The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Developing Placement Services for Liberal Arts Undergraduates

Abstract

In Fall 2002, the University of Missouri-Columbia began a new initiative to develop placement services for liberal arts students. Placement services had never before been offered to this student population and the MU Career Center was designated as the principal creator, administrator and provider of these career services. The Career Center staff decided the most effective approach would be to develop a strategic plan that reflected the needs, values, and desires of our faculty, student, and employer constituents. We conducted an environmental scan, collected substantial data and gathered campus feedback. After careful analysis, we developed a dynamic and responsive strategic plan that would meet our goals and achieve success with our financial, organizational, and human resources in mind.