Strategic Plan 2021-2024
Center for Career and Experiential Education Mission
The Center for Career and Experiential Education is committed to engaging students, and alumni in connecting their academic foundation with their career pathways. We do this by providing high impact career education, professional development, and experiential learning opportunities. We partner with faculty, community partners, and employers to foster a connection between education and employment. We value our relationships with local and national employer partners and use innovative ways to connect students, alumni, faculty, and employers in the career education and development process. Our team of Career Education Specialists (CES) offer individual and group professional development sessions and online modules for students and alumni, with topics ranging from self-assessments to job and internship searching, networking and brand development strategies, resume and cover letter development, salary negotiation, interviewing skills, and major to career industry clusters. We offer CSV and ITR courses to explore a variety of occupations and gain practical experience through an internship or civic engagement. Experiential Education Coordinators (EEC) specialize in integrating experiential learning (service learning, project based learning, internships) within curriculum, working with faculty to develop relationships with employers that will expand internships and identify ways to connect experiential with course learning outcomes. Our Employer Relations team works with local and national employers in an effort to connect students and alumni with their desired industries. We do this through the Rhody Alumni Mentoring (RAM) program, career and volunteer fairs, networking events, job, internship and volunteer posting, and professional development week.
CCEE Strategic Goals
Our goals reflect the University’s focus on enhancing student success; expanding research, scholarship, and creative works; and embracing diversity and social justice. Strategies for achieving these goals include: expanding pedagogical approaches focused on engaging students in learning across the curriculum, expanding opportunities for experiential learning within all majors, and providing students with opportunities to expand their networks and enter communities with an inclusive mindset.
Goal One: Enhance Student Success
Strategy 1: Offer comprehensive career, experiential, and civic engagement opportunities online and in person to continue to enhance professional development and prepare students for career decision making and active citizenship.
Actions: Career Education Specialists (CES) and Experiential Education Coordinators (EEC) partner with faculty to integrate career education and experiential learning into curriculum.
Actions: CES and EEC develop and teach curriculum for CSV and ITR courses.
Actions: CES and EEC engage in professional development within their industry cluster to enhance knowledge of the field and create a wider network of professionals for students.
Actions: Incorporate partnerships with alumni and employers.
Actions: CCEE staff advise and support students through one on one interactions and programming.
Actions: Provide and support service and community leadership opportunities for students, alumni, and faculty/staff.
Strategy 2: Cultivate reciprocal and sustainable community and employer partnerships in Rhode Island and nationally to connect students with high impact experiential learning, networking opportunities, and meaningful jobs.
Actions: Create cluster-based career education activities including industry specific fairs, large- and small-scale networking events, and professional development activities.
Actions: Track employers by industry and conduct intentional outreach to employers from less engaged industries.
Actions: Utilize the data in SORG to reach out to employers hiring students.
Actions: Establish clear pathways of access, communication, and awareness for employers seeking to recruit Ram talent.
Strategy 3: Increase the response rate for SORG to learn more about our recent graduates.
Actions: Link major, NACE, and NSSE learning outcomes to highlight strengths and gaps in competency development and recommend forms of experiential learning to remedy gaps.
Actions: Partner with the SORG committee to determine how to use human and financial resources to increase the response rate.
Actions: Involve the alumni career advisors in active engagement with recent alumni in their transition from major to career.
Actions: Share data with all degree-granting colleges and work to increase participation of graduates in the SORG process.
Actions: Create a campaign to encourage seniors to complete the survey six months after graduation.
Goal Two: Expand Research, Scholarship and Creative Work
Strategy 1: Increase faculty and student engagement in experiential learning, and networking opportunities.
Actions: Track experiential learning enrollments and share the data with the degree granting college leadership.
Actions: Utilize Handshake for employers to post experiential learning opportunities.
Actions: Provide employers, faculty, and student networking opportunities by cluster.
Actions: Support faculty who design and deliver D1 “integrate and apply” and C1 “civic responsibility” general education courses.
Actions: Offer faculty professional development focused on experiential learning and invite them to engage with CCEE staff and interdisciplinary faculty.
Actions: Create and share resources with advisors, faculty, and students focused on awareness and utilization of experiential learning course credit and opportunities.
Actions: Increase access to and awareness of funding that supports experiential learning opportunities.
Strategy 2: Communicate the success in experiential learning occurring annually.
Actions: Highlight students engaged in service, advocacy, alternative service immersions, internships, and other experiential projects.
Actions: Showcase faculty, students, and employer experiential learning as a hallmark of the University of Rhode Island.
Actions: Create and share annual reports, newsletters, data, and resources with campus leadership, faculty, and employers.
Goal Three: Embrace Diversity and Social Justice
Strategy 1: Infuse diversity, equity, and inclusion and social justice (DEI & SJ) content into our experiential learning courses and modules as they relate to and influence career development and community engagement.
Actions: Update Professional Development Modules, and ITR and CSV curriculum to incorporate DEI & SJ.
Actions: Create a resource library for advising and teaching purposes with activities, articles, reflections, modules, and tips on when and how to utilize them.
Actions: Produce a professional development module with a focus on an asset-based approach to entering communities in service and civic engagement, as well as differentiating the aspects of service and advocacy.
Actions: Support faculty who provide service-learning experiences designed to heighten awareness of critical social justice issues, enhance individual growth, and prepare for lifelong social action.
Strategy 2: Educate and support students from diverse identity groups in navigating experiential and employment opportunities and barriers.
Actions: Listen to and learn from students in multicultural student organizations to determine tangible ways to support students from diverse identity groups.
Actions: Compile resources for historically marginalized populations.
Actions: Collaborate with Talent Development staff to teach UCS 270 summer course.
Actions: Collaborate with campus and industry experts to identify and address specific barriers to employment.
Actions: Review and revise policies within the center that may hinder students from accessing internships.
Actions: Increase access to and awareness of funding that supports affordable professional attire.
Strategy 3: Prioritize partnerships with employers who demonstrate success in DEI and SJ in hiring and retention, and organizational values.
Actions: Identify and showcase employers and community partners who are known for dedication to DEI, social justice, and supporting staff of color.
Actions: Create pathways and programming that increase opportunities for students and alumni of color to network with and learn from professionals of color.
Actions: Expanding use of the alumni platform, URI Career Connect, to engage students and alumni of color in a mentoring relationship.
Actions: Identify supervisors of color who can mentor students of color.
Strategy 4: Recruit, retain, and develop a diverse workforce.
Actions: Required documentation in the application process for professional staff will include a one-page written statement on the applicant’s dedication to integrating issues of inclusion, equity, and social justice in their work.
Actions: Current staff and student leaders will engage annually in DEI & SJ Professional Development.
Actions: Conduct intentional recruitment and outreach within communities of color.
Strategy 5: Collaborate with marginalized communities to explore and engage in career development and community asset building initiatives.
Actions: Support URI students, alumni, and staff/faculty in serving alongside community members and leaders in civic engagement initiatives.
Actions: Actively partner with Governor’s Workforce Board.
Actions: Providing K-12 students within marginalized communities more exposure to higher education, campus resources, and career pathways.
Actions: Actively engage as partners in Workforce Transformation Grants that focus on career education and awareness initiatives for high school and middle school students and their parents.