Colleges and universities can help place the stepping stones
elementary students will need to find their pathways to post-
secondary education. Together with their elementary schools’
teachers and administrators, they can create an array of learn-
ing support mechanisms that will serve young students well
and see them successfully enter the world of higher education.
Dr. Martin Roth
President
University of Charleston
CHALLENGE: West Virginia has few large companies,
meaning there is a shortage of extensive internship and
new talent pipeline programs. In this situation, how can
colleges and universities best provide students with
applied learning experiences?
SOLUTION: Part of our mission at University of Charleston
(UC) is preparing students for productive work. Projects, intern-
ships, co-ops and clinical rotations are critical elements of the
applied, real-world learning we want each student to experience
to help them formulate and pursue their career paths.
In industry sectors like health care and education, we have
robust partnerships that facilitate student experiential learning.
For example, we have nursing, radiology, pharmacy and physician
assistant students at Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC)
throughout the year. Students get direct experience working
with providers and patients, and CAMC gets a first-hand look
and first crack at hiring new talent.
However, partners offering similar scale for students studying
business, science, humanities and other majors are not readily
available in the region. While organizations across the state
are interested in attracting bright, young workers, from our
perspective, having to manage many partnerships that offer
learning opportunities for one to two students presents a rela-
tionship building and maintenance challenge.
Some of the things we do to address this challenge include
managing a robust professional development program for
students to which we invite alumni and area leaders. Engagement
at resumé bootcamps, interviewing workshops, networking
events and the like helps our students build relationships with
potential employers. Our UC Connect Partnership Program
enables employers to address their talent acquisition needs
by providing them with preferred campus exposure through
mentoring and project and community work. Through this
program, students and partner organizations mutually benefit.
We also work closely with local organizations to provide MBA,
leadership, cybersecurity and other programming to help them
develop their existing workforce.
The more effective our partnerships are with businesses, the
faster they can grow and the better UC can deliver value to
students and the community. By working together, the challenge
of too few large employers in West Virginia can be overcome.
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