Faculty Are a Key Source of Career Advice for Students

BETHLEHEM, PA—Faculty are a key source of career advice for students—with more than nine out of 10 saying students asked them for guidance in the past year, according to a new study of 6,800 college and university faculty members conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) in collaboration with the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) and the Society for Experiential Education (SEE).

Results of the study are detailed in Faculty Attitudes and Behaviors: The Integration of Career Readiness Into the Curriculum.

In particular, faculty reported that students typically ask them for guidance on what jobs fit with their major as well as for advice about graduate school and internships—topics that campus career centers and experiential units are typically well positioned to address. However, the study found that only 70% of faculty members report collaborating with the career center.

The study found that faculty play a distinct role in helping students become “career ready,” i.e., developing and demonstrating key skills that employers look for in new hires beyond job-specific knowledge, such as communication, teamwork, and critical thinking abilities. Overall, 65% of responding faculty said their academic department had aligned broad student learning outcomes with career readiness competencies. An even larger portion—80%—said they have integrated career readiness/career information into their courses. However, just over half (55%) of faculty members said they were aware that their institution has aligned student learning outcomes with career competencies, suggesting a disconnect between faculty practice within their programs and their awareness of broader institutional efforts to address career preparedness.

“Awareness is important,” says Shawn VanDerziel, NACE president and chief executive officer. “Our study found that among faculty members who are aware their institution has aligned competencies with student outcomes, nearly 80% have collaborated with the career center. Overall, the study points to the need for broad support for collaboration between faculty and campus resources as a means for increasing institutional effectiveness and student outcomes.”

Underscoring that sentiment, Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U, noted that, “To truly prepare students to flourish in their personal and professional lives, we need to recognize the ways in which collaboration across divisions will deepen curricular learning by leveraging the expertise of a range of campus stakeholders, including career center directors, advisors, and community engagement leaders.”

Beth Odahlen, president of SEE, agrees: “The call to action is clear: Experiential learning units and career centers along with faculty have important roles in student success in terms of career outcomes.”

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About Faculty Attitudes and Behaviors: The Integration of Career Readiness Into the Curriculum: The study on which the report is based was conducted October 18 through December 21, 2023, by the National Association of Colleges and Employers in collaboration with American Association of Colleges and Universities and the Society for Experiential Education. There were more than 6,800 usable responses from faculty members, representing four- and two-year institutions, both public and private. Among those who identified their ranks, more than 60% were full, associate, or assistant professors and either tenured or a tenure-track professor.

Faculty Attitudes and Behaviors: The Integration of Career Readiness Into the Curriculum is free to the public.

About the National Association of Colleges and Employers: Established in 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) is the only professional association in the United States that connects 12,300 college career services professionals, more than 4,000 early career talent acquisition professionals, and more than 400 business solution providers that serve this community.

NACE is the premier source of market research on career readiness, the employment of recent college graduates, and the college-to-career transition. NACE forecasts hiring and trends in the job market; tracks salaries, recruiting and hiring practices, and student attitudes and outcomes; and identifies best practices and benchmarks.

NACE offers its members unparalleled research, networking and professional development opportunities, guidance on standards and ethics, and advocacy on key issues. For more information, visit https://naceweb.org/. NACE maintains a virtual press room for the media.