Developing career-ready business students: Three curriculum models

Abstract

The authors describe the efforts of the faculty and administration at a small, Midwestern, Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business–accredited school to improve business students’ career readiness. Over a four-year period, the school moved through three distinctive phases in developing a robust career development program serving undergraduates in the business school. The school first developed a single, elective career class. After a year, it shifted to embedding career-related activities into core business classes. Last, a four-year schedule of required career-related courses and a mandatory support program were designed and launched. Each phase had markedly different levels of institutional support; thus, this school’s experiences and analyses speak to best practices across a variety of contexts.

Keywords:

• Career development curriculum
• career readiness
• curriculum model
• employability competencies
• professional skills

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Executive Editor James Morrison and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback. They also thank Dominican staff and faculty, particularly Andrea Leinweber, Mike Kiyosaki, and Jamie Shaw, for their tireless efforts.