The Career Compass Professional Development Program, Instilling Integrity, Courage, Competence, and Accountability in all Undergraduate Engineering Students

Formalized professional development programs are taking on increased importance in engineering education in response to the needs and desires of the profession. Today’s engineers are expected to be technologically competent. In addition, they must be able to lead, manage, innovate, and identify and solve problems. In response to these increasing demands on engineers, the College of Engineering at Villanova University developed a comprehensive professional development program called Career Compass. Career Compass is a three-year mandatory bearing-credit program. There is an optional fourth-year component. This program has four themes: The Engineering Profession, Setting the Stage for Personal and Professional Success, Post-Graduation Career Planning, and Effective Communication Skills for the 21 Century. This paper describes the development, content, management, and lessons learned from the first year of administering the program. Introduction This Evidence-Based Paper describes a professional development program developed by Villanova University. Technological advancements, globalization, and critical world issues are profoundly transforming the engineering profession [1]. Today’s engineering graduates are no longer needed to perform routine assignments that can be accomplished by trained technicians or advanced computerized systems. Instead, both the public and private sectors are seeking engineering professionals who are driven to innovate, lead, and manage in ways much different than their predecessors [1]. The clear demand is for those who can quickly and efficiently create, identify, macro-design, construct, deploy, and operate technological responses to meet and exceed the needs to present and future generations. In response to this rapidly changing landscape, Villanova University’s College of Engineering has developed a comprehensive professional development program entitled Career Compass. This mandatory undergraduate program is designed to stimulate and develop broad-based innovative leadership and management skills within each student. In addition, Career Compass provides specific guidance in ethical behavior, group dynamics, networking, oral and written communication, and career planning and preparation. Institutional Background Villanova University is a comprehensive Roman Catholic institution founded in 1842 by the friars of the Order of St. Augustine. The University welcomes students of all faiths and is located in a western suburb of Philadelphia. The University offers a wide variety of degree programs through six colleges: the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies, and the Charles Widger School of Law. The College of Engineering offers five BS and nine MS programs through its four departments: Civil and Environmental, Chemical, Electrical and Computer, and Mechanical. The College also offers a PhD. The university’s Carnegie Classification is a Doctoral University with moderate research activity (R-3). Currently there are 974 undergraduates in the College. Overview of Program Developed in conjunction with industry leaders, engineering alumni, faculty, and students, Career Compass is a series of six required courses and two optional courses. The first six courses are completed during the first three years of the undergraduate curriculum and the two optional courses may be completed during the fourth year. Program content is grouped around four major themes as follows: 1. The Engineering Profession 2. Setting the Stage for Personal and Professional Success 3. Post-Graduation Career Planning 4. Effective Communication Skills for the 21 Century Career Compass is largely self-directed and does not have designated meeting times. The course is delivered in a variety of formats including online videos, professional events/presentations, inperson workshops, and an organized, guided mentors program. Students earn 0.5 credit per semester for a mandatory total of three credits earned for the first three years of the Career Compass program. The overall goals of Career Compass are to provide professional guidance and to develop a sense of personal awareness within each student such that he/she proactively searches for and finds a post-graduation career path best suited to his/her professional interests and personal aspirations. Development of the Career Compass Program Currently, many technical institutions and colleges of engineering offer a range of professional development activities and programs [2], [3]. Over the past two decades, The College of Engineering at Villanova University has organized events generally centered around on-campus industry talks and presentations. Attendance at these events was voluntary and was not attached to any course offering. Also, over the past two decades, individual departments within the College established professional development initiatives. These initiatives have included mandatory courses, workshops, and/or industry presentations. Although these individual programs were effective and recurring; they were usually narrowly focused within individual engineering disciplines [1], [4]. There was no comprehensive, college-wide program providing a broad, career-based perspective for all undergraduates. In 2015, the College of Engineering decided to establish a comprehensive program to help students become more self-aware and to prepare them for a professional career regardless of their major field of study. Although this college-wide program relieved some of the professional development burden from individual academic departments, they may continue to offer their own professional development initiatives tailored to their specific technical needs. In 2015, a Career Compass Program Advisory Board was established which includes both public and private sector professionals from all major branches of the engineering profession. This board worked with faculty, staff, and students from the College of Engineering, including the Dean and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, to develop a list of the primary topics that should be included in the Career Compass Program (Table 1). In addition to these topics, four core values were identified by the Advisory Board as being central to the operation and implementation of the program. All services and skill sets provided to the students adhere to the core values of Integrity, Courage, Competence, and Accountability. Table 1. List of Primary Topics by Year Year in Curriculum Primary Topics Freshmen Engineering careers Ethical behavior Learning styles Team/group dynamics Resume preparation Career goals Time management Technical writing Presentation skills Sophomore Technological advancement and society Leadership skills Management of self and others Effective listening skills Effective team and group dynamics Interviewing skills Proactive career searching Junior Inclusive career paths Self-awareness Conflict resolution Resume updates Advanced presentation skills Senior Next steps in career planning Advanced leadership and management skills Project management by industry Ethical behavior Self-selected activities The Advisory Board meets once per year in June to plan out the activities for the following academic year and to provide advice on how to continuously improve the program. Realizing that this initiative is new, the Director, Assistant Director, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs also meet regularly to discuss how to improve this program. Thus, the topics listed in Table 1 may change and evolve as the program continues to mature. Management, Operation, and Delivery Following the establishment of the broad guidelines and goals of Career Compass, specific plans were established for the effective day-to-day management, operation, and delivery of the program. Management Central to these functions was the funding and assignment of personnel. One college-level position was created and another staff member’s role was redefined and elevated to include their new responsibilities for Career Compass. In addition, a teaching assistant was provided by the College. The Director of Professional Development and Experiential Education was a new position created to manage this program. The Director is responsible for creating, developing, implementing, managing, and executing all functions and aspects of Career Compass. The Director is also responsible for all outreach aspects of the Program. This outreach includes interacting with representatives from industry, government, and other educational institutions and participating in applicable conferences and meetings focused on professional development and experiential education initiatives in engineering education. Approximately 60% of the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Student Services and Operations’ time is spent on Career Compass. The Assistant Director is responsible for administering the program, maintaining student progress records, and participating in all administrative program activities. Other clerical and secretarial functions are provided by the College of Engineering’s administrative staff. One year after implementation, a teaching assistant was funded by the College of Engineering to assist with grading and other administrative tasks. Operations and Key Relationships Career Compass is operated within the Office of the Dean, College of Engineering. The Director reports to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. During the second year of implementation, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs established the Central Office of Resources for Engineers (CORE). The CORE administers a wide range of services to students, including tutoring. The CORE has been assigned a designated suite of offices and dedicated clerical and secretarial staff. The Director and Assistant Director’s offices are located within the CORE area with full access to all other CORE initiatives and services.