The Current Status of Career Services at Colleges and Universities: Technical Report No. 52

Abstract

This study examines career planning programs and career services offices at colleges and universities in the United States as viewed by chief student affairs officers. Findings from an earlier study of career services offices (CSOs) in 1979 were compared to the current findings.Additionally, new areas of research were examined in order to provide benchmark data for future studies. Several affirming findings emerge from the study informing higher education, student affairs and career services professionals about the effectiveness and value of college and university career services offices. Career Services Office 3When the vocational guidance movement in the United States emerged in the early 1900s, the development of career centers was one of its most tangible and lasting accomplishments. The roots of the movement sprang from the social reform and humanitarian activities in urban areas in the Midwestern and Eastern United States. Career centers were often located in settlement houses, which provided a variety of social services including vocational guidance to immigrants and others. Career counseling and an array of other career interventions now present in colleges and universities developed in the context of these offices. A distinguishing feature was, and remains, the provision of resources and information about occupations, jobs, training, financial resources, employability, and career planning. In this article, we will briefly review some of the characteristics of career centers in the early 1900s, those existing in colleges or universities in the 1970s (Reardon, Zunker, & Dyal, 1979), and the results of a recent survey of current career services offices and programs. EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF CAREER CENTERSFrank Parsons is generally regarded as the father of vocational guidance and created one of the first career centers, the Vocations Bureau. This career center was located in the Civic Service House, a Boston settlement house that provided a variety of social and civic services to citizens, especially Italian immigrants. Parsons formulated a technique for providing career counseling in this context, which was described in Choosing a Vocation (Parsons, 1909).With the passage of time, career centers moved from community settings such as settlement houses and into colleges, universities, and high schools, and less often into business organizations, governmental, and social service agencies. The Vocations Bureau, for example, found a new home at Harvard University (Maverick, 1926). In educational settings, career Career Services Office 4 centers were typically housed in either a counseling center or a career planning and/or placement center. More recently, career centers are likely to be located in a specialized office (e.g., career services office or CSO) and provide the resources used by staff and clients to solve career problems and make career decisions.Most contemporary career centers are unique on college campuses because they integrate the academic and the corporate worlds (Herr, Raymond, & Garis, 19...

Career Assistance From Psychology Programs and Career Services: Who Is Preparing Psychology Students?

“…When asked about career services offered directly by the psychology department, 73% responded in the affirmative. Vinson et al (2011) examined the status of career services; many of the findings were consistent with the present study, such as the most commonly provided career services of resumé preparation, career assessment, and job fairs.…”

Evolution of Career Services in Higher Education

“…Before there were career centers on college campuses, faculty assumed the responsibility of mentoring their students and preparing them for future employment (Herr, Rayman, & Garis, ). Career guidance in higher education can be traced back to the emergence of vocational guidance in the early 1900s and the creation of Frank Parson's first career center, the Vocations Bureau, in the Civic Service House in Boston, MA, a public service entity that helped new immigrants transition to life in America (Vinson, Reardon, & Bertoch, ). In the 1920s and 1930s, industrialization and a post–World War I baby boom created an influx of students, which increased the need for educational and vocational guidance for graduating teachers (Vinson et al., ), slowly moving faculty away from their mentoring roles.…”

“…Career guidance in higher education can be traced back to the emergence of vocational guidance in the early 1900s and the creation of Frank Parson's first career center, the Vocations Bureau, in the Civic Service House in Boston, MA, a public service entity that helped new immigrants transition to life in America (Vinson, Reardon, & Bertoch, ). In the 1920s and 1930s, industrialization and a post–World War I baby boom created an influx of students, which increased the need for educational and vocational guidance for graduating teachers (Vinson et al., ), slowly moving faculty away from their mentoring roles. Vocational guidance still remained absent in more than half of colleges and universities in the United States (Pope, ).…”

From Education to Employment: Developing Soft Skills and Employability.Case of Cadi Ayyad University Career Center

“…A career center is usually located in a separate office, or a guidance center, library, human resources office, or training and development unit of an organization. It is an administrative unit of an organization, such as a university, business, or agency that employs staff to provide a variety of career programs and services (Vinson et al 2011).…”