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Benedict College’s Career Pathways Initiative and Service-Learning Program’s (CPISLP) vision is to implement innovative programming that prepares Benedict College students for success in diverse local and global communities. The Program’s mission is to transform student scholars into career-oriented, civic-minded, and technologically qualified professionals who represent the best of Benedict College. CPISLP utilizes a three-prong approach, which includes curricular enhancements, co-curricular engagement and guided career pathways to prepare Benedict College students for their chosen career path.
- Curricular enhancements add to the rigor and depth of the academic preparation of students;
- Co-curricular engagement focus on engaging students in experiential learning experiences to strengthen strategic problem-solving through applied practices such as service-learning and community service, and;
- Guided career pathways develop students’ leadership and career fluency, setting the course for students’ personal growth and professional development from the freshman year through graduation.
CPISLP encourages students to enhance their career potential, personal leadership skills, and civic engagement. Thus, stimulating intellectual curiosity and building self-confidence that continues throughout their matriculation and post-graduation.
CPISLP’s two program areas include Career Pathways Initiative and Service-Learning Program.
Career Pathways Initiative
The Career Pathways Initiative (“CPI”) employs dynamic programming to foster active student engagement in career development. Students use online career tools to participate in career planning, connect with employers, and engage in virtual career coaching.
Career Pathways Initiative services include:
- Career assessments
- Resume development and critique
- Individualized career counseling
- Mock interview preparation
- On-campus job interviews
- Job-shadowing
- Career exploration
- Career field studies
- Internships
- Alumni Networking
- Career Fairs
- Virtual and On-Site Career Readiness Seminars
- Career Technology (Handshake, First Hand, LinkedIn Learning, and Standout)
- Graduate School Fairs
- Leadership and Service Trainings
CPI coordinates campus visits of representatives from industry, government, education and graduate and professional schools. CPI hosts career and graduate school fairs and provides assistance to students with career placements after graduation.
Service-Learning Program
Benedict College students are required to engage in service-learning activities designed to affect change and build leadership through academic-based opportunities that enhance students’ intellectual growth, civic responsibility, and career exploration. Service-Learning serves as an entity for providing students with opportunities to utilize real life contexts in the following areas: Education, Health, Human Needs, Crime Prevention, Environmental Awareness, and Research. Service-learning, a teaching and learning pedagogy, provides an opportunity for faculty to assess student learning outcomes through course-based service. Through Service-Learning, students participate in direct, indirect, or advocacy service projects that address community needs.
Service-Learning Program services include:
- Service-Learning partnership development and service agreements.
- Service-Learning professional development seminars for faculty, students, and community partners to aid in project development.
- Registration and recording of students’ service hours in the service-learning database for all student service-learning placement,
- Collection, distribution, and reporting of service-learning documentation which includes Curriculum Alignment Forms, Project Outcomes Forms, and Attendance Verification Logs.
- Semester based reporting documenting students’ service-learning experiences.
All students, excluding transfer students, are required to complete a minimum of 120 hours for graduation. The required hours for transfer students are based on their classification level at the time of admittance. Students may not transfer service-learning hours from other institutions of higher education or academic organizations. Extended Learning Services students are not required to complete the Service-Learning hours requirement.
Faculty, Department Chairs, and Academic Deans are responsible for the identification and implementation of service-learning projects in their respective courses. Service-learning hours at Benedict College are earned primarily through the guidelines as presented in the specific service-learning courses designated by the individual departments. Students should be accumulating service-learning hours incrementally as they matriculate through the designated service-learning courses in their academic major and those courses they elect in which to enroll. A suggested scale is as follows:
| End of Freshman year |
Accumulated a total of 20 service-learning hours. |
| End of Sophomore year |
Accumulated a total of 60 service-learning hours. |
| End of Junior year |
Accumulated a total of 100 service-learning hours. |
| End of Senior year |
Accumulated a total of 120 service-learning hours. |
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