In the three months since North Central University’s spring commencement exercises, the Class of 2018 has been busy pursuing their dreams and gainful employment in their fields of study. Their job-seeking efforts have garnered great success.
North Central’s College of Business and Technology and the School of Education report that 100 percent of their May 2018 graduates who pursued full-time employment are now employed in career-related jobs. This compares to a national average of 81 percent employment for college students three months post-graduation.
This comes as no surprise to Bill Tibbetts, Dean of the College of Business and Technology. “There are several reasons that our students are having the post-graduation success that they are,” Tibbetts explained.
“It all starts at the curriculum level,” Tibbetts said. “In addition to focus on practical and relevant material, we are intentional [about] the development of 21st century skills and God-centered character within every single course. We also partner this with our ‘Do Something Initiative,’ an individualized program that guides students from day one on activities that they should be engaged in throughout their academic career to discover and prepare for a future.”
Gail Weinhold, Director of the School of Education, said that successful entry into education careers also involves work that starts well before the diploma is in hand. “Students go through several ‘interviews’ as part of our program,” Weinhold noted. “They interview to officially enter our program, they interview before they are cleared for student teaching, and they are interviewed by a panel of current teachers and principals at the end of their senior year. It is empowering to see them grow and develop in their faith and philosophy of teaching over these semesters!”
Tibbetts also points to strong mentorship and relevant internship opportunities as a key to student success. “Our students are all mentored through this process by their academic advisors,” he said. “Additionally, we’ve been able to provide students with internship and job placement opportunities with some of the best companies that the Twin Cities has to offer.”
Internships are required for most majors at North Central, and business and education are no exception. The average student majoring in business has had 3.1 internships by the time they graduate, and teachers-in-training have been in K–12 classrooms for more than 800 hours—most of that directly teaching and getting hands-on experience in schools—by the time they graduate. Many of this year’s graduates were hired by the firms and schools where they interned or did their student-teaching. NCU Education students also have the unique opportunity to do student teaching abroad in one of several partner schools overseas.
The 2018 Education graduates can be found in several prominent Christian schools, public schools in the Twin Cities, and in schools as far away as Florida and Honduras. The Business grads found their way into several Fortune 500 companies, including United Health Group, Cargill, Target, U.S. Bancorp, General Mills, Ameriprise Financial, and Thrivent Financial, in addition to small- and medium-sized firms.
Employers who hire North Central students for internships and full-time careers demonstrate a high degree of satisfaction with their knowledge and work ethic. Tim Ford, Upper School Principal at Maranatha Christian Academy, wrote in a letter to university leadership:
“I want to mention three aspects of our experience with the NCU education department that stand out as superior to other teacher training programs – level of preparation, spiritual maturity/faith integration, and personal investment by the faculty in student success. Even as student teachers, NCU education students already possess content expertise, relevant pedagogy, and mature classroom management. They are thoroughly prepared through your program to be excellent teachers, and they enter their first teaching assignments with confidence, skill, enthusiasm, and passion.”
Students in all majors receive to career guidance, support, and resources through their faculty and the Career Services office.
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