Professional Standards
for College & University Career Services
Introduction
In 2004, a NACE task force was appointed to review and revise The Professional
Standards for College and University Career Services and The Professional
Standards Evaluation Workbook. The work of that task force is reflected
in this publication. Members of the task force included:
Jane Linnenburger, chair, Bradley University; Teresa Alewel, Central Missouri State University; Norma Guerra Gaier, St. Mary’s University; Jeff Garis, Florida State University; Sam Ratcliffe, Virginia Military Institute; Sylvia Robinson, Georgetown University; Larry Routh, University of Nebraska; Marie A. Rozenblit, University of Arizona; Bill Wright-Swadel, Harvard University; and Mimi Collins, National Association of Colleges and Employers.
The 2006 edition of The Professional Standards for College and University Career Services was approved by the NACE Board of Directors in June 2006.
Application of professional standards in career services
The use of professional standards in career services is intended to facilitate excellence in the creation, maintenance, and delivery of programs and services. Professionally derived standards, representing the perspectives of diverse practitioners, and promulgated under the aegis of a professional association, provide an exceptional opportunity for practitioners to engage in processes of self-assessment and self-regulation that are internally motivated and directed.
The philosophical position of the task force was that good methodologies:
- promote self-assessment and self-regulation initiatives using professional standards as key factors in fostering improvement in programs, services, and processes;
- honor institutional uniqueness and recognize that information is not always comparable across institutions because of differences in location and local economic conditions; student characteristics, abilities, and preparation; variety and quality of academic programs; and missions of the institutions and their career services offices. Any analysis of data must include explanations of such qualifiers;
- include qualitative as well as quantitative approaches;
- lead to internal improvement;
- encourage methodical, meticulous, and reliable collection and presentation of information that will provide evidence of quality, and promote analysis and synthesis of information;
- and demonstrate external and internal accountability.
The Professional Standards for College and University Career Services was written broadly to reflect variations in career services provided by individual colleges and universities. Some standards may apply to several functional areas within career services; overlap does exist. Not every standard will apply to every career services office or school. Therefore, their use should be interpreted according to the circumstances of the individual institution.
The standards were written to reflect an institution’s responsibilities for career services. Some program components may be provided by the institution in a department other than career services. Individual career services offices may not have responsibility for certain programs or services identified as career services within these professional standards; however, the institution does bear final responsibility for delivery of career services, in whatever fashion they are administered within the institution. Evaluators may be required to collect and evaluate data from several different offices at an institution in order to conduct a thorough evaluation.
The standards pertain to programs, not staff members. They reflect dimensions of career services that affect program performance and quality. To localize the standards, individual institutions and career services offices should provide examples of how they are meeting or not meeting each applicable standard.
A companion workbook, The NACE Professional Standards Evaluation Workbook, is available for those who wish to evaluate their career services offices against the standards.
* A history of the use of professional standards is included as Appendix A.
Please note: References to “students” throughout this document should be interpreted to mean “students and other designated clients.”
I. MISSION
Career services supports the mission, academic programs, and advancement of the institution. Within this context, the primary purpose of career services is to assist students and other designated clients in developing, evaluating, and/or implementing career, education, and employment decisions and plans.
Specifically, career services helps individuals to do the following:
- develop self-knowledge related to career choice and work performance by identifying, assessing, and understanding their competencies, interests, values, and personal characteristics;
- obtain educational and occupational information to aid career and educational planning and to develop an understanding of the world of work;
- select personally suitable academic programs and experiential opportunities that optimize future educational and employment options;
- take responsibility for developing career decisions, graduate/professional school plans, employment plans, and/or job-search competencies;
- prepare for finding suitable employment by developing job-search skills, effective candidate presentation skills, and an understanding of the fit between their competencies and both occupational and job requirements;
- gain experience through student activities, community service, student employment, research projects, cooperative education, internships, and other opportunities;
- link with alumni, employers, professional organizations, and others who will provide opportunities to develop professional interests and competencies, integrate academic learning with work, and explore future career possibilities;
- seek a desired employment opportunity or entry into an appropriate educational, graduate, or professional program; and
- prepare to manage their careers after graduation.
Career services considers the needs of all students of the institution when designing the program and delivering services. Since career issues are addressed by different units within the institution, career services provides linkages and/or coordination among career-related programs and services where appropriate.
