ETS Unveils Futurenav Compass to Connect Higher Ed Students to Careers

PRINCETON, N.J. , Sept. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ETS today announced the beta release of Futurenav Compass, a next-generation platform designed to help students set career goals, connect each stage of their education to in-demand opportunities, and take action to achieve their dreams. The California State University (CSU) will serve as the first public system in the nation to introduce the platform.  

Futurenav Compass uses skills assessment and extraction, intelligent career navigation, and real-time labor market intelligence to help students set career goals and take clear steps to achieve them. It will also connect learners directly to jobs and internships that match their skills, powered by an AI engine trained on millions of monthly job transitions to deliver the most accurate view of a fast-changing job market.  

The platform aims to give students and the stakeholders in students' lives the clarity and confidence to make decisions that maximize the value of their time, tuition, and effort.  

"For years, we have provided an inadequate bridge from education to work – leaving students without a map, institutions without the tools to support them, and employers without the incentive to invest in early career talent," said Ken Eisner, Managing Director of Global Higher Education to Workforce at ETS. "Futurenav Compass aims to break down the education and workforce silos and creates the middleware for a student's education to workforce journey. It provides a dynamic, AI-centric GPS for the skills economy showing not only where each individual stands, but also the best routes to their ever-changing destination. With the Cal State System and others to be announced as launch and co-development partners, we aim to set the standard in connecting learning with the workforce at scale." 

"CSU has always been committed to access and upward mobility," said Dilcie Perez, the CSU's systemwide deputy vice chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs. "With the CSU's launch of a systemwide strategic plan and a new student success framework, we are raising the bar: every student will graduate with the opportunity for their first career job and/or a clear path to further study. Partnering with ETS on Futurenav Compass accelerates that vision by giving students not only a degree, but clear support and tools to help them align their degree with their career goals. This is about moving from graduation goals to career alignment — and charting a bold new way forward for CSU students." 

The first implementations will begin at Los Angeles–area CSU campuses in Fall 2025, with systemwide expansion to follow. Serving over 460,000 students, CSU is the nation's largest four-year public university system — and the Los Angeles-area campuses represent nearly half its enrollment. With 88% of graduates remaining in California and 80% staying within 50 miles of their alma mater, localized career and job connections through Futurenav Compass are critical to student success. ETS and the CSU will work closely with students, staff, and employers to ensure the platform adapts to market needs, incorporates real-time feedback, and delivers measurable results.  

To learn more about Futurenav Compass, please visit ets.org/futurenav/compass. 

About ETS 
ETS is a global education and talent solutions organization enabling lifelong learners to be future ready. Our mission — advancing the science of measurement to power human progress — drives our focus on helping everyone, everywhere, demonstrate their skills and chart their path to future readiness for life. We are committed to readying 100M+ people for the next generation of jobs by 2035. We deliver on this commitment through trusted assessments and skills solutions — including TOEFL, TOEIC, GRE, Praxis and Futurenav — and groundbreaking initiatives powered by our Research Institute. With a global footprint including subsidiaries (PSI), offices, and operations in more than 200 countries and territories, we help over 50 million individuals each year measure their proficiency and unlock new opportunities. Learn more at www.ets.org. 

About California State University 
The California State University is the nation's largest four-year public university system, providing transformational opportunities for upward mobility to more than 460,000 students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. More than half of CSU students are from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, and more than one-quarter of undergraduates are first-generation college students. Because the CSU's 22 universities provide a high-quality education at an incredible value, they are rated among the best in the nation for promoting social mobility in national college rankings from U.S. News & World Report, the Wall Street Journal and Washington Monthly. The CSU powers California and the nation, sending nearly 125,000 career-ready graduates into the workforce each year. In fact, one in every 20 Americans holding a college degree earned it at the CSU. Connect with and learn more about the CSU in the CSU newsroom.   

Media Contact: Stephen Olenski, [email protected] 

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SOURCE ETS