Spotlight for Career Services Professionals

Career centers are being housed less frequently in student affairs, more frequently in other divisions, and increasingly in various parts of the institution, according to results of NACE’s 2018-19 Career Services Benchmark Survey.

This continues a trend seen in past surveys. Some schools have even located the career center in its own division. The “other” category reflects somewhat unique joint divisions of the available options, such as enrollment management and institutional advancement. (See Figure 1.)

This was the first year that NACE included the options of joint division of student and academic affairs, office of the president, and career services as its own division. It appears that this large shift away from student affairs began around 2008, coinciding with the Great Recession.

Data from the 2018-19 Career Services Benchmark Survey were collected from December 17, 2018, to March 22, 2019. NACE member institutions were surveyed, resulting in 662 respondents, which translates to a 34.8 percent response rate. The comprehensive survey report details various aspects of college and university career center operations. This year’s survey was refined with the help of a research advisory committee, consisting of both NACE employer and college members. The 2018-19 Career Services Benchmark Survey Report for Colleges and Universities will be available this fall.

Figure 1: Location of Career Services, by Percent of Respondents, 2008-2018