Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, is one of the nation’s top public schools. With a student body of more than 45,000 (undergraduates and graduates), nearly 30% of its student body is enrolled in one of 14 engineering programs the university offers. Purdue’s College of Engineering comprises a large portion of the experiential learning programs that Purdue’s Office of Professional Development tracks with Symplicity CSM. With a robust co-op and experiential learning program, Purdue is now able to better support its engineering students all within one system.
Highlights
- Purdue utilizes CSM across campus, but particularly to track experiential learning opportunities at its renowned College of Engineering which offers 14 different engineering disciplines
- Utilizing CSM’s Experiential Learning module has brought together departments who traditionally operated independently to streamline their communication;
- The unparalleled support from Symplicity’s client services team helped Purdue successfully onboard CSM across its department and, in November 2020, host its first Virtual Career Fair.
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, is one of the nation’s top public schools. With a student body of more than 45,000 (undergraduates and graduates), nearly 30% of its student body is enrolled in one of 14 engineering programs the university offers. Purdue’s College of Engineering comprises a large portion of the experiential learning programs that Purdue’s Office of Professional Development tracks with Symplicity CSM. With a robust co-op and experiential learning program, Purdue is now able to better support its engineering students all within one system.
CSM Supports Purdue’s Acclaimed Engineering Programs
Purdue’s College of Engineering programs are annually ranked top 10 in the country, which means companies heavily recruit Purdue students for internships, co-ops, and other experiential learning opportunities. Purdue’s co-op program alone has existed since 1954 with thousands of students completing the program and moving into successful engineering careers. Yet, the co-op program requires coordination between the university and the employer, and requires students to complete multiple work experiences, gain technical skills, and meet program requirements. With Symplicity CSM, Purdue keeps track of where students are working, which employers are part of the co-op program, how much each student is paid for their co-op work, and eventually tracks which students got a job out of the co-op experience. Additionally, the College of Engineering offers an international component which includes studying a foreign language, a domestic internship experience, an international internship experience, along with specific intercultural learning coursework. Utilizing Symplicity CSM has enabled Purdue to effectively keep track of the programs various components, even around the globe.
Enhanced Campus Collaboration
A unique component of Purdue’s College of Engineering is EPICS, a service-learning design program in which teams of students partner with local and global community organizations to address human, community, and environmental needs. Utilizing CSM has enabled the Office of Professional Practice and the College of Engineering’s EPICS staff members to track various programs and communicate effectively on student placements, learning outcomes, research programs. By incorporating CSM into the EPICS program, along with other experiential learning programs at Purdue, the university has been better able to understand its student body, target their students for specific opportunities, track which students are getting recruited, and understand the full scope of what programs a student is involved with and view it all in one platform.
“I think it’s actually bringing a lot of departments together. It is helping to streamline our processes and gain a better understanding of how students can build upon the unique and high-quality experiential learning opportunities they are having through different programs. It is not only helping us save time and effort but helping us to enhance the quality of the student experience.”
- Joseph Tort
Assistant Director of Global Professional Practice
Purdue University
Unparalleled Support
A priority for Purdue adopting CSM was the support they would receive. Purdue’s Office of Professional Development staff feel CSM “is more intuitive than the old system.” The easy-to-use platform has enabled better communication within various experiential learning offices within the College of Engineering. Offices have worked collaboratively to learn the system, how they can utilize it together, and enhance the College’s ability to work together to support the student experience. Additionally, with Symplicity’s online Help Center and dedicated client manager, Purdue receives assistance for any questions they have in a timely manner. This has been critical to the growth of the office. In November 2020, the Office of Professional Practice was able to successfully host its first Virtual Career Fair, where Purdue staff and Symplicity support team members were able to work in tandem to host the event.
“When launching our Virtual Career Fair, I wasn’t sure what to expect. To have someone I could call and help me without a lag time or waiting for an e-mail response, but instead give me one-on-one, right on time assistance helped a lot. I have nothing but positive things to say.”
Barbara Albrecht
Employer Information Specialist
Purdue University
