Turn back the years with Pierce Advice from the alumni

If Pierce College is serious about student success, holding an alumni panel for graduating students is one way to show it. Students don’t go to college for fun. Especially with community colleges, the ultimate goal is to get on track to a career.

A panel of working professionals who graduated from Pierce could impart their experience and expertise to graduating students. This could give them an opportunity to learn more about transferring to a university from someone who used to be in their shoes, as well as help them begin to navigate the difficult challenges of the job market that face them.

For many students, graduating is similar to being dropped alone in a wilderness with a piece of paper as the only tool for survival.

Inadequate preparation for university transfer and the job market can turn what should be a path to success into a bittersweet accomplishment. As it is, students don’t get enough help after graduation.

One of the things that makes USC so effective at getting students working in their field is its wide range of options available to current students and alumni. USC holds multiple panels and interactive events including one where international students can get advice about how to navigate the job market from alumni.

Colleges that provide job placement services and focus more on students transitioning into the job market are usually private colleges with higher price tags that most people with an average income can’t afford.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Public community colleges and universities should pay more attention to the needs of their graduates to assure a higher success rate in the job market.

Some community colleges have tried this and seen positive results, such as Guttman Community College in New York, which has been holding alumni panels for five years. Their annual event features two panel discussions with a networking hour in between.

According to Inside Higher Ed, only one in five community college graduates makes it to a university. An alumni panel held twice per year, one in fall and one in spring, might help to increase the amount of graduating students that transfer by shedding light on the difficulties involved and the methods that have worked for former students.

Providing graduates with a glimpse into their future could benefit everyone. Inviting a panel of Pierce College alumni would be a costeffective step in the right direction toward student success.