APSCU Press Release: APSCU Best Practices Lead The Way For Postsecondary Education Career Services

For Immediate Release
August 28, 2013

Contact
Noah Black, noah.black@apscu.org


Washington, DC—As part of its mission to prepare postsecondary students for jobs, the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU) has released the “Best Practices In Career Services and Placement,” which delivers recommendations to all postsecondary education institutions on providing successful career services for students, employers and institutions. The recommendations address ways all institutions can support the transition to employment during the student’s entire postsecondary experience, including campus-wide engagement in career services, and effective management of a career services program.

To develop these best practices, APSCU established a Task Force on Career Services and Placement, which brought a breadth and depth of higher education and workforce experience to the discussion. The methods and techniques were cultivated from APSCU’s member institutions that currently offer students rich opportunities to prepare for their future career and personalized support for their career search process.

“We recognize the role of postsecondary career education in our nation’s quest to meet employer demands for skilled workers, and our students’ goal of obtaining a quality job. These recommendations will help our students reach their professional goals by making career services more visible, effective, and relevant,” said Steve Gunderson, the president and CEO of APSCU. “We encourage all postsecondary institutions to review these best practices and adopt recommendations that will benefit their students and employer partners.”

These best practices offer all institutions examples of those programs that best serve the growing new traditional student population. New traditional students often balance the needs of family, full-time or part-time work and postsecondary education.

The best practices include recommendations for ensuring student success, such as:

• Develop career service programs that guide students throughout their entire academic career from prospective student to alumni.
• Monitor employment at regular intervals and stay informed about workforce trends.
• Build relationships with externship or clinical or practicum sites to generate job leads.
• Ensure the accuracy of information delivered to the public.
• Cultivate an appropriate professional relationship with each student that reflects and supports their academic journey. For prospective students, provide accurate information and a clear expectation of responsibilities to help ensure a good fit.
• Develop a new-student orientation program that links professional outcomes with academic success to benefit students in the beginning of their tenure.
• Implement a process of reviewing and collecting data—including student generated, instructor generated, and employer generated data.
• Establish a process for verifying employment after graduation to improve the quality of placements.
• Establish program advisory committees and build community and employer relations.
  

This is the second in a series of Best Practices recommendations for postsecondary education by APSCU. The first set was the Best Practices for Military and Veteran Students, released earlier this year. Future Best Practices are expected to cover topics that provide recommendations for Recruitment and Admissions, and Financial Literacy.

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