Career Courses Create Career Courses Create Competitive CandidatesCompetitive Candidates

Amy O’DonnellMwACE Annual Conference

August 2-4, 2009

While we’re waitingWhile we’re waiting, please write your responses to the questions on the scrap

paper provided1. Do you represent a college/employer, other?2. Do you think career courses should be

offered? Required?3. Do you have a career course on your campus?

If so is it required?4. What challenges do/might you face trying to

implement career curriculum?5. If you have course resources would you be

willing to share?6. Write your name/email address, if willing.

Today’s tasks

• Create awareness of why the UT College of Business Administration implemented required career courses

• Note employer survey results which support having career courses

• Share resources/ideas among colleagues who have or wish to have courses

Setting the context

• UT is a public institution of 20,700 students• College of Business Administration houses

3200 students (about a 2750/350 split)• There is a centralized career services office;

however, the College values the discipline-specific attention it can offer in the Business Career Programs Office

Business Career Programs

• Assists business students in securing internships during their undergraduate careers and full-time placement upon graduation

• Supervised by Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Administration, who, until fall 2004, also provided job search advising/resume critiques

Business Career Programs

• In addition to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Administration, additional staff include– ¾ time secretary– Undergraduate Office Staff– Graduate Student

• Career Development Curriculum/Lecturer provide exposure to career exploration/job search process

Career Development I & II

• Act in place of having full-time advising/administrative staff

• Required of all undergraduates• One credit hour, graded A-C, No Credit

(although this is changing Fall 2009)• Six sections of “II” and then, “I,” are taught

concurrently for 8 weeks• 40+ students per section total approximately

480 students per semester

Career Development Courses take students from self-assessment through the

offerCareer Development I:– self-assessment– Introduction of

resources– major/career

exploration

Career Development II:– job search

strategies/networking– refining written

documents– interview prep– professionalism

How did we get faculty support?

• New Dean welcomed idea of introducing required career curriculum when Associate (then, Assistant) Dean’s attention to career-related tasks became too much

• Support came easily when presented to– College’s Undergraduate Studies Committee– College faculty as a whole – University Faculty Senate

• Piloted in 2004; became required in 2005

Our story is unique

• “Another challenge…is convincing the administration that offering career courses provides benefits to students,” (Brooks, 1995)

• Administration investment remains an issue at many institutions as faculty are opposed to awarding academic credit (Mead and Korschgen, 1994)

Raphael, A. (2005, Fall2005). CAREER COURSES: HOW WE KNOW WHAT STUDENTS ARE LEARNING. NACE Journal,66(1), 34-39. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from Education Research Complete database

Why explore career course’s impact?

• Continually receive comments from employers stating students are better prepared than they used to be

• Reactions from: – Students– Colleagues– Employers

• Trying to lend support to university colleagues

warranted it (“enthusiastic” about unique required model)

Why explore career course’s impact?

• There is overwhelming evidence that career courses have a positive impact on student outcomes (Folsom and Reardon, 2001)

• Students who enroll in career courses begin their career planning earlier and develop greater self awareness (Brooks, 1995)

• There are clear advantages to taking a career course over individual counseling sessions (Stonewater and Daniels, 1983)

Raphael, A. (2005, Fall2005). CAREER COURSES: HOW WE KNOW WHAT STUDENTS ARE LEARNING. NACE Journal,66(1), 34-39. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from Education Research Complete database

Survey Particulars

• Sample comprised of primary contacts who recruited last year and those who had record of resume referrals from 2004-2009

• Sent E-mail invitation to participate to 200 recruiters who quickly began responding online

• Adjustments were made for incorrect addresses/contacts

• Sent one reminder message• Reporting 96 participants and 48% response rate

How many years have you been recruiting at the UT College of Business?

This impacted results

Where do you recruit your interns/entry level workforce?

For what disciplines or majors do you recruit?

• Respondents verified mostly typical business disciplines:– Accounting– Finance– Management (HR, Organizational Leadership)– Marketing, E-commerce– Professional Sales– Supply Chain/Operations– IT

Some not major

specific

What activities generally comprise your recruiting program?

Still value high touch

Have you noticed a change in UT Business students’ ability to be competitive in the

last four years?

If you are new (within the past three years) to recruiting UT Business students, how do

they compare?

Are you familiar with the practice of offering students career development/job

search courses?

Do you believe colleges should require career/job search courses?

What benefits do you believe are or could be realized by colleges requiring career

courses?

Noted awareness of careers

and “reality”

Would you say that students who take career courses versus those who do not

are more competitive in the market?

If one of the colleges where you recruit decides it wants to implement required career

curriculum, would you be wiling to support the college with written recommendations?

Would you advise on curriculum?

Would knowing a college requires career curriculum impact your decision to recruit

there?

In the absence of required career courses, what recommendations would you have for colleges as

they create competitive candidates?

Are you aware UT College of Business students are required to take two career

development courses?

Observations

• Although 70% of our recruiters weren’t aware of our required curriculum, they believe our students are competitive (62%) or about the same (36%) as students from other schools

• 67% of surveyed recruiters had only been recruiting five or fewer years, and thus wouldn’t have had a basis to judge students from the days prior to required curriculum

Observations

• 85% of employers believe that colleges should require career curriculum, yet only 53% say knowing the schools require the courses would impact their decision to recruit

• 81% of employers said they’d be willing to support you with written recommendations

• 65% indicated they would advise on curriculum

Conclusion? Sounds like employers like the idea of enhancing competitiveness

through career courses.UT College of Business offers assistance:– Dr. Terribeth Gordon-Moore, Associate Dean for

Undergraduate Programs and Administration, 419-530-4376, terribeth.gordon@utoledo.edu

– Amy O’Donnell, Career Development Lecturer419-530-2422, amy.odonnell@utoledo.edu

Discussion?