Wendy Winter-Searcy, Arapahoe Community College Career and Transfer Center Judy Brobst, Colorado State University Career Center PLANNING THE NEXT TRANSITION: CAREER SERVICES

MEETING THE NEEDS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS 45% of all college students start at a community college 90% of all entering community college students intend to transfer, yet the national transfer rate was only 29% (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center) Many of our students are working while in school

WHY OFFER CAREER SERVICES Development of career pathways Persistence related to goal-orientation Training on workplace employability skills Connect with employer networks

PROCESS OF ADVISING* Explore life goals Explore vocational goals Program choice Course choice Scheduling courses Components of career services Updating Academic Advising for the 21 st Century, Terry OBanion Community College Times, 11/21/12

COMMUNITY COLLEGE CAREER SERVICES Different models of delivering service Independent department Integrated with Advising Integrated with Crisis Counseling Integrated with Faculty Most often part of Student Services division Varying levels of funding and institutional support

ACC CAREER AND TRANSFER CENTER MISSION The Career and Transfer Center exists to provide developmentally appropriate career and educational assistance for students, including: self-discovery career exploration workplace skills and experiential learning transitions to either continuing education (transfer) or the workplace (employment)

SERVICES OFFERED Career counseling Individual appointments for career exploration and assessment Transfer services Connections to four-year universities and searchable transfer agreement database Employment services Job search skill development as well as a job database Groups, workshops, and class presentations Events Career and transfer fairs, as well as industry panels

HIGHLIGHTS Groups – Career Explorer Workshops – Youre Graduating, Now What? Classroom Presentations Examples: AAA 109 – Advanced Academic Achievement – goal setting MAT 090 and MAT 120 – integrate math problems in careers and evaluate labor market information PSY 102 – personality theories

4-YEAR MODEL OF CAREER SERVICES Central location and/or specialized offices Counselors work in conjunction with academic advising May be combined with academic advising Referral service to other on and off campus resources Often collaborate with retention/diversity offices

FIRST POINT OF CONTACT Often a first point of contact for Transfer Students Will refer to Transfer Office for complete service delivery Will ask about transfer credits, what courses should I take Will refer to academic advising and TransferU through registrars page

ON CAMPUS For most students they have 2 years to get the plan implemented and/or organize a plan and start to execute it Connect with Career Services early Through academic advising Through visit day Through orientation Through retention offices Through diversity offices Through faculty members

CAREER SERVICES FOCUS Developmental – still deciding on a major/change major/what will I do with a major Experiential Learning – internships/co-ops/volunteer opportunities They have 1 maybe 2 summers to complete summer opportunity Graduate school For some they have 1 year before they start the application process Job Search

LEADERSHIP How to articulate leadership How can they develop if they dont have Student clubs and organizations Working while attending school Participating in sports Organizations outside of school that they participate in Presidents Leadership Program

WHEN TO USE SERVICES Sooner rather than later Career Services can help a Transfer student feel connected to the University Career Services can help a Transfer student find resources Career Services can be a one stop shop

FOR DISCUSSION What are the career services needs on your campus? What works and what doesnt in career services? Who are your campus partners? How do you help students transfer successfully?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY! Wendy Winter-Searcy, Career and Transfer Center Coordinator Arapahoe Community College Judy Brobst, Career Center Liaison, College of Natural Sciences Colorado State University