ABSTRACT
It is estimated that an average American can expect to change jobs ten or more times before the age of 40 (AAC&U, 2007). Technological advancements and economic globalization, among other factors, render some jobs obsolete, while creating new career opportunities faster than ever before. With increasing job market volatility, return on investment (ROI) has become the “hot topic” when discussing the value and effectiveness of higher education in the current social and economic landscape. Higher education stakeholders-including students, their family members, employers and government agencies-want to see data and measurable dividends, such as lucrative career options, as well as a qualified, globally competitive labor force, as ROI with respect to college tuition, hiring of a recent graduate and funding allocations to colleges and universities. The pressure to quantify the value of specific college majors, academic scholarship and skill acquisition presents both a challenge and an opportunity for universities
to address the needs of various stakeholders and defend the importance of higher education in talent development. Additionally, colleges and universities hold the responsibility to continuously evaluate the effectiveness of current educational practices and adapt to the changing social and economic outlook, in order to best prepare their students to skillfully master career management challenges and create opportunities in pursuit of professional success. Such preparation is not possible without infusing career and professional development concepts, as well as employment-related competencies, into all levels of curricula and for all college majors. Additionally, Banta and Kuh (1998) indicate that we cannot evaluate the complete impact of a college education by focusing only on performance in the classroom, as both curricular and extracurricular experiences impact the student.
