Graduate Career Assistance

The Institution takes pride in offering our graduates’ services and resources that can give them an advantage in a competitive job market and global economy.  Our students directly benefit from the institution’s years of working with employers in the local community, and from the knowledge in job search techniques that the institution provides.  Despite those advantages, no reputable institution or other postsecondary institution can or would guarantee the success of any graduate or that the graduate will achieve his/her specific career, financial, or other goals.  The reason for this is that no educational institution can guarantee a student’s future!  Therefore, this institution does not guarantee employment, the likelihood of employment, the type of jobs or compensation and benefits that may be available to the graduate.  A student’s career success will depend largely on that student’s attitude, determination, and the effort put into school work, the job search, and the job.  For that reason, the Institution strictly prohibits its employees from making any promises regarding the student’s success.  In the end, only the student can guarantee his/her success. Students living in rural or economically depressed areas may have to commute long distances or relocate for employment.   The individual graduate is properly responsible for and should receive full credit for his/her job and career success.

The Institution’s role in the graduate’s job search effort is to provide job search assistance for each graduate, and the graduate’s role is to make substantial, good faith efforts to find employment.  The Institution’s services assist graduates in obtaining positions commensurate with their skill development.  The service is provided to assist in the job search; the graduate is still responsible to seek job openings, send resumes, prepare for job interviews and do all those things suggested by the Institution and/or customarily done to aggressively obtain employment.  Students are advised that the goal of the Institution’s career services program is to provide assistance; it does not obtain jobs for the graduate for a very simple reason.  Only the graduate can properly prepare his/her resume, conduct a job search, attend a job interview, impress the prospective employer, etc.  The Institution’s role is to assist the graduate in accomplishing these activities.

In preparing students for their job search, the institution assumes certain responsibilities and the student assumes certain responsibilities as described in this catalog, their enrollment agreement, and other materials provided to students.  All students will take a class which teaches job search techniques and helps students begin working with the career services department.  The information students receive in that class must be thoroughly learned and utilized in the job search.

As students prepare to graduate in their last term, they are required to meet with the administrator in charge of career services and begin their job search on a part-time basis.  The administrator will review job search readiness and give suggestions as the student begins the job search.  Students are encouraged to begin keeping a detailed daily or weekly job search personal journal at this time.  All job search activities, including jobs applied for, interviews attended, job leads obtained, job opening search activities, contacts with the institution for assistance, etc., should be recorded in the journal.  The journal should be maintained after employment is obtained and updated to record the graduate’s continuing education and professional enhancement activities.  Maintaining this information is vital to career advancement, management, and success. Students/graduates who fail to keep the journal are putting themselves at a severe disadvantage in their job hunt and career advancement.  Upon graduation, students who are not employed are responsible to continue their job search, on a full-time basis, by contacting potential employers, searching out job leads, making applications for available job openings, etc.  Students/graduates are also expected to stay in contact with the administrator at least weekly for suggestions, updates, to receive available job leads, etc., and to work full-time to find the job the graduate wants.

The Institution reviews the job leads that it receives and attempts to “fit” available graduates to specific job leads.  It will determine which graduate’s strengths and weaknesses most closely approximate the requirements of a specific job lead and then provide that lead to those graduates (or students about to graduate).  It is the graduate’s responsibility to contact the employer, using the skills he/she learned, set a job interview and ultimately earn the job offer.  The Institution reserves the right to withhold assistance from students/graduates who do not follow the techniques they have been taught, or who are not making dedicated job search efforts.  Please note that the career services/assistance described above is available only to graduates and students in their final term preparing to graduate. The Institution does not provide or arrange part-time or full-time employment for undergraduates while in school. Also, placement services may be modified from time to time as the campus administration deems appropriate and/or discontinued in the event the campus discontinues operations.

Notice to online/distance education students – All students are provided the same opportunities to receive the full complement of services provided at this campus.  As noted above, this institution’s experience with local employers provides an advantage to graduates who are searching for employment; however, students who live beyond reasonable commuting distance to the campus’s geographic area will not be able to take advantage of the institution’s relationship with local employers and employment assistance opportunities as students who live in the local area.  Also, the graduate may not be able to take full advantage of face-to-face meetings with employment assistance staff, and other assistance, which can be beneficial in the graduate’s job hunt.