One TCU faculty member is setting the bar on how faculty can use career development in the classroom by incorporating the devices offered by University Career Services.Sociology instructor Keith Whitworth features Career Services in his classroom settings and encourages students to take advantage of all Career Services has to offer.

Career Services assists students in developing their careers, and Whitworth takes the initiative to introduce younger students to the program.

Whitworth and Chuck Dunning, the associate director of Career Services, say they want to break the misconception that Career Services is just for graduating seniors.

Freshmen and sophomores are encouraged to utilize the tools Career Services has to offer, Dunning said.

“The main role of University Career Services is to assist students in getting information and guidance to develop their careers,” Dunning said.

Its role includes helping students choose their majors and career paths and begin their job searches, Dunning said.

“University Career Services does not place students in jobs, but rather educates students through their career transitions,” Dunning said.

Seniors who visit Career Services will be specifically encouraged to focus on their job search, networking with employers, finalizing their r‚sum‚s and working on their cover letters.

Every fall and spring semesters Career Services offers Career Night to help students network with employers. Also offered are on-campus mock interviews, which students can sign up for at www.frogjobs.net

Whitworth said his class participates in mock interviews, as well as r‚sum‚ and cover letter writing. The work that students complete must be approved by Career Services.

“In my applied sociology class, the curriculum is built around utilizing Career Services,” Whitworth said.

One way to implement career development skills into the classroom is by giving bonus quizzes, taken through Career Services, that force students to explore their interests and job opportunities, Whitworth said.

“The goal is for students to determine what they want to do with their majors in terms of their careers,” he said.

Lara Beth Levy, a freshman premajor, said she heard positive feedback about the sociology class.

“Students said it was the best class offered at TCU because it required them to think about, and prepare for, the future,” Levy said.

TCU faculty have to face the fact that they might be doing students a disservice by making career development courses voluntary, Whitworth said.

“However, rather than making these things mandatory, we should look for more ways to integrate University Career Services into the classroom,” he said.

Career Services wants all students to use its devices, and strongly encourages the use of its Web site: www.cpl.tcu.edu