A glimpse into the challenges that our college students are facing and how experiential learning can open doors to opportunities.

1. What do Employers Look for in new graduates? (NACE, 2011)
• Relevant work experience, including internships
• Leadership positions
• High GPA (3.0 or above)
• Extracurricular involvement
• Volunteer activities and service-learning
What matters in college? (Astin, 1993)
• Participation in college internship programs have the strongest positive
effect on self-reported growth in job skills and completion of the bachelor’s
degree
• Students’ academic and personal development can be enhanced by heavy
involvement
Sources of Impact and Positive Net Effects of College (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005)
• In and out of classroom settings promote change and growth
• Complex process that leads to change and development
• Experiential learning promotes critical thinking skills in non-course settings
• Students are influenced by institutional characteristics, faculty/staff
interaction, and their peer group
• College promotes cognitive, psychosocial, attitudes and values, moral
development
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2. Challenging environments that present new information and experiences are
essential for cognitive growth (Sanford, 1966). When students are exposed to new
working environments, this can ignite discomfort or “cognitive dissonance” (Huebner
& Lawson, 1990). This is when students learn how to:
• solve real world problems
• build relationships
• identify skills
• solidify their career interests
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3. Sometimes there is a mismatch between student and employer expectations.
Each student requires a different amount of dissonance or challenge. If the academic
or work environment presents too much challenge, individuals tend to suffer
cognitively and emotionally (Sanford).
If there is too little challenge in the environment, individuals may feel safe and
satisfied, but they do not develop. By incorporating experiential learning into the
UNCP experience, students will begin to find congruence, or a good career fit
(Huebner & Lawson, 1990).
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4. The perfect career cannot be discovered by sitting on the sidelines.
As educators, we need to empower students to get involved. Students will need to
test out several learning environments in order to find the right career “fit.” Concrete
experiences will assist with problem-solving abilities, networking skills, and moral
development (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005).
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5. UNCP students are facing more challenges than ever before. Many students are
learning how to live independently for the first time (Lowery, 2001). With rising
tuition costs, students are forced to take out more loans and work longer hours. Paid
internship opportunities in a rural area like Pembroke are on the decline.
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6. Challenge: New graduates are competing with seasoned professionals for entry level
jobs (NACE, 2011).
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7. Challenge: National unemployment rate is 7.8% (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012).
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8. Challenge: Generally speaking, millennial generation college students have been
sheltered by their parents and families. Many are making their own decisions for the
first time, which may cause anxiety during the career development process (Lowery,
2001).
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9. Challenge: According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (2011),
the class of 2011 had the highest number of students who reported not yet having
applied for jobs or graduate programs.
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10. Challenge: Research by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (2012)
indicates that 74% of employers wish to hire new graduates who have relevant work
and internship experience. However, not all academic programs at UNCP require the
completion of an academic internship.
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11. Challenge: Students are living in a rural area with few paid internship opportunities.
Students are forced to make tough financial and career decisions.
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12. The good news? The Career Center and other departments are working to cultivate
more opportunities for UNCP students.
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13. Strength: Over 821 students created accounts in the Brave Opportunities
employment database, demonstrating a strong interest in on-campus opportunities.
Brave Opportunities is a clearinghouse for all on-campus student employment,
including work-study, on-campus student employment, graduate assistantship, and
Hawk Assistantship positions. Research by Astin (1993) suggests that part-time
campus employment has a positive effect on students’ self-reported levels of
cognitive and affective growth.
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14. Strength: The Workforce Recruitment Program, The Career Center, and the Office of
Disability Services has 10 students lined up to interview on November 9, 2012. This is
the highest number of candidates UNCP has produced in three years. (Eight qualified
students or recent graduates must complete the online application and schedule an
interview in order to guarantee a recruiter will come to campus.)
The WRP is a recruitment and referral program that connects federal and private
sector employers nationwide with highly motivated college students and recent
graduates with disabilities who are eager to prove their abilities in the workplace
through summer or permanent jobs.
Recruiters from participating agencies interview students and recent graduates with
disabilities at colleges and universities nationwide. Over 3,000 students and recent
graduates are interviewed between the beginning of October and through mid
November of each year. In 2011, over 600 students and recent graduates were hired
for summer and permanent jobs within the federal government and the private
sector.
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15. Strength: The Hawk Assistantship Program created 200 paid, on-campus
opportunities for enrolled students in fall 2012.
The Hawk Assistantship program is funded by the 2012 tuition increase. Hawk
Assistantships are on-campus positions that have been set up like mini-internships,
affording students the opportunity to gain valuable on-the-job experience relating to
their majors.
This program benefits students by giving them paid, major-related experience
without having to travel away from campus. We know that linking students’ part-time
employment opportunities with academic experience provides additional
opportunities to shape students’ academic, cognitive, and interpersonal development
(Kuh, 1995).
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16. Strength: The Career Center launched a residential living-learning community called
“Career Quest” in fall 2012.
Career Quest is a living-learning community for first-year students who have not yet
decided on a major. Together students explore career options, engage in fun learning
experiences, and declare majors that fit with their unique interests and skills. The
purpose of the program is to guide each student through the career development and
exploration process, while creating a plan for long-term career success.
Selected participants live in a community setting on the first floor of Pine Hall and
take Freshman Seminar, English 1050, and Introduction to Career Development
courses as a cohort group. Students make connections with classmates, faculty, and
staff advisors while learning about UNCP’s resources.
Career Quest members have exclusive access to special programs which includes
reserved courses, career field trips, employer visits; community and social activities.
In 2011-12, Career Quest retained 31% more first-year students than the university
average.
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17. Strength: The Career Quest Living-Learning Community connects first-year students
with individuals from various career backgrounds.
In January 2012, students took a trip to the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey
circus to learn about careers in the entertainment industry. Host and professional
musician, Jeremy Papay, gave students a backstage pass to learn about career
opportunities with Feld Entertainment.
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18. Strength: The Career Quest Living-Learning community helps students build
relationships with UNCP alumni.
UNCP alumnus and Magistrate, Rudy Locklear, has visited with Career Quest on
several occasions. In September 2012, he gave students a tour of the Robeson
County Jail and Sherriff’s office. Students learned about career options in criminal
justice, public service, and emergency management.
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19. Strength: Incorporating service-learning projects into the learning community
curriculum helps students to apply their new knowledge about career development.
Each learning community student is required to take Introduction to Career
Development (CAR1010). This course is designed to help students explore their
career interests and learn how to begin networking and job searching.
Students were required to participate in a service-learning project with the Pembroke
Housing Authority. Each group was responsible for creating a presentation about
career and job search skills, which they delivered to residents of the Housing
Authority.
Several students have continued to volunteer with the Housing Authority in our
community. The 2012-13 Career Quest cohort had the highest participation rate in
this semester’s “Freshman Day of Service.”
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20. Employment Statistics
 69% of fall 2012 graduates (as of October 18) have accepted job or graduate
school offers
 10 students scheduled to interview with the Workforce Recruitment Program on
November 9, 2012
 609 positions were posted in the Brave Opportunities employment database;
students viewed positions a total of 28, 913 times
 55 employers visited campus to recruit students at the Teacher Education Fair and
Career Expos in 2011-12
Career Center Usage Statistics
 2140 students visited the Career Center in 2011-12 and 49% have visited the office
multiple times
 95% of students who attended a career workshop said they would recommend the
program to a friend
 59% of students said their career consulting appointments exceeded their
expectations; the other 41% of students said their expectations were met
 98% of students who met with a career coach said they have a clearly-defined
action plan to address “next steps” in career planning
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21. Freshman Seminar
 Presented to 30 freshman seminar classes in fall 2012 (618 students)
 90% of students cited having “excellent knowledge of Career Center services”
 100% of faculty agreed the presentations helped to jump start the career planning
process
 56% of first-year students know what careers they’d like to pursue
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22. What our students are saying about what they’ve learned by visiting the Career
Center:
“I learned what I should be doing during my college years. It’s important for me to be
involved in school.”
“I learned about different career paths and student organizations in my major.”
“Do an internship to get hands-on experience!”
“How to write a resume-- I haven’t written one since high school!”
“The resources on the Career Center website, specifically the interview practice
resource.”
“I am beyond excited to pursue career opportunities with the knowledge I gained
during the Career Center presentation.”
“I felt very included and feel better for attending.”
“I think that I will use the website shown in class to look more into my major.”
“I'm still undecided about my major but I'm more aware of how to figure it out and
get information.”
“Very informational; learned about services I never knew about”
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23. What our students are saying about what they’ve learned by visiting the Career
Center:
“About building a resume and how to look for majors”
“About how important your major is how important it is to study”
“About internships and my major”
“About the jobs on campus I really need one and resume”
“All of the opportunities here at the career center, I learned that my interests are very
similar to my major”
“Applying for jobs before I graduate”
“Education majors need to take the Praxis. Other than teaching there are plenty of
other jobs for history majors”
“Different options for athletic training majors.”
“About taking the GRE test for grad school… and that the Career Center helps you
with your resume!”
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24. Goal: Share resources across campus to give students the best possible career
experience. Work with faculty, staff, advancement, and alumni relations to maximize
connections. If our community works together, we can provide more opportunities
for our students. This will help us continue to strengthen our institutional culture and
require internship and service-learning components in more academic programs.
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