PREPARING FOR CAREERS & LIVES OF PURPOSE
Heidi Perman
Assistant Vice Chancellor of Career and Professional Development, University Advancement
2017-2018 academic year priorities
- Grow engagement pathways for Milestone 2: Build Connections by increasing the number of student/alumni networking events, continuing to spark engagement with Pioneer Connect.
- Build and launch a new model for employer engagement and hire a new Executive Director to lead this new strategic direction.
- Launch a new Faculty Career Champion Working Group to provide input on career development direction on campus as it relates to faculty and curricular integration.
- Grow student participation through Career and Professional Development to 65% for undergraduates and 40% for graduate students.
Growing Student Engagement:
The following initiatives are all efforts toward our goal of engaging 65% of undergraduate students and 40% of master’s students in career development activities during the 2018-2019 academic year. In addition to growing student engagement, we also seek to deepen the number of touch points with each student engaged and ensure good to excellent Net Promoter Scores for all programming types to ensure high quality with this increase in growth.
During the 2015-2016 academic year, we estimated that 30% of our undergraduate students had at least one touch point with career services. By the end of the 2016-2017 academic year, nearly 50% of our undergraduate students had a formal touch point with career services, with an average of 3.3 touch points for those who engaged with our services. Our goal by 2025 is to have 90% engagement.
Milestone 2: Build Connections
This year, we are launching new networking programs across campus to increase pathways for students and alumni to connect for career conversations. College-specific Mentor for a Moment events allow students to meet alumni from a wide array of fields and job titles so that students can explore career possibilities and gain job search advice. Our new Connecting DU series brings together students from all colleges to meet with alumni and employers in highly attractive industries such as sustainability, international careers, education as well as health and wellness. These efforts give students more pathways to achieve Milestone 2: Build Connections and also helps achieve the DU IMPACT 2025 goal of growing student and alumni interactions.
Employer Connections:
This year, the Employer Connections has been realigned to be a part of the Career & Professional Development team. A new Executive Director has been hired to lead a new progressive direction for this unit. In the coming year, the team will identify metrics for success and develop a strategic plan for employer outreach and experiences that are driven by both market needs as well as student interests. Additionally, the team will begin leveraging alumni more effectively to deepen hiring pathways for students in key organizations.
Faculty Council for Undergraduate Professional Development:
The next phase of our Faculty Career Champions initiative is to launch the Faculty Career Champions Working Group for Undergraduate Professional Development. This new working group builds upon earlier initiatives which included the Faculty Career Champions Breakfast & Awards as well as the Faculty Career Champions newsletter which were launched during the 2017-2018 academic year.
Starting summer 2017, we sent out a “Faculty Career Champions” survey to students to identify faculty that have supported student internship, career, and continuing education goals. The first year, we received over 350 submissions and as a result, we organized a Faculty Breakfast where over 80 faculty joined us for a career discussion. We now have a Faculty Career Champion eNewsletter that includes information on career events, a faculty spotlight, and career related articles focused on student development.
Physics professor, Steve Iona, pursued his idea of hosting a NSM speed networking event with 12 alumni, 25 students, faculty and Dean Kutateladze, in partnership with Career Advisors. Read more about their collaboration and the innovative event that aimed to help STEM students promote the skills that they are learning in the classroom in ways that impress employers. These conversations are happening in many areas across campus.
When English professor, Donna Beth Ellard, wanted to make her First Year Seminar (FSEM) course an engaging and meaningful experience she began to ask herself “How can poetry assist a student over four years by helping them decide what their profession may be?” Thinking outside the box, Donna Beth wanted to find a way to bring an idea of “Poetry in the Professions” theme into her classroom. The goal was to have students learn how to be meaningful as they pursue and explore career paths. Read more!
We also partnered with X-ITE, CWC, and PLP in offering a pilot series of career and leadership 2 cr. courses open to all undergraduates, that will engage students in internship and job search preparation. These courses are designed to give students the unique resources, skills, confidence and tools necessary to be successful in the internship search and develop a mindset for strong workplace excellence and leadership.
Community Networking Events:
Creating a space to enable alumni-student interactions is an important aspect of DU IMPACT 2025. These interactions help students explore career possibilities after graduation and teach them the valuable skill of networking which will be critical to reaching their professional goals. Bringing students together with alumni for career development also provides a meaningful pathway for alumni to stay engaged with DU while helping the Advancement staff across campus to expand their reach to support more students.
Dine and Dialogues:
- Focused, small group discussions with industry professionals
- Brings together 1-3 alumni from one industry or field per event to enjou a conversational lunch with appx. 15 students interested in that field
- Students come prepared with questions and enjoy gaining insight from friendly and engaged alums offering their advice and expertise
- 250 students have participated
- 55 alumni have participated as experts
Community Networking Events:
- Speed networking sessions pair students with professional alumni
- Meet a new professional and learn about a new profession every 10 minutes
- Great way to learn about a lot of career paths in a short amount of time
Special thanks to Nancy Lorenzon, Heidi Perman, Pat Perrella, Trisha Raque-Bogdan and Matt Rutherford for serving on the Preparing for Careers and Lives of Purpose working group.
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