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Career Readiness

The Division of Student Affairs creates experiences that provide students the opportunity to improve their career readiness competencies that broadly prepare them for a successful transition into the workplace. These learning goals include communication, professionalism, and teamwork and collaboration.

Students will enhance their ability to communicate effectively.

Communication is writing and speaking effectively within multiple contexts and environments while leveraging strong verbal, non-verbal, and listening skills.

Intended Outcomes
  • Students will demonstrate communication skills to effectively explain a topic, idea, or feeling.
  • Students will demonstrate active listening skills.
  • Students will consider the interests and perspectives of others when communicating.
  • Students will articulate relevant experiences and transferable skills effectively in face-to-face, print, and online environments.

Students will enhance their professionalism.

Knowing and appreciating that work environments and individuals differ greatly, professionalism is meeting the expectations and responsibilities of the position, and acting in the interest of the larger community and workplace.

Intended Outcomes
  • Students will reliably meet the expectations and responsibilities of the position.
  • Students will act in the interest of the larger community and workplace.

Students will enhance their ability to engage in teamwork and collaboration.

Teamwork is an effective group dynamic where individuals are intentionally organized by well-defined roles allowing for equitable contributions towards a common purpose and goals.

Collaboration is the "process of joint decision making" (Gray, 1991) across different teams and committing to shared "ownership of decisions and collective responsibility of outcomes" (Liedtka & Whitten, 1998).

Intended Outcomes
  • Students will articulate the difference between group work, teamwork, and collaboration.
  • Students will demonstrate behaviors that support the wellbeing and success of organization members and contribute to a constructive team climate.
  • Students will engage in and support the facilitation of dialogue and decision-making toward achieving goals.
  • Students will contribute to succession planning for their role and the team.
  • Students will seek out and engage in collaboration, when appropriate.

The Division of Student Affairs supports the development of other career competencies adopted by the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE) in other divisional learning goals, including critical thinking, inclusive communities, leadership development, and personal identityIf you are interested, you can read more about the scholarship that informed the Career Readiness educational priority, learning goals, and learning and development outcomes.

Opportunities for students to learn and develop their Career Readiness is primarily provided through registered clubs and organizations (opens in a new tab) and student employment opportunities (opens in a new tab).

Thank you to educators across the division who serve as Career Readiness Assessment Fellows