Business Office
at Simmons College

ANAC is a national consortium of twenty-one selective, small to mid-size independent colleges and universities, dedicated to the promotion and achievement of best practices of liberal education. Read more.

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The Real World, On-Campus

It’s an age-old dilemma for the new graduate – how to get a job without experience and how to get experience without a job. New American Colleges are confident that their students are career-ready – they’ll even put their endowment behind it in one case.

Start Them Early

Many New American Colleges begin career preparation soon after freshmen have unpacked. Butler University has a “real life, real business” applied experiential learning approach in the College of Business Administration (CBA), beginning with career exploration during freshmen year. Next, sophomores write detailed business plans, present them to actual financiers and are potentially approved for up to $5,000 in seed capital. In 2007, 24 of the 26 plans presented were financed, and 12 were launched. Businesses have included a handyman service, photography service, travel agency, T-shirt silk screening and hot dog vendor. The CBA also launched a pilot program in which 20 students work on teams consulting for four local businesses. And a three-year pilot program began last fall that allows seniors in the Applied Portfolio Management course to invest $1 million of the school’s endowment. In just one semester, the investments gained 5.04 percent, compared to a 2.9 percentage gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

Business students at the University of Evansville and Westminster College also pitch original business plans to compete for start-up money from local investors. Westminster held its first on-campus business plan competition in January. First-place winner, Savvy May Creations, inventor of the Cap Trapper™, a solution to lost marker caps and disorganized, dried-up writing instruments, was awarded $5,000 and qualified for the statewide Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, with the chance to earn $40,000. At the University of Evansville, funded ventures have included the exotic – Greek Expectations (a Greek merchandise shop) and handcrafted jewelry from Saudi Arabia – to the everyday, or at least once a year – driveway sealing and holiday lighting services.

The University of Evansville sees these opportunities as “real-world experience in a controlled environment,” yet one of its senior projects may have real-world impact. Engineering students have examined Indiana’s Howard Ditch, which lies only 2000 feet north of the Ohio River. Water from the ditch flows away from the river before it connects with Pigeon Creek. The combined supply flows several more miles, often causing floods, before emptying into the Ohio River.

Professor Brian Swenty, who oversees the project, is optimistic that their proposal to re-route the water may actually be a viable option. The team will present its solution to county engineers in late April. Regardless of the outcome, Natalie Youngblood, a civil engineering student, sees it as a unique experience. She likes the hands-on aspect of the project and the ability to work directly with the client where she is seen as a project manager, not simply a student.

Like-Minded Executives and Students

Recently Northwest Indiana executives observed nearly 90 seniors at Valparaiso University’s business school as the students played the role of the plant managers at a hypothetical sunglasses manufacturer. These experiential opportunities reflect a hallmark of New American Colleges – integrating the college experience with professional goals, making sure that theoretical knowledge translates into practical applications. According to a survey released in January by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, business leaders in the U.S. are demanding more proof that students can succeed in real-world settings, recommending that schools actually test the ability to apply knowledge to real problems, rather than just testing the knowledge with multiple choice tests.

Students are also thinking along those lines. Last year the Chronicle of Higher Education cited a report by education-consulting firm Eduventures which surveyed 6200 college freshmen. Seventy-two percent of those polled said that professional preparation was the most critical factor in determining the value of postsecondary education. With rising costs, students are thinking seriously about how to pay back their loans. In a few weeks, college seniors will take their last final exams, heading into a job market in tough economic times. Students who have their foot in the door might have an easier time making that first connection. More than 75 percent of Butler University students, for example, complete an internship, and the school boasts a 94 percent placement rate following graduation (including those headed to grad schools).

Best practices in career preparation must include more than experience. Students must know how to market themselves, and that is why many New American Colleges are directing attention to developing life-long skills, such as interviewing, networking and resume development. Hamline University’s Bridges Scholars is a two-credit course aimed at freshmen and sophomores. The peer-led course focuses on career exploration, resume development and how to interact with those who can influence their futures. Rich Manke, director of Hamline’s Career Development Center, says of participants, “They have a resume, they know how to interview, and they are fearless networkers.” Simmons College’s Success Connection program makes that first networking connection for students by linking them with highly accomplished alumnae who host the student for a day of job-shadowing.

Realizing that face-to-face communication as a job seeker can be nerve-wracking, several New American Colleges host mock interviewing events with business and community professionals. Hampton University, whose career planning includes topics such as working a room and dressing the part, held one such interviewing event in which 220 students participated. Vivian David, director of Hampton University’s Career Counseling and Planning Center, says, “Our students are already prepared academically. What we have to work on is making sure they have the life skills – knowing how to make introductions, how to shake hands and how to network.”

“So many factors come into play when our students embark on their professional journeys. They need to know what they want to do, have some experience doing it and know how to sell themselves,” said Lynette Robinson, ANAC’s executive director. “By addressing career preparation from many angles, New American Colleges ensure that our graduates are ready to embark on their chosen paths.”

Resources: To read more visit AAC&U's site.