Recognizing the importance of students’ development of career readiness skills, Furman University developed its “Four-Year Pathway,” a program that spans students’ undergraduate career and prepares them to enter the workforce.

“Beginning with the Pathways Program, students learn about the NACE Career Readiness Competencies and reflect on how they can develop the competencies through their undergraduate experiences,” explains Lauren Payne, assistant vice president of career and professional development.

In 2017, Furman University partnered with Gallup to assess the student experience. Initial findings showed only one-third of students reported using career resources prior to graduating and one-half waited until senior year or later to start career planning.

“These graduates had difficulty transitioning to life after Furman,” says Kristin Irwin, director of career education.

“Based on this data, Gallup recommended that Furman find ways to get students to think about careers earlier and intentionally integrate career preparation into academic programs.”

The “Four-Year Pathway”—a campus-wide initiative with many departments involved in its development—is delivered in two segments:

• First- and second-year students participate in Furman’s Pathways Program, a two-year advising program that integrates advising and mentoring with a comprehensive curriculum that helps students transition to college and develop a plan for their academic and career goals. 
• The Purposeful Pathways Program follows, with a designated faculty member from each academic department partnering with Furman’s Center for Career Engagement to develop discipline-specific career support for juniors and seniors within their majors.

“This creates a fully integrated, developmentally appropriate Four-Year Pathway that fosters career readiness for all Furman students,” Irwin explains.

Payne notes that the primary goal of the Four-Year Pathway is to integrate career readiness and preparation into the academic experience in a way that would ensure all students would:

• Think intentionally about their developing skillsets;
• Consider potential career paths earlier in their undergraduate career;
• Intentionally engage in relevant experiential learning opportunities, such as undergraduate research or internships as preparation; and
• Ultimately graduate ready to pursue meaningful careers.

The program’s impact has been noticeable. Outcomes data are collected annually through a partnership with Gallup. The positive impacts of the four-year pathway on career engagement include a jump of 14% in agreement with the statement “I am confident I will graduate from Furman with the knowledge and skills to be successful in the job market” among both juniors (to 76%) and seniors (to 77%) between fall 2019 and fall 2023.

In addition, Furman’s First Destinations Surveys showed improvements when comparing the Class of 2023 with the Class of 2018. In the Class of 2023, 98% of students reported that they were employed or enrolled in a graduate program, which is up from 95% in 2018. Among them, 93% of respondents reported satisfaction with their employment compared to 90% in 2018 and 100% of respondents indicated satisfaction with their continuing education plans compared to 91% in 2018.

Payne says that partnering with colleagues across divisions to develop Furman’s “Four-Year Pathway” was important to its success, as was piloting and enhancing the program’s curriculum for several years before the faculty voted on it as a graduation requirement.

“Moving forward,” she continues, “Furman is committed to continue infusing career readiness into the curriculum through the Four-Year Pathway and has made it a strategic priority to use the NACE Competency Assessment Tool to measure the development of the NACE Career Competencies in our students.”