Southern Association of Colleges and Employers

Summary of Recommendations

STAFF:

1. Transform the Career Development Intern position into a full-time Assistant Director position.
2. Secure funding for a full-time permanent administrative assistant.
3. Design work-study student responsibilities to fit office needs.
4. Maintain Career Development as a function of Student Life.
5. Compile mid-year and annual reports.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER FACILITY:

1. Locate Career Development Center in a more visible location.
2. Add Career Development Center to the sign outside the building.
3. Appropriate money to keep career library resources current.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER PROGRAMS:

1. The overall Career Center budget should be reviewed in light of goals, priorities, and expectations.

Comparison: Rhodes Career Center budget is $20.40 per student; LaGrange’s Career Center budget is $7.40 per student. Berry College could not provide specific data, but reports a much higher per student amount than LaGrange.

2. Consider charging fees for programs.
3. Evaluate for all programs and workshops.
4. In order to bolster employer development efforts the review team recommends that the Career Center focus attention on involving alumni.
5. Approach the Board of Trustees in terms of developing employer relations with the respective organizations.
6. Create additional employer development activities.

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM:

1. Form a committee comprised of the Career Center Director, faculty, students and employers to review the internship program at LaGrange and seek to outline common traits (number of hours required for credit, student qualifications, a common liability form, student application, employer application, etc.).
2. As various academic departments decide to add an internship component to their departmental offerings, the Review Team encourages the use of Career Center staff to help manage the internship program.
3. The Career Center staff should take responsibility for coordinating the centralized internship program and completing an annual report on the status of the internship program. While some departments may continue to coordinate their own internship programs there should be one office responsible for overall reporting.

OUTCOMES OF GRADUATES:

1. To improve the types of opportunities available, everyone (faculty, staff and students) must embrace and support the academic internship program.
2. Encourage alumni and Board of Trustees to take an active role in recruiting LaGrange College students for employment.
3. Provide opportunities for students to become exposed to prestigious graduate programs.
4. The Review Team also recommends studying the relationship between the student pool at LaGrange and the admissions standards of identified “key schools” with particular attention to standardized test scores.
5. The Career Center staff should work closely with faculty and the Director of Alumni and Parent Relations to compile and disseminate a post graduation report.