Progression to Profession

The University of Montevallo’s Progression to Profession (P2P) Quality Enhancement Plan is a campus-wide initiative allowing the University to harness the benefits of a liberal arts education as a pathway toward professional success. P2P is designed to integrate intentional career planning through classroom enhancements and advising opportunities to engage students in career planning throughout their college experience. Students will develop a career plan early in their college experience and review and revise this plan as they work to develop the skills and qualities valued by graduate programs and employers. P2P supports the University’s mission to engage students in personal and intellectual growth in “the pursuit of meaningful employment and responsible, informed citizenship,” highlighting the relevance of a liberal arts education in today’s workplace.

Quality Enhancement Plan

The Career Development Center (CDC) is a prominent and active partner in the reaccreditation process for the University of Montevallo and its status as a high-quality institution of higher education. The official Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) associated with the university’s current reaccreditation efforts focuses on enhancing student career planning and preparedness. Under the banner of “Progression to Profession” (referred to as P2P), the UM Career Development Center will help to implement the concepts and practice of career planning and professional development campus-wide.

Progression to Profession

The University of Montevallo (UM) has selected Career Development as the topic of the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). This initiative is designed to encourage students to develop a career plan early in their college experience and to continually review and revise this plan as they work to develop the skills and qualities valued by graduate programs and employers. Progression to Profession (P2P) is a campus-wide initiative, allowing UM to harness the benefits of a liberal arts education as a pathway toward professional success.

P2P is focused on students’ career planning and preparation efforts with an emphasis on those tasks that are essential within each academic program. Through a systematic and enhanced partnership with the Career Development Center (CDC), advisors, and program faculty, students will identify career aspirations (Explore and Plan), craft and refine career plans (Engage and Refine), and create professional artifacts to be kept in digital portfolios for use in preparation for graduate school and/or career applications (Create and Implement).

Assessment of P2P will be accomplished through the use of both direct and indirect measurements of student achievement. These assessments will provide ongoing formative and summative data through which the progress of students will be evaluated. The plan is flexible enough to incorporate enhancements and changes as informed by ongoing data analysis. The P2P five-year implementation plan emphasizes the importance of early and sustained career planning through a university-wide commitment to improve students’ overall career readiness.

Student Learning Outcomes

The accreditation standards state that the institution has a Quality Enhancement Plan that focuses on improving specific student learning outcomes and/or student success. UM’s specific goal is to enhance student career planning and preparedness.

Outcome 1: Explore and Plan – Level I – Freshman/Sophomore

Students will demonstrate an ability to describe relevant pathways to their chosen professions. The result of this outcome will be for students to set career goals, identify potential careers, make salary projections, identify educational requirements, and develop strategies to reach their goals.

Outcome 2: Engage and Refine – Level II – Sophomore/Junior

Students will demonstrate an ability to revise and refine their career plans in response to relevant information. The result of this outcome will be for students to reflect on strengths, skills and progress toward goals in order to revise career plans and goal achievement strategies effectively.

Outcome 3: Create and Implement – Level III – Junior/Senior

Students will demonstrate an ability to create appropriate artifacts for chosen profession. The results of this outcome will be for students to identify the materials required for the interview process and/or graduate school application process in their disciplines and create materials that positively showcase their attributes.

Relevant Activities

You can think of the Progression to Profession model as a three-part Career Action Plan. It is a step-by-step checklist of activities, strategies and tools students can utilize to be successful in their career.

The Progression to Profession model delineates one broad goal focused on students’ intentional career planning in order to be prepared for professional pursuits. The goal includes three student learning outcomes designed to impact as many students as possible.

P2P is focused on students’ career planning and preparation efforts with a customized emphasis on those tasks that are essential within each academic program. Through a systematic and enhanced partnership with the Career Development Center (CDC), advisors, and program faculty, students will develop the skills necessary to identify career aspirations, to craft and refine career plans, and to create professional artifacts (career goals, career plan, resume, cover letter, professional profile) to be kept in digital portfolios for use in preparation for graduate school and/or career applications.

I  Explore and Plan
-Identify Personality, Interests, Skills, Values
-Research and Identify Potential Careers
-Gather Information about Salary, Educational Requirements, and Professional Qualifications
-Develop Career Goals and Strategies

II  Engage and Refine
-Identify Job Shadowing Activities
-Identify Co-curricular and Community Activities
-Identify Internship Opportunities
-Reflect on Progress and Revise Plans and Strategy

III  Create and Implement
-Research and Create Prospect List
-Create Resume and Cover Letter
-Create Professional Profile
-Gather Contact Information for Reference Sheet
-Create Materials that Showcase Attributes (Portfolio)
-Research Graduate school Application Process
-Complete Graduate School Application and Essay