Embedding Career Readiness into Your Course Curriculum

Abstract

The university's 10 year strategic plan charges us to produce 100,000 career-ready graduates. But, what does it mean to be career-ready?à In 2015, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) released a comprehensive definition of career readiness and related competencies with the goal of providing higher education leaders, policy makers and employers shared language and understanding of the desired learning outcomes for today's college graduate.à The NACE career readiness competencies are intentionally broad in order to be applied successfully by faculty across all disciplines to prepare students for entry into today's interdisciplinary workplace and academy.à It is commonly accepted that students are more likely to be engaged in course content and achieve academic success necessary to graduate if they can identify and articulate the connection between what they are learning in the classroom and their desired post-graduate goal, whether to enter the workforce or go on for advanced study. In this presentation, representatives from University Career Services will provide an overview of the NACE career readiness competencies and ideas for how to more intentionally and explicitly tie them to classroom learning.à Presentation attendees will be able to:

1.ààààà Map existing course assignments to the career readiness competencies

2.ààààà Identify low effort and high impact methods for adding or enhancing current assignments that map to the career readiness competencies

3.àààààà Help students articulate the career readiness competencies gained through coursework

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