COMMISSION ON THE FUTURE

 

Bob Reardon

Professor and Director, The Career Center

February 17, 1998

http://www.fsu.edu/%7Efuture/written.html#breardon

 

In response to the letter from Marie Cowart of December 15, 1997, 1 offer the following comments.  I share these observations based on almost 32 years of employment at FSU, 3 as a staff counselor in the Counseling Center and 29 as a faculty member with a line in the Division of Student Affairs and rank in the College of Education. My present title is Program Director for Instruction, Research, and Program Evaluation in the Career Center, and Professor in the Department of Human Services and Studies.

 

My purpose here is to offer a simple but powerful idea that might serve to link the various constituencies of FSU, e.g., faculty, students, parents, public officials, employers, contributors, citizens, into a common purpose that connects with the core teaching/learning mission of the undergraduate program.  This idea can be summarized as career preparation. I realize this might sound like "vocationalizing" FSU, but I do not think it is. Let me elaborate.  At the outset it is important to define two terms, career and work. Career is defined as the "working out of a purposeful life pattern through work undertaken by a person." This is not simply a matter of choosing an occupation or finding a job; career is a much broader concept. A career is unique to a person; it is a process of balancing life roles, e.g., student, parent, spouse/partner, citizen, worker, which occur throughout one's lifetime. Work is defined as "activity that produces something of value for one's self or others." This includes unpaid, volunteer work, as well as paid employment.

 

Gaps

 

In focusing on what is needed, it is often useful to think of gaps. A "gap" can be defined as the difference between a current and an ideal state of affairs. The gaps related to career preparation are evident to students, employers, public officials, and educational leaders in many different ways. In the present situation: 

 

·         Many FSU students would value having a strategic career plan at the time of graduation which would strengthen their career pursuits,

 

·         FSU would benefit from producing the kinds of workers needed in an emerging global workforce characterized by lean production and new ways of working.

 

·         Employers of FSU graduates would value assurance that our students are ready to make effective contributions in the contemporary workplace.

 

·         Public officials and citizens in the State of Florida would benefit from perceiving the practical, relevant use of public funds in higher education.

 

A desirable university-based career preparation program would address these conditions as experienced by students, the university, employers, and citizens. Among other things, the reduction in these gaps would increase the economic productivity and career satisfaction of Floridians, as well as the political and economic support for higher education.

 

Analysis

 

In analyzing these four gaps, it is important to review some of the causal factors that contribute to them. It is beyond the scope of this memorandum to review all of the relevant factors, but several aspects of these gaps can be noted. 

 

·         The notion of a career preparation program is highly congruent with the mission of a liberal arts oriented university. Indeed, some of the most impressive such programs have been developed at small liberal arts colleges. The goals of a liberal arts education and career preparation are not incompatible, and can actually serve to bridge gaps between liberal arts and professional schools at FSU.

 

·         Generic workforce skills and learning outcomes needed by college graduates have been identified by government agencies, professional associations, and private consortia. There is emerging consensus about the career skills needed by contemporary college graduates.

 

·         FSU has been engaged since 1970 in developing innovative career services and programs that directly connect to the teaching/learning mission of the university. For example, a variable credit course, SDS 3340 Introduction to Career Development, provides instruction directly related to the workforce skills noted earlier. In addition, a comprehensive Career Center has been established, one that is akin to a "teaching hospital" in many ways.

 

·         The successful institutionalization of career interventions in universities is related to curriculum infusion and the development of learner centered activities. Career programs should ideally draw upon strengths from both academic affairs and student affairs. These administrative areas covering academic and career advising need to be synchronized.  Course-based interventions provide a mechanism to recover costs for services, academic credibility for the quality of the intervention, and recognition of learning on the academic transcript.

 

·         Career services is a boundary spanning function that links education and employment; it provides for connections between education, work, and community organizations. In social systems terms, employers provide a feedback mechanism to the university regarding the effectiveness of its educational program, Employers have important contributions to make in the identification of the learner outcomes regarding career preparation.

 

·         Career preparation of students appears to be valuable to virtually all constituents of the university. Public officials are willing to appropriate funds for this; contributors, including parents and friends of the university, are willing to give money to support it; recent alumni are very interested in this area; and students appear to be willing to pay extra for it.  I believe that more faculty in traditional liberal arts programs appear to be increasingly supportive of this idea.

 

·         A "career portfolio" is one possible focal point of a career preparation program to enhance workforce skills of FSU graduates.  Portfolio development could be incorporated into the SDS 3340 course, or possibly made available on-line. This portfolio program could be initiated by lower division students or final term seniors, and it might provide documentation to employers regarding specific learning activities undertaken by the student to operationalize a strategic career plan.

 

Options

 

In synthesizing career preparation program options, it is important to review all possible options for program design and operation. For example, one might envision a grid with one side listing workforce skills and the other side listing alternative methods for developing such competencies. The identification of all variables in such a grid is beyond the scope of this paper. However, several aspects of a possible career preparation program are noted below.

 

·         Program initiated and managed by FSU students in consultation with career services professionals.

 

·         Program available in both a course format and noncredit learning activities.

 

·         Program has a strong academic content base though liberal studies courses that examine career preparation and workforce development issues in the emerging global economy.

 

·         Course instruction eventually available in alternative formats, e.g., self-paced modules, distance learning, weekend workshops.

 

·         Courseware available in varied sites, e.g., FSU Career Center, public library, Internet.

 

·         Program competencies certified by a panel of FSU employers, e.g., Placement Partners, FSU Alumni, Florida Chamber of Commerce.

 

·         Program would encompass most learning activities presently available through the FSU Career Center.

 

Priorities

 

In moving forward with a career preparation program at FSU, it would be necessary to prioritize alternative program options that will remove the gaps identified earlier. Such a program could be designed to meet the needs of the various constituencies of FSU. We can illustrate this process by selecting the career portfolio option as one programmatic solution to the four gaps identified earlier.

 

A career portfolio might include lists of workforce skills identified by employers and faculty that FSU students could use to think more strategically about their career planning. The career portfolio could also list alternative credit and noncredit activities that would enable students to certify their-capability to demonstrate various workforce skills and competencies.

 

The content basis of the career portfolio would include knowledge in course materials included in SDS 3340, as well as other learning activities already available to FSU students irregardless of their major. Engaging in specified career portfolio activities would enable FSU to conceptualize and promote how these learning events enhance the workforce development of FSU students.

 

The career portfolio would also enable employers of FSU graduates to participate in selecting generic workforce development skills desired in new hires. Taken together, the career portfolio might assist students in thinking more strategically about their careers and to align their career goals more closely with the workforce trends in Florida, the nation, and the world.

 

Implementation

 

The implementation of a career preparation program at FSU goes beyond the scope of this memorandum. However, many of the learning resources and intellectual capital needed to launch a program are already available at FSU. In this sense, the career preparation program could be infused into already existing organizational structures and programs; it would not need to be "added on" to what is already present. The Career Center could provide leadership in this endeavor.

 

Summary

 

This memorandum has briefly outlined an approach to helping FSU students develop a strategic career vision that reflects the realities of present and future workforce needs in Florida and the world. The working title of this idea is "career preparation." A very preliminary review suggests that a career preparation program might provide a way for students to develop workforce skills that will provide a foundation for career success. It could also provide a conceptual focus for faculty, employers, public officials, parents, and friends of the university to coordinate their efforts around a shared undergraduate mission for FSU. It is positive, different, student-centered, future-oriented, understandable, and practical.

 

Return to Findings

 

Top