strengths and weaknesses across the dimensions of employability for an institution to consider implementing. The benchmarking exercise is intended to serve as a practical first step in helping an institution understand how well it’s preparing graduates for the job market, and to encourage the institution to proactively explore how it can improve its employability outcomes.
The benchmarking questionnaire typically takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. To make the process easier, a template of questions can be downloaded and shared with colleagues. While the exercise cannot be saved as a draft, responses can be submitted with the opportunity to edit them later by retaking the exercise. This is particularly important as an institution begins to change its employability practices and gather statistical outcomes. To access previously entered benchmarking results, sign in to the application.
Vitae’s benchmark is currently comprised of results from IFC’s clients who have undertaken Vitae’s 360° assessment. For more information about the Vitae benchmarking methodology, refer to the FAQs.
