Purdue teams up with cohort of innovative institutions to close gap between higher education and the world of work

University Innovation Alliance awarded $2.4 million from the Strada Education Network to redesign the handoff from college to career, from the student perspective 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University is part of a national group of leading, innovative institutions redesigning the college-to-career pathway, receiving $2.4 million from Strada Education Network. Purdue is dedicated to this critical work, and has already kicked off the initiative by drawing on the experience of career services staff, who are using design thinking methodologies to reimagine career readiness initiatives to support students in finding gainful employment following graduation.

“A common objective among college career services professionals is to continually assess and improve our service delivery to students and to the employers that hire them,” said Timothy B. Luzader, executive director of Career Success at Purdue. “Applying a design thinking strategy in partnership with the University Innovation Alliance will further elevate our effectiveness in meeting students’ career development needs.”

“Career services are a natural evolution of focus for the student success movement. If we abandon low-income or first-generation students at graduation with a poorly designed handoff between college-to-career, we risk failing to deliver on the full promise of higher education,” said Bridget Burns, executive director of the University Innovation Alliance. “Strada Education Network understands that innovation starts with listening to, and understanding the perspective of students. This project is about providing career services professionals with the capacity and time to redesign career readiness in order to better prepare students for an increasingly dynamic future of work.”

Consistent with the organization’s pioneering approach to scaling promising practices across universities that ordinarily compete, this initiative is built on an intensive analysis of students’ experiences with current career-related activities on seven UIA campuses: Arizona State University, Georgia State University, Ohio State University, Oregon State University, Purdue University, the University of California, Riverside, and the University of Central Florida.

By mapping processes and systems on each campus, teams specially convened for this project, led by career services professionals, will identify where students are encountering roadblocks on the bridge from college to career. University leaders have committed to sharing common challenges and successful strategies for overcoming them to help students make a stronger transition from college to the world of work.  

“Education consumers are telling us, loud and clear, that they’re looking for stronger connections between our nation’s colleges and employers. They’re asking for help making the case that their education is relevant,” said Carol D’Amico, executive vice president, National Engagement and Philanthropy at Strada Education Network. “The University Innovation Alliance is not only doing the hard work of mapping the real-world experiences of students, they’re building trust among institutional leaders that are often afraid to share their challenges.”

Recent research suggests that a graduate’s first job can have profound, long-term economic implications. According to a report from Strada Institute for the Future of Work, 43 percent of recent college graduates are underemployed in their first job out of college. Of those, more than half remain so after 10 years. By contrast, just one in 10 graduates who land a first job appropriate to their skill level slip into underemployment after five years.

Although a Strada-Gallup survey of more than 23,000 adults found that career advice from employers is among the most highly valued, just 20 percent of students report receiving advice from work-based sources. Following the UIA’s process of identifying barriers and opportunities, the UIA plans to engage interested employers to co-create and scale new innovations that support students’ transition from higher education to the workplace.

“There is a long and rich history of career services and university relations professionals engaging one another in support of student transition from campus to the workplace,” Luzader said. “We’re confident that the work accomplished through this collaborative effort will build upon this foundation of success.”

About Purdue University

Purdue University, a top public research institution, offers higher education at its highest proven value. Committed to affordability, the University has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels. Committed to student success, Purdue is changing the student experience with greater focus on faculty-student interaction and creative use of technology. Committed to pursuing scientific discoveries and engineered solutions, Purdue has streamlined pathways for faculty and student innovators who have a vision for moving the world forward. Purdue is celebrating its Sesquicentennial, 150 Years of Giant Leaps,  by highlighting its remarkable history of giant leaps, while focusing on what giant leaps Purdue can take to address the world’s problems. 

About Strada Education Network

Strada Education Network is a national nonprofit dedicated to improving lives by catalyzing more direct and promising pathways between education and employment. The Network engages partners across education, nonprofits, business and government to focus relentlessly on students’ success throughout all phases of their working lives. Together, they address critical college to career challenges through strategic philanthropy, research and insights, and mission-aligned affiliates — all focused on advancing the universal right to realized potential called Completion With a Purpose®. Learn more at StradaEducation.org. 

About the University Innovation Alliance

The University Innovation Alliance is the leading national coalition of public research universities committed to increasing the number and diversity of college graduates in the United States. We do this by broadening participation in higher education and implementing proven programs that significantly improve graduation rates for all students regardless of socioeconomic background. Since our founding, the UIA’s eleven campuses have produced an additional 27,000 low-income graduates — a 29 percent increase.

The 11 members of the Alliance include: Arizona State University, Georgia State University, Iowa State University, Michigan State University, Oregon State University, Purdue University, The Ohio State University, University of California, Riverside, University of Central Florida, University of Kansas, and University of Texas at Austin. For more information, visit www.theUIA.org. 

Media contact: Matthew Oates, 765-496-2571, oatesw@purdue.edu 

Source: Timothy Luzader, 765-494-3985, tluzader@purdue.edu