To assist academic departments in their assessment of valuable career skills and ROI of students pursuing their degree program, the Career Center has developed a second consultation training program for all faculty and departments. This 3-hour consultation is designed to empower educators to align academic offerings with the evolving demands of the workforce while fostering students' sense of purpose. To request this consultation, it is essential that a faculty/department has already completed Departmental Consulting 1: Program Data Discovery.
This training will:
- Emphasize the importance of purposeful work and career skill development by equipping faculty with strategies to integrate career-focused skills into their curricula
- Ensure that students gain not only knowledge but also practical abilities that enhance their employability and long-term success
- Increase the awareness of the return on investment (ROI) for both students and academic departments, creating a more meaningful and impactful educational experience
- Understand how to balance academic rigor with practical career skill-building terminology and activities
- Assist departments in strategically branding their programs’ ROI, as well as showcase how an academic program prepares students for purposeful and rewarding careers after graduation.
- Provide each department access to apply for the Venture Fund, requesting financial support for any career-related initiative within the department that aligns with their new ROI strategic plan (up to $2000).
Module 1: Skill Gaps - how do we seek to close the gaps for our students. Exploration of where they are found in the curriculum, co-curricular options, ideation of new channels to provide our students with these opportunities, micro-credentials, experience. Review of Career Skills and other specific skills industry is requesting (or graduates are missing); discovery of where Skills are most likely intentionally taught and explained to students; examples of how students get those skills; ideation of new ways to fill gaps through collaborations, co-curricular programming, micro-credentials, training programs.
Module 2: Communicating Skills - deep dive into current collateral such as website, posters, orientation materials, etc. How is it representing the degree as "purposeful", skills gained, and highlighting student success. The team will seek proof from industry, associations, etc. Using a checklist and data/information on how students want to be communicated to and how, we review department website, orientation materials, and other collateral they use to explain their program to different constituent groups. How is the department collecting student stories, industry examples, etc. What information can we find from external sources as to the "power" of the academic program?
Module 3: Experiential Learning - reviewing and evaluating experiential learning in the department. When do we talk to students about options, where are they integrated already, missed opportunities? Ideation on new ways to ensure 100% of students get EL before they graduate. The team will talk through how EL is integrated into the curriculum, where it is just "optional," current usage stats, and how we can develop new streams to ensure all students are getting "resume relevant" experience to market to future employers/grad programs.
Module 4: Data Monitoring - setting up structures that allow the department to quickly monitor student success data from the career center to answer any questions on "gainful employment." Developing ways to share data and assess how programs/structures are leading towards positive change and success for their students.