INDIVIDUAL CAREER ACADEMIC PLANNING (ICAP)

The term ICAP refers to both a process that helps students engage in academic and
career development activities and a product that is created and maintained for students’
academic, career and personal advancement.

ICAP is a student-driven, ongoing process that actively engages students, enabling them to:

• Understand their own interests, strengths, values and learning styles
• Create a vision of their future
• Develop individual goals
  Prepare a personal plan for achieving their vision and goals

ICAP, the product (the plan) is intended to be dynamic and flexible, reflecting the following:

• Students’ coursework, learning and assessment results
• Students’ postsecondary plans, aligned with their career, academic and personal/social
  goals and financial reality
• Students’ records of college- and career-readiness activities

The ICAP process and related products can provide clear benefits to both students and
schools if the district supports ICAP efforts in a strategic and coordinated manner.
Districts must make a shift in thinking, approaching and delivering career development in their schools in order to help students and their families become more informed consumers of the education and training required to meet their personal goals.

This shift is a strategic one, toward a holistic and student-centered approach away
from the ‘random acts of career development’ that occur now. Strong infrastructure,
relationships and student awareness are key to successful implementation of ICAP.