Career/Major Exploration

A first-year experience course, using high impact practices.

The ENDEAVOR program helps students personalize, internalize, and later articulate their transformation beyond a credential. By awarding ENDEAVOR Tags that celebrate student development and engagement through courses and co-curricular activities, students become more aware of their own growth and are provided with the language to describe the skills they have gained. This language will give them an advantage when entering the workforce, as they will be able to describe their college experience in a way that resonates with employers.

Augusta University has a robust, multi-year plan to promote student retention and graduation utilizing the Four-to-Finish principles of Mindset, Purpose, Pathways and Engagement. Over the previous years, AU has implemented new strategies to support enrollment growth, and most recently created holistic student support structures organized by meta-majors.

The Office of Career Services supports the following initiatives through Student Access and Success by targeting all students, specifically underrepresented students, that will benefit from informed career planning efforts, using resources such as Focus 2 Career.

The Learning Communities (LCs) in which two or more courses are linked thematically with collaborative instruction and co-curricular activities. These courses, and their faculty, focus on core areas as well as areas of academic performance, retention, student mindset, and degree progression. LCs at ASU will provide an easier platform of transition to ASU students while providing a supportive network of peers, mentors, professors, success services, and more.

FVSU’s Big Idea integrated career assessment and career development. Specifically, advancing soft skills as it related to job and careers, in tandem with utilizing career assessments for incoming freshmen to make the connection to Momentum Year.  Multiple workshops were created for students related to professional dress, career inventories, and internships.  Additionally, Career Week was held virtually allowing students to attend multiple sessions for career exposure and experience.

Promoting Career Readiness and Student Leadership by: 

• Engaging first-year students in the Focus 2 Career Assessment and career option discussions with career advisors. 
• Introducing first-year students to the NACE Career Competencies so that they are aware of the skills employers want to see them build before entering the professional workforce.

Planning and implementing a centralized process for promoting and preparing students for internships (both credit and non-credit) to increase the number of students participating in internships.

The Summer Success Academy activity is a 6-week residential learning opportunity that provides incoming freshmen with the ability to get a jump start on their ASU experience. Student participants are enrolled in 7-9 credit hours depending on their cohort. Working closely with expert faculty and supported by a network of peer advisors, learning specialists, and tutors, Academy Scholars learn together as a community within and beyond the classroom.

The Office of Career Services supports the following initiatives through Student Access and Success by targeting all students, specifically underrepresented students, that will benefit from informed career planning efforts, using resources such as Focus 2 Career, that can be institutionalized over the life of the grant. All students (and faculty), specifically underrepresented students, will gain access to employer and career resources using the Handshake system and other virtual networks within the Office of Career Services.

Encourage students to use of Stepping Blocks data to better understand their career path and the salary and job opportunities associated with this choice.

In freshmen orientation classes each 1^st-year student will be required to complete an assignment designed to encourage the use of stepping blocks data.  Based on an academic major of interest, students will research common jobs associated with the major as well as the job market and the salaries associated with these positions.