UNC alumni go on to use their education to build BIG careers and make a difference in communities across Colorado, the United States and globally. We know this is true because alumni share their stories with us every day – many of these stories you can find on the UNC Alumni Blog, in the UNC Magazine, or through the UNC Newsroom.
As UNC aims to be “the university that Colorado looks to as the future of higher education,” we have an opportunity to align the impact of alumni careers with institutional transparency and strategic priorities for career readiness. And it all begins with data.
Advancement offices already maintain contact with alumni and know where they work and how they are using their degree. Essentially, this knowledge is boiled down to alumni career data. While most universities have this data, how it is organized and used may vary. Rather than just be aware of where alumni are working, UNC began to organize the occupations and industries of alumni employment to show and celebrate the collective impact of alumni careers – whether in K-12 education, which is the university’s top industry of employment among undergraduate degree-holding alumni, or within specific professions such as nursing.
And while UNC may be known for historic strengths in specific academic and professional areas, we want to embrace and celebrate our strengths because they are informed and backed by the careers of our alumni.
It is with that in mind that UNC launches public access to our Alumni Employment Dashboard – an interactive tool to understand the occupations and industries of employment pursued by our graduates.
We will start by sharing employment data from undergraduate degree holding alumni before expanding to report graduate and doctoral degree alumni.
Dashboard Data and Filter:
- Coverage by Academic College
- Industry (classification of employer)
- Professions (classifications of a position or occupation)
- Scholarship status
- First Generation Student status
Additionally, we provide a map of alumni geographic distribution to show the coverage of alumni careers across the State of Colorado and beyond, demonstrating the important workforce and talent impact generated by the alumni Bear Network.
Data classifications were created in partnership with UNC Center for Career Readiness staff in order to complement classifications found on Handshake and LinkedIn.
The quality of the dashboard, and its utility in student advising and alumni engagement, is of course dependent on alumni sharing their career updates and success stories. The alumni office is excited to continue working with UNC Bears of all ages to support and celebrate job changes, promotions, and even transitions. Whether we include a promotion in UNC Monthly class notes or provide access to career transition support, there is a place for all alumni careers to be celebrated and valued.
Alumni are invited to share their career updates with the alumni office and their updates will be reflected in the dashboard’s weekly refresh. We welcome conversations with alumni, students, and friends who are interested in learning more and working with us to support the career readiness and development of our community.
How Alumni Career Data is Useful
- Supports marketing and student recruitment.
- Informs student academic and career advising.
- Empowers students and alumni to understand and access their career network.
- Improves transparency in the value and outcome of a UNC education.
Special thank you to the current and former UNC advancement operations staff for your diligent effort to organize, track and present UNC's alumni career data.
