Navigator includes a broad range of programs to meet students’ varied career interests. It includes Associate degree and Certificate programs in programs of study like HVAC and Radiology, as well as apprenticeships in building trades and technology. Navigator also includes detailed information that cannot be found publicly on ways to save money or obtain additional value as informed by people recruiting for and leading the programs of study for their respective institutions.

Navigator currently focuses on programs offered by two-year public colleges, community organizations and other public entities like Education Service Centers which are generally more affordable than similar programs offered by for-profit training schools or through Continuing Education programs offered at two- and four-year colleges and universities.

To be included in Navigator, the program needs to meet the following criteria:

• Focus on a well-defined set of target occupations that typically require completion of a specific vocational program or degree. Liberal arts and social science degrees such as English or Sociology are not included because these programs do not prepare graduates for specific occupations. Similarly, natural science degrees such as biology or chemistry are not included. However, degrees in Allied Health Science, which prepare students for national certification exams to work in hospitals and other medical laboratories, are included.

• Target occupations that pay a living wage. Navigator uses a calculation of 80% of the Median Wage for all occupations in the region as a benchmark for a well-paying job at entry into the workforce. At time of publishing, this indicator for the Houston region is $18.76/hr or $39,021 annually. Programs of study with target occupations significantly below this threshold, such as nursing assistant (CNA) training programs, are not included in the Navigator directory at this time.

• Be a good next step for high school graduates. Coding boot camps such as General Assembly and App Academy, which typically serve students who have either graduated college or have significant computer-related experience, are not included in Navigator. For similar reasons, graduate programs are not included in Navigator unless they are a combined Bachelor’s/Graduate option.

Navigator currently focuses on programs located in the Greater Houston region, concentrating on the metroplex but including programs of study that otherwise meet the criteria for inclusion and are within the Gulf Coast Workforce Board 13-county region. Therefore, institutions such as Texas State Technical College in Fort Bend County and Galveston College in Galveston County are included when applicable. Similarly, rare programs of study, such as Aircraft Maintenance, found outside the region may be included for relevance to the market need.

There are several filters you can use to search for programs of interest to your student. You can search for programs by:

• Career Area

• Degree Level (e.g., bachelor’s)

• Program of Study (e.g., Construction Management)

• Organization Type Sponsoring the Program (e.g., Public College, Union Apprenticeship)

• Average Salary of Target Occupations

• Keyword Search 

Filters are located along the left-side column of the application.

Navigator uses several publicly available data sources including Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on Houston area salaries by occupation, the Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS) on program completions and demographics, and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data on institutional costs and median loan debt. We use both College Scorecard data and Texas Consumer Resource for Education and Workforce Statistics (CREWS) data on the earnings of program completers. Other program data are gathered through interviews conducted with program staff and program websites.

• IPEDS data are not used in the current iteration of Navigator as it focuses on non-four-year college programs of study

• Salary Range of Target Occupations: BLS Occupational Salary data for Greater Houston Metropolitan Area, 2022.

• Cost and Average Debt Load: College Scorecard data on net annual program costs by family income and average loan debt of graduates derived from 2020-2021 school year data. *Will be used in the next development phase of Navigator that will include four-year college programming

• Graduate Earnings: College Scorecard data on median earnings of program graduates four years following graduation normalized to 2021 dollars and Texas CREWS data from 2021 to the most recent data set and selected from the program of study disaggregated data submitted by each institution. Details on sourced data can be found within the individual program of study tiles within Navigator.

• Navigator includes a wide variety of postsecondary programs to meet students’ diverse career interests and needs. These programs include apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, certificates, 2-year college, civil service job training (e.g., firefighter cadet programs), and job training programs offered by community-based organizations, and soon to include 4-year college and combined undergraduate/graduate programs,

• Each program in Navigator is assessed by the NGT team to ensure that it offers a good return on investment for students, meaning that we can verify that it leads to a well-paying job.

• Navigator includes detailed, program-level admissions process and employment outcomes information that is not publicly or readily available to advisors and students. NGT researches and interviews each program included in the directory, to ensure that advisors and students have the information they need to make tactical postsecondary decisions.

• Navigator features “Spotlights,” snapshots of a variety of career paths, and information on postsecondary programs leading to those paths of interest to advisors and students.