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A Finding Aid for the Career Services and Placement Records 1964-2004

Collection Summary

Collection Title: Career Services and Placement Records

Creator: Ferris Institute. Career Services and Placement Office.

Dates: 1964-2003

Abstract: The Career Services and Placement Office existed as part of Ferris under a variety of names to aid graduates in locating jobs. In 2003, it became part of Student Employment. The office provided job leads for students and statistical information for the institution about the placement of graduates. The records consist primarily of annual reports, graduate placement surveys and placement bulletins.

Language: English

Quantity: 1.5 cubic feet; 1 records center box

Identification: UA 7.4.

Repository: Ferris State University Archives and Records Management Program

Historical Note

In 1964, an office called the Scholarship and Placement Activities offices handled the financial aid for students as well as job advertising. They tried to connect Ferris students with jobs in companies that already employed Ferris alumni through job postings and bringing recruiters to campus (particularly for the Pharmacy Division.) In 1966, the Placement Office split off and its scope of activities grew. In 1977, the office became the "Cooperative Education, Career Planning and Education Services" to reflect the new activities of the program which included resume building, interviewing and other job-hunting skills programs. The program also became an information point for how careers intersected with a particular college major. In 1975, Cooperative Education portion was dropped from the division, but the skills programmatic activities and placement activities continued. In June 2003, the Career Services Office merged with the Office of Student Employment.

Scope and Content Note

The Career Services Office, despite several changes in name and administrative reporting structure, has a consistent mission to assist Ferris students in seeking jobs, and to assist Ferris in evaluating the success of the school in training graduates for jobs.

The primary function of the Career Services Office is to assist students. Prior to the posting of jobs on the internet website, placement bulletins were produced in paper. The collection contains a fairly complete sample of bulletins from 1981-1995. The office also provided a guide to career planning and programs to assist students. Materials related to these programs are located in the brochures folder. Looking at these gives a sense of how Ferris' degree programs have evolved to meet the national job market.

Also, the collection contains a large collection of Graduate Salary Surveys (found under the Annual reports for the pre-1970 years). These surveys provide statistical data on job placement, salary and change in salary/placement over time. At the end of 1999-2000, the function of reporting this data moved over to the office of Institutional Testing and Research.

The records do not contain any correspondence, or files of the directors of the office.

Arrangement

The papers are divided into a single series.

Access Information

Conditions of Access

The Career Services and Placement Records are open for research to all users in accordance with University Archives and Records Management access policies. It is available in the reading room of the Ferris State University Archives.

Conditions of Use

Requests for permission to publish material should be directed to the University Archivist. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.

Copyright interests for this collection have been transferred to Ferris State University. For more information, contact the University Archivist.

Subject Headings

Below are a list of names, organizations and subjects relating to the collection. Names have been taken from Library of Congress Authority headings whenever possible.

Related Materials

None specified.

Administrative Information

Citations

Footnotes and bibliographic references should use the following format:
[Item], Folder, Box. Career Services and Placement Records. Ferris State University Archives. Big Rapids, Michigan.

Provenance (Acquisition Information)

The Career Services and Placement Records were donated in increments between 1980-2003, when the function was merged with that of Student Employment.

Processing Information

The Career Services and Placement Records were processed to the folder level by Melinda McMartin Isler in May 2003. A finding aid was prepared in a word processing format and converted to EAD 1.0. A revised finding aid was created in January 2008. A collection level MARC-format record was prepared and placed in the library online public access catalog. Description was based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2004).

Separated Materials

During processing, duplicate materials were discarded. There were no other materials placed in other collections.

Technical Requirements

This collection consists of paper based materials. No specialized hardware or software is required for viewing.

Content Listing

Series 1. General Files. 1964-2003.

This series consists of general subject reports such as placement bulletins, graduation surveys and brochures.

The Career Services and Placement Records are arranged alphabetically by title (i.e. budget plans or Placement Bulletins.) Where there are multiple items under one title, or folders with the same title, such as the Graduate Survey, materials are arranged chronologically.

Box Folder Contents
1 1 Annual reports (replaced by Graduate Salary Survey in 1967). 1964-1970.
1 2 Brochures; programs. 1996-2001; undated.
1 3 Budget files. 1988; 1991-1993.
1 4 Career guidance notebook. Prepared by Swartz, Manfred. 1980-1982..
1 5 Cooperative Education Newsletter. Undated.
1 6 Delta Sigma Pi Career Day. 1970-1979.
1 7 Getting You the Job you Want: Reference Guide for Ferris Students. 1992.
1 8 Graduate salary survey. August 1966-June 1970.
1 9 Graduate salary survey. August 1974-June 1979.
1 10 Graduate salary survey. August 1979-June 1985.
1 11 Graduate salary survey. August 1985-June 1990.
1 12 Graduate salary survey. August 1990-June 1995.
1 13 Graduate salary survey. August 1995-June 1997.
1 14 Graduate salary survey. August 1997-June 2000.
1 15 Manual of Procedures for part-time, on campus employment. 1970.
1 16 Newsletter. 1973-1997.
1 17 Placement and salary profile. 1971-1973; 1981-1993.
1 18 Placement bulletin. January 1979-December 1981.
1 19 Placement bulletin. January 1982-June 1982.
1 20 Placement bulletin. July 1982-December 1982.
1 21 Placement bulletin. January 1983-June 1983.
1 22 Placement bulletin. July 1983-December 1983.
1 23 Placement bulletin. January 1984-June 1984.
1 24 Placement bulletin. 1985-1986.
1 25 Placement bulletin. 1989-1990.
1 26 Placement bulletin. 1992-1993.
1 27 Placement bulletin. 1993-1994.
1 28 Placement bulletin. 1994-1995.
1 29 Placement registration packet. Undated.
1 30 Planning guides. 1976; 1982-1983; 2003.
1 31 Planning guides. Undecided.