Enhanced Student And Alumni Career Services A Priority At Penn State
September 7, 2000
University Park, Pa. — In the 1999-2000 academic year, 26,533 Penn State students participated in more than 400 career outreach programs and seminars at the University - a 6 percent increase in participation over the previous year.

The Board of Trustees today (Sept. 7) heard an update on Penn State's Career Services from Jack Rayman, director of career services and affiliate professor of counseling psychology and education. Deborah Marron, director of alumni career services; and Monica Shutte, graduate student and student representative on the Career Center Building Committee also spoke.

"The increase in student participation can be attributed to a very strong economy, increased careerism on the part of students, and the high quality and relevance of programs and services provided by the Career Services staff," Rayman said.

Penn State's Career Services is one of the largest and most comprehensive career centers in the nation and had more than 1,130 employers conduct 20,578 student interviews on-campus in 1999-2000. "As the university continues to change we are committed to assuring that students at all campus locations are provided with high quality career services relevant to their changing needs," Rayman said.

Rayman also discussed a report containing the latest post-graduate activity and starting salaries for Penn State graduates.

– Graduates with associate degrees: 61.62 percent employed full time, 14.49 percent part time, 18.38 percent pursuing further education, average starting salary: $27,935;

– With bachelor's degrees: 81.82 percent employed full time, 5.99 percent part-time, 10.43 percent furthering education, average starting salary: $32,260;

– With master's degrees: 86.18 percent employed full time, 4.28 percent part time, 7.57 percent furthering education, average starting salary: $45,684; and

– With doctoral degrees: 97.62 percent employed full time, 1.59 percent part time, none furthering education, average starting salary: $47,785.

Rayman said the Internet and other technology developments have impacted the way in which Career Services meets the career development and placement needs of Penn State students. For example, student requests for interview services are now made on the Web. On-line, students can have 10 different resumes, which can be sent to different employers. Rayman said there were more than 210,000 hits to the Career Services Web site - a 100 percent increase over last year.

According to Rayman, the scope of career services has become much more comprehensive, encompassing services for undergraduates, graduate students, parents, and now alumni. "This reflects the reality that career development is truly a life-long process and not just a point in time event," Rayman said.

Marron told the Board that Alumni Career Services - a partnership between Student Affairs, Career Services and the Alumni Association - received a 5-year, $500,000 grant from MBNA America Bank N.A., to implement new and enhance current alumni services.

"Career Services has been offering several services to alumni primarily as a part of 'group' programming" at University Park," Marron said. "The 'enhanced' services will be provided on an individual basis and include career counseling and career assessment interpretation, videotaped mock interviews, personalized job search campaign, planning for retirement, and 'third age career planning' for retirees who want a new career." She said their goal is to provide specialized career services to alumni throughout their life span.

Alumni Career Services will be developing services and programs to serve alumni around the world by working with the World Campus to deliver career-enhancement programs and will soon initiate a resume database for employers to access alumni resumes via the Internet.

Contact: Amy Neil, Department of Public Information, at (814) 865-7517 or .