Career and Professional Development Mission & Vision

Career & Professional Development Mission Statement:

Our mission is to provide an inclusive environment that enhances university culture by creating equitable access to career education opportunities. Together, we connect all students to resources, external partners, and experiences that bridge their educational journey with their professional identity for meaningful careers and lives of purpose.

Career & Professional Development Vision Statement:

The Office of Career & Professional Development will be recognized as a leader in empowering students through self-exploration and professional development while cultivating distinction for liberal arts education among our community and professional partners as students pursue meaningful career paths and lives of purpose in an ever-changing world.

Department Outcomes

• Explore: Students will be able to…
  • Determine personal interests, strengths, values and skills that will inform intentional career decision-making (Student Affairs Domains: Leadership Development, Resiliency & Practice Skills, Health & Wellness)
• Prepare: Students will be able to…
  • Assemble the tools needed to translate their St. Norbert College experiences (academic, co-curricular, and work-related) in ways that will distinguish them in the job search or academic application process. (Student Affairs Domains: Leadership Development, Resiliency & Practical Skills, Health & Wellness)
• Execute: Students will be able to…
  • Cultivate a professional network and engage in informational interviews, gaining experience through experiential learning opportunities and evaluating the environmental fit of work settings and roles. (Student Affairs Domains: Leadership Development, Resiliency & Practical Skills, Health & Wellness)
• Achieve: Students will be able to…
  • Apply career skills (e.g., written documents, online presence, and skillful interviews) to effectively market themselves to potential employers and graduate schools to gain opportunities to maximize their job or graduate school search during and following their St. Norbert College experience. (Student Affairs Domains: Leadership Development, Resiliency & Practical Skills, Health & Wellness)

The Career & Professional Development office is committed to empowering students and alumni as they make meaningful connections with and contributions to the world in the career development process. To achieve this mission, we work in cooperation with:

Students 
The Career & Professional Development office fosters student awareness of career development as a lifelong and dynamic process. We provide opportunities for occupational exploration, self-assessment and preparation for attaining short and long-term goals through comprehensive services, programs, resources and experiential education. Our goal is to help students discover, appreciate, develop and apply the unique combination of interests, talents, experiences and values that they possess.

Alumni 
Recognizing that career planning and development is a lifelong process, the Career & Professional Development office helps alumni continue to make informed decisions regarding occupational choices and life transitions. Alumni also have the opportunity to enhance the career development of others through participation in various programs.

Employers 
The Career & Professional Development office collaborates with employers, volunteer representatives and graduate and professional school officers through educational and recruitment programs. These relationships enable us to remain current on employment trends and practices, to share this information with current students, alumni and the campus community and to educate our professional partners about the value of a liberal arts education.

Parents 
We're here to help your son or daughter succeed by fostering student awareness of career development as a lifelong and dynamic process. We provide opportunities for self-assessment, career exploration and preparation for attaining short and long-term goals through comprehensive services, programs, resources and experiential education.

In order to facilitate our mission, the Career & Professional Development office is committed to the following:

• Provide Services: Assist with occupational exploration, self-assessment, career development and job search for students and alumni. Currently enrolled St. Norbert College students and St. Norbert College alumni are eligible to use our services. 
• Access of Information: Provide access to comprehensive services, programs, resources, career opportunities and a variety of employers.
• Provide Reasonable Accommodations: Students with documented disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations. Reasonable accommodations are modifications or adjustments to either the college environment or to academic processes which make it possible for students with disabilities to perform the functions necessary for fulfillment of college degree requirements. Reasonable accommodations include neither those which require significant difficulty or expense for the college nor personal items, such as eyeglasses.  
• Confidentiality: Exercise sound judgment and fairness in maintaining confidentiality.
• Email Confidentiality: The Career & Professional Development staff regards email as an appropriate medium for requesting general job search information or details regarding career counseling  services or programs. Confidentiality is essential to the integrity of the advising/counseling process, and while we will do our best to keep your messages private, we cannot guarantee that the contents of your email will remain confidential. We encourage you to check the privacy policy of your email provider as well.
• Student Advocacy: Respond to employer EEO non-compliance concerns and unethical behavior.
• Equal Employment Opportunity Statement: St. Norbert College adheres to all policies of non-discrimination on the basis of age, race, religion, creed, color, handicap, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, veteran’s status, non-job-related arrest record or conviction record or any other basis prohibited by current federal and state statutes. All human resources policies, including those on employment, compensation, benefits, transfers and staff development programs are administered without discrimination.
• Professional Practice: The Career & Professional Development staff is committed to upholding the Principles for Professional Practice as outlined by NACE in regards to career planning and recruitment.