1. Project Proposal
North Carolina State University
College of Natural Resources
Career Development Needs Assessment
Goals:
Determine the unmet career development needs of undergraduate and graduate
CNR students to identify opportunities for improvement in CNR career preparation
resources and activities.
Objectives:
1. Assess needs and areas of interest as identified by current students through
focus groups.
2. Assess current resources and services provided as identified by faculty and
staff.
3. Assess gaps in career development resources as identified by recent, last 3
years, graduates.
4. Analyze responses from focus groups, surveys and interviews to compile
specific unmet career development needs.
Tasks:
1. Assess needs and areas of interest as identified by current students through
focus groups.
a. Obtain resources to hold and market student focus groups (i.e. space,
student contact lists, rewards/gifts for participants, technology to
record group)
b. Recruit focus group participants through email blasts, visits to student
organization meetings and class visits.
c. Create focus group questions.
d. Host focus group(s).
e. Post-group analysis.
2. Assess current resources and services provided as identified by faculty and staff.
a. Identify key faculty and staff concerned with undergraduate and
graduate student career preparation and initial destinations for
recent graduates.
b. Develop questions for faculty/staff assessment.
c. Schedule individual meetings with appropriate faculty and staff.
d. Hold faculty/staff meetings.
e. Post-meeting analysis.
3. Assess gaps in career development resources as identified by recent, last 3
years, graduates.
a. Obtain resources (i.e. list of recent graduates with valid email
addresses, drawing prize(s) to improve response rate)
b. Create survey to ask graduates to self-assess their career
preparedness level upon entering the workforce or graduate school,

2. resources that would have been useful to them prior to graduation,
etc.
c. Send/administer survey.
d. Analyze responses.
4. Analyze responses from focus groups, surveys and interviews to compile specific
unmet career development needs.
a. Compare and contrast results across stakeholder groups.
b. Compile results into comprehensive report and provide
recommendations for next steps.
c. Identify existing campus career resources that fulfill identified needs
and provide recommendations on leveraging them for maximum
student benefit.
d. Deliver analysis and recommendations in written and presentation
form.
Timeline:
Start Date: September 29, 2014
Deliver analysis and recommendations in comprehensive report by December 12,
2014.
Resources:
 80 hours paid research work
 $360 for current student focus group participant rewards ($15/student, 24
total students)
 $150 (3, $50 giftcards for recent graduate survey drawing)
 Access to CNR conference room space and recording technology equipment
to conduct focus groups and faculty meetings.
ADDENDUM:
(Time permitting)
Develop and deliver career development workshop(s) for CNR students to fulfill
identified career needs.
Contact Information:
Katherine Peterssen
kmmcinty@ncsu.edu
North Carolina State University
Master of Education in College Counseling and Student Development
Expected May 2015