Maturity Model for Supporting Graduates’ Early Careers Within Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Recently, the employability of higher education graduates has been a topic of interest within many policy documents and scientific studies. Given the lack of comprehensive research identifying the implications of this issue for practice, this article presents a maturity model to support graduates’ early careers within higher education institutions (HEIs). The model is developed using a five-step approach, following the design science paradigm and exploiting four case studies across Europe. The final maturity model contains 65 practices within four key process areas—13 within strategic planning, 26 within curriculum design and delivery, 16 within student support, and 10 within the provision of extracurricular activities. In addition, a description of capability assessment criteria at the five maturity levels for each practice is provided. The model presented in this article can be used by HEIs as a tool to assess the maturity of their practices that contribute to graduates’ employability.