Program Winners - Career Advising

University of Washington Career Week
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Directed by: Susan Templeton -- Nominated by: Melissa Wensel

2002 marked the third year the University of Washington has offered Career Week, involving over 50 academic programs and all three UW campuses in its planning and implementation. Overall attendance has doubled since the first year. The UW’s Career Week distinguishes itself from similar events on other campuses in that it began and continues to be an event coordinated primarily by academic advisors and counselors in collaboration with the Center for Career Services and the UW Alumni Association. In addition to benefiting students, Career Week also helps advisors make connections with other departments, as well as make valuable contacts with alumni in the community. The critical elements for the event’s success are involvement of advisors from across the campus who are passionate about helping their students transition into post-graduate life, involvement of key faculty across those same disciplines, the establishment of the UW Alumni Association as the administrative home for the program with access to their event planning and marketing expertise, and tapping the resources of career services. Since its inception, the institutional commitment has been strong. The UW Alumni Association, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, and over 50 academic units have provided significant financial and staff support. This broad-based interdisciplinary institutional commitment to the event results in a rewarding and educational experience for students, alumni, and advisors.

Career Development: An In-depth, Integrated Approach, School of Science Counseling
Purdue University
Nominated by Martha O. Chiscon, Alan H. Welch, and Muriel S. Keller

The integration of academic advising and career counseling is a natural one, but one that hasn't often happened in higher education. The Purdue University School of Science has been involved for more than 20 years in implementing and improving a model that incorporates both components. A major thrust of career counseling has been to help exploring students find their best career choice and major at this large Midwestern university. Students were guided individually through the Career Decision Kit which leads to gradual narrowing of career possibilities, thus enabling an appropriate choice of major. A reduction in financial, staff, and printed resources, changing technology, and a desire to re-evaluate and update the program, a different approach to career counseling was compelled. Career counselors developed a model that places increased emphasis on the integration of career counseling into academic advising as well as the promotion of career development as a life-long process.

University of Texas-Austin
Fine Arts Career Services
Nominated by: Lita Guerra

Fine Arts Career Services at the University of Texas at Austin is unusual in that it is fully integrated in to the academic advising structure of the College of Fine Arts. However, it is truly remarkable in that it is the first office at a public research institution that exclusively serves the career concerns of visual and performing arts majors. In addition to the harsh realities our graduates face as they start their job searches, students in our college frequently encounter more defeatist stereotypes about their options than their peers. By integrating academic and career advising, we have greatly enhanced the educational experiences of our students. We educate them about their options post-graduation, and are thus able to help them overcome perceived barriers to their future success. We know that intervention at key milestones in a student's progression from freshman to graduate can be critical to her success in college and the world of work. While the rest of our unit advises them on the adjustment to college and progression through the degree plans, Fine Arts Career Services complete a student's advising experience by preparing her for her next steps, be it a job or graduate school.