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A case study on adding Pigment to Purdue University’s EDPS 105 (Academic and Career Planning) assessment battery. The Exploratory Studies team wanted to see whether a modern assessment could help students better articulate their strengths and find career fit. This article covers the context, implementation, and what students and instructors reported after a course of use.
Program Overview
Purdue University’s Exploratory Studies program serves students who have not yet declared a major. EDPS 105 (Academic and Career Planning) is a core course in the program. It uses a sequence of assessments, reflection exercises, and advising to help students develop self-awareness and make informed decisions about their academic and career direction.
The Existing Assessment Battery
The EDPS 105 assessment battery already included the Strong Interest Inventory, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a Values Clarification exercise, and myStrengths. The Exploratory Studies team wanted to explore working style, blind spots, and energy patterns around career sustainment and was interested in seeing whether Pigment, a modern, self-discovery assessment could add a useful dimension to the existing sequence.
Why Pigment
They were interested in a modern assessment that could help students articulate their strengths and understand what work energizes them in language that felt relevant and specific. Pigment measures 82 traits across nine workplace domains using a forced choice format. It does not require prior work experience, which made it a practical fit for undergraduate students who are still early in their careers.
Implementation
Purdue administered Pigment as part of the existing EDPS 105 assessment sequence, alongside the four other instruments. Instructors used Pigment’s provided debrief materials to facilitate one full class session with activities. Students were able to reference their reports throughout the semester as part of ongoing reflection coursework.
Survey Results
Students who completed the Pigment assessment were surveyed at the end of the course (n=59).
Agreement with Self-Insight Statements About Pigment
Students were asked to what degree they agreed with five statements about their experience with the Pigment assessment specifically. Agreement rates (combining “Agree” and “Somewhat Agree”) exceeded 90% on four of five measures.
- 95%
- “I have a better understanding of how I process information, make decisions, and collaborate with others.”
- 95%
- “I’ve improved my ability to articulate my strengths.”
- 93%
- “I have a better understanding of my potential blind spots.”
- 93%
- “I have a better understanding of the type of work that may energize me.”
- 84%
- “The ‘Roles to Explore’ suggested by Pigment was helpful.”
The lower agreement on “Roles to Explore” reflects a known limitation: Pigment currently focuses on knowledge work careers only. For students still exploring a broad range of fields, the role suggestions may not cover every path under consideration.
Comparative Ranking: Personal Qualities
Students ranked all five assessments by how much each helped them learn about their personal qualities. Pigment was ranked first most often.
| Assessment | Ranked #1 | Average Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Pigment | 39% | 2.47 |
| Strong Interest Inventory | 26% | 2.61 |
| myStrengths | 19% | 2.58 |
| Myers-Briggs | 11% | 3.51 |
| Values | 5% | 3.82 |
Instructor Perspective
Pigment was a welcome addition to our EDPS 105 class. Students loved the depth of their results and said the personalized insights helped everything they’d been learning about themselves really click. It boosted their confidence and took their class reflections to a deeper level. As an instructor, I appreciated the instructional materials, which gave me a solid starting point. Overall, the assessment was easy to teach and easy for students to engage with.
— Colleen Banter, Associate Director, Exploratory Studies, Purdue UniversitySummary
Pigment added a dimension to the EDPS 105 assessment battery that complemented the existing instruments. Students reported meaningful gains in self-insight, particularly around blind spots and strengths articulation. Among five assessments, students ranked Pigment first most often for learning about their personal qualities. The tool was straightforward for instructors to implement and well received by students.
What Students Said
The most consistent theme in qualitative responses was students’ appreciation for the blind spots section, which they noted the other assessments did not provide.
I really liked the assessment. It told us what our weaknesses may be, and many of the other assessments only mentioned the positive traits that we have.
EDPS 105 StudentIt was incredibly helpful. I really love that it gave me my weaknesses in addition to my strengths. It framed them in a great way that will help me to prepare better for job interviews.
EDPS 105 Student
