Students often lose hope as they head out of academia and into a career. Why? I believe that they need to see more specific career development resources. Students become overwhelmed – if they are cognizant that getting assistance in their job search is beneficial, they may not know where to look, whose information to trust and how to synthesize it with their education. What if we were to create an OER repository for students that's generated by faculty and career development professionals within any college that focuses on resumes and cover letters for specific disciplines, specific jobs or broader career paths or unique industries? What if these tangible artifacts (OER) also teach intangible skills – professional etiquette, capacity for leadership, motivation, communication efficacy and the like – that employers seek?
This presentation will explore the integration of college career development professionals and faculty to create an internal OER repository specifically for career development resources with the goal of offering students combined career development perspectives within a familiar circuit they can trust. I will explore ways in which this initiative could happen as well as the benefits.
This could be what's next for OER in higher education.