According to the most recent post-graduation activity report, 93% of WMU alumni who graduated between August 2020 and June 2021 have jobs or are continuing their education. For those employed full time, 88% are in jobs they love related to their degree.
WMU’s post-graduation activity survey is conducted annually and reported to the National Association of Colleges and Employers in order to measure career outcomes for recent college graduates. Over the past five years, more than 90% of Western alumni have reported being actively engaged in work or advancing their degrees soon after their graduation.
“I think it shows we really do what we say we do, which is integrate career from day one and get students to think seriously about what those possibilities are, get them meaningful experiences along the way so they can try things out,” said Dr. Edwin Martini, vice provost for teaching and learning and dean of Merze Tate College. "Sometimes they find something that early on is not a good fit, but we get them adjusted. We help them think about a new path so that by the time they do walk across the stage and go out into the world, they've got a good plan in front of them.”
Mentoring Matters
A large contributor to success—and something that sets WMU apart from larger schools—is the deep connections alumni report forming with faculty and staff who opened the door to meaningful experiences and networking opportunities. Of the alumni who completed the most recent survey, 98% revealed having at least one instructor who made them excited about learning, and nine in 10 students felt their instructors cared about them as a person.
“These results show internships matter. Mentoring matters. Engaged learning matters too," said Dr. Ewa Urban, director of assessment and effectiveness in Merze Tate College. "We saw significant gains for students who had caring professors in terms of being prepared for their profession and satisfaction in post-graduation jobs."
"I received a lot of encouragement from professors during undergrad. It was super important to establish those relationships early on," added Marquin Evans, who earned his master's degree in applied behavior analysis in 2020 and now works as membership development coordinator at the Association for Behavior Analysis International. "These relationships served me all throughout graduate school. I had a strong network that I relied on, and I am extremely thankful for that."
According to the report, students who had a mentor were twice as likely to be satisfied with their post-graduation job and one-and-a-half times more likely to have a job related to their degree. Experiential learning also played a large role with 91% of Broncos reporting completing an internship, co-op, practicum, field experience or participation in an on-campus job or Registered Student Organization.
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