NACE/Chevron Award 2007
Cyber Career Center—Old Dominion University
The Career Management Center (CMC) at Old Dominion University (ODU) has
shifted the way it operates. Instead of trying to draw clients into the
CMC, it now focuses on getting the information out to its customers, who
increasingly are a nationwide community.
“We were faced with providing our services to a growing student population, our entire alumni population, and a large national distancelearning program,” explains Tom Wunderlich, assistant dean of career management. “It was apparent that we needed to provide all career management center programs electronically to students and alumni.”
To accomplish this, the CMC has spent the last four years developing its Cyber Career Center. For its work, the CMC is the recipient of the 2007 NACE/Chevron Award. Presented since 1983, the NACE/Chevron Award recognizes and honors a college member of NACE for its development of a groundbreaking program in the career services field.
ODU’s Cyber Career Center uses existing career center technology to provide three levels of service: live (face-to-face), live (distance), and self-paced (distance). The Cyber Career Center is located within the CMC.
For clients seeking live, face-to-face service, the Cyber Career Center is staffed from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET with graduate students trained to be Cyber Coaches. These coaches meet with students and provide traditional walk-in service.
Cyber Coaches also are available to clients seeking live distance services on Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET and on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. During these times, the Cyber Coaches are available to interact via live chat, email, two-way audio/video conferencing, and phone. In addition, they can conduct web seminars and video streaming presentations.
The CMC is supported at all times by its Virtual Career Assistants (VCAs), who are provided by a telecommunication answering service. VCAs have available on their computer desktops a script developed with ODU’s Career Management Center that defines the interaction with the type of caller, whether it is student, alumni, employer, faculty, or vendor. VCAs also have access to ODU’s web site to provide resources and information. All calls taken by VCAs are followed by e-mail to the appropriate career management center staff member and provide caller information, question, and action taken or action needed.
“The VCAs provide a triage service in that they are not trained, nor expected to, perform career advising, resume checks, and such, but they do perform basic information services, such as assisting with technology on our Cyber Career Center, giving directions to other offices on campus, and offering live message referral,” Wunderlich explains.
For those who prefer a self-paced career exploration or job search, the Cyber Career Center houses all of the CMC’s seminars in an audio/video format. These presentations are available by CD for clients at distance sites who do not have access to a highspeed Internet connection.
“The goal is to develop an electronic means for the staff of the Cyber Career Center to communicate to students and alumni and electronic resources to refer them to, in order for them to receive the same programs and services they would receive in person,” Wunderlich notes.
For the calendar year 2006, the Cyber Career Center met with 770 walk-in students. In addition, they conducted 183 live online chats and received and responded to 905 e-mails.
“Since the launch of our Cyber Career Center, we have seen an increase in services to our client populations, particularly the alumni and distance student populations,” Wunderlich says. “The Cyber Career Center allows the CMC to support the future growth of the university, meet the needs of more of our local students who live off campus, provide services to the distance population of students nationally, and provide services to our alumni population while recognizing the realities of our staffing limitations.”
