Development of a prototype computer-assisted career guidance system for use at Lincoln University

Abstract

This thesis reports on the development of a prototype computer-assisted career guidance system for the Careers Advisory Service (CAS) at Lincoln University. This research is in four parts: Part I consists of a Needs Assessment Study which confirmed student and counsellor demand for a computer-assisted career guidance (CACG) system at Lincoln University. Part II reports the results of a differential feature-cost analysis of four computer-assisted career guidance systems. The two highest rated packages were DISCOVER-AL and SIGI+. While both of these overseas packages contained many desirable features, each required major modification to adapt to the New Zealand market. As a result, the decision was made to develop a system to address the unique counselling needs of Lincoln University students. Part III traces the development of LUCAS (Lincoln University Career Advisory System). This prototype “ideal” system took the form of a career guidance expert system (CGES), written in PDC PROLOG. Part IV reports the results of a Student Evaluation of LUCAS. The results of this study indicated that LUCAS was favourably received by the students. Suggestion for improvements to the system were also gathered.