NACE Career Readiness: Faculty Resource for Course Syllabi

NACE Career Readiness: Faculty Resource for Course Syllabi

This resource guides faculty in incorporating career readiness competencies into their syllabi. Developed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), these competencies represent the essential skills and attributes students need for success in today’s workforce. Faculty can use this framework to help students bridge academic learning with professional skill development, enhancing their readiness for post-graduation career paths.

SPRING 2025: IMPLEMENTATION

Faculty teaching CSC 252, 335, 345, 352, and 380 syllabi should feature at least 3-4 or more competencies
 (based on existing course content) 
under the "Transferable Career Skills" section in their Spring 2025 course syllabi. 

What is Career Readiness: 

Career readiness is a foundation from which to demonstrate requisite core competencies that broadly prepare the college-educated for success in the workplace and lifelong career management. - National Association for Colleges and Employers, 2024

Outlined below are the eight career competencies identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). These are essential skills that today’s employers are actively seeking in our graduating students. Including and highlighting these transferable career skills/competencies in your course syllabi can help students recognize how they are developing these valuable skills for industry/or professional school. 

Below are examples and additional resources.

The goal of integrating NACE Career Competencies within Syllabi is to provide students with a foundation to communicate how their academic experiences empower them to develop a skillset most desired by employers in a professional setting (Resume, CV, Cover Letter, Interview).
 
The career readiness competencies can be an effective tool in faculty’s work with students, especially when helping them to understand why they need certain courses in general or a set of courses for their major. - NACE, Kevin Gray 
 

With faculty support, reviewing the department curriculum through a career-readiness perspective—leveraging existing content in syllabi—can be highly valuable for students, enabling them to better understand how their academic skills align with and translate to career-related competencies.

The department encourages faculty to develop unique integrations within  syllabi rather than repurposing the examples provided.

CSC 252: Computer Organization

  • Teamwork: Students are encouraged to collaborate in teams during class, working together to strengthen their teamwork skills and enhance overall collaboration.
  • Technology: Students will use technology to understand how computers are made of integers and how data types are organized in memory, while visualizing programs as a sequence of simple operations that enable complex calculations
  • Career & Self Development: Students will practice Career & Self Development by adhering to deadlines throughout the semester to secure a passing grade.

CSC 335: Object-Oriented Programming and Design 

  • Technology: Students will use technology to investigate design principles like inheritance and polymorphism, employing Unified Modeling Language (UML) to create effective software designs.
  • Teamwork: The course will include lectures, in-class discussions, and activities, with a strong emphasis on teamwork through group work that requires collaboration with other students both during and outside of class.
  • Communication: Students are encouraged to emphasize communication by interacting with teaching assistants and using various channels, such as D2L, email, class discussions, and Piazza, to stay updated on course materials.