UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State World Campus Online Faculty Development has launched a new toolkit designed to help all Penn State faculty integrate meaningful, career-connected learning into courses.
The Career Assignments Toolkit is the first in a series of online resources that support faculty members by providing resources that can be directly applied to their courses. The toolkit includes ready-to-use assignments and grading guidance.
Crystal Donlan, who serves as an instructional designer for Penn State World Campus, said the toolkit reflects a strategic expansion of professional development offerings.
“In the past year, Online Faculty Development has endeavored to diversify our offerings to include not only self-directed and instructor-led online courses, but also timely tools that our Penn State educators can use and adapt within their current practice context,” she said. “The Career Assignments Toolkit is the first in what we envision as a series of faculty-facing toolkits that will serve the immediate need of meeting our educators where they’re at and helping them create solutions toward improved student learning outcomes.”
A ready-to-use resource
The Career Assignments Toolkit is designed to help faculty incorporate career exploration and readiness into existing curriculum. It provides customizable assignments that can be applied to real-world and industry-specific scenarios.
“As the workplace continues to evolve, especially with AI reshaping roles, students need more than just theory,” said Matt Soroka, career counselor for Penn State World Campus Career Services. “They need to understand how to apply what they’re learning in real contexts. This toolkit helps bridge that gap, making it easier for students to connect their coursework to the skills employers are actively looking for.”
Each module includes implementable activities that connect academic learning and professional readiness with the goal of empowering students to develop applicable real-world skills.
Assignments are pre-written for Canvas, with code provided to copy and paste onto a Canvas page. All instructions are embedded into this active learning experience, as well as guidance for grading and usage.
Soroka said the toolkit is especially valuable because it integrates career readiness into the work students are already completing in their courses.
“Instead of adding something extra, it helps students see how their assignments connect directly to real-world skills,” he said. “That kind of alignment gives students a clearer story to tell employers and stronger confidence in what they bring to the table.”
Faculty can access the Career Assignments Toolkit on the World Campus Online Faculty Development’s Canvas catalog.
Donlan said career literacy is essential for students navigating an evolving workforce.
“Today’s students need career readiness skills, and the Career Assignments Toolkit helps us to infuse this literacy into our academic settings,” she said. “Providing our Penn State students with career exploration and readiness opportunities is part of our diligence in preparing them for the world of work.”
Faculty can tailor activities to their discipline while giving students structured opportunities to explore different potential career pathways.
“We want this tool to be a fun and insightful resource for our faculty — one that ultimately helps our students become competent professionals,” she said.
Supporting student success
The toolkit, which was created in collaboration with World Campus Career Services, aligns with Penn State’s broader mission to support student success by helping learners build confidence and connect academic experiences to future career pathways.
“The easily accessible toolkit aligns well with Penn State’s commitment to preparing our students beyond the classroom,” said Lynn Atanasoff, assistant director of career services. “Faculty have a key role in supporting students’ career readiness, and we hope that this ready-to-use tool makes it easy to bring career learning to students.”
Donlan added that workforce readiness and career literacy are vital aspects of student-centered learning.
“When faculty members choose to incorporate these activities into their curriculum, what they are really doing is making an active choice to foster these skills in a way that facilitates ongoing growth as well as elevates course-level learning," she said.
Penn State World Campus Online Faculty Development offers a variety of instructor-led and self-led courses. Visit the Online Faculty Development website to learn more about the Career Assignments Toolkit.