Passport to Success
Passport is a two-year certificate-based professional development program available to junior and senior business majors or minors. It has four elements – the Business Professional Program, Beachmasters, Community Scholars and Corporate Mentoring. The awarding of certificates is based solely on student fulfillment of the respective program requirements. Certificates are important because they demonstrate to a potential employer a student’s commitment to self-improvement through participation in extra-curricular professional development activities.
Journey
The Passport takes the student on a journey through workshops, events, community service and possibly into a mentoring relationship with someone from the business community. When the student has completed the journey he or she will be a more attractive job candidate, better employee and a highly valued member of your community if you so choose.
Itinerary
The journey begins with an orientation, a career learning assessment and a series of four Level I workshops. These are followed by Level II, III and IV workshops. It is important to note that for the most part there is no particular order in which students have to take the workshops. It is up to each student to ensure that he or she attends enough workshops over a two year period to earn the Business Professional Certificates. To earn the higher certificates students must perform some form of community service. Participating in Community Scholars or volunteering on a regular schedule at a non-profit organization will satisfy community service requirements. Participation in Beachmasters can also earn a student credit towards the Certificate. Beachmasters can improve a student’s job prospects (and grades) through improved presentation skills and greater self-confidence. For students who meet the criteria the final stop on the itinerary is the Corporate Mentoring Program which pairs a student with an executive in a year-long mentoring relationship.
Formalities
Every traveler must go through certain formalities that usually result in some kind of approval, admission and stamp reflecting that you were processed through the formality. The pages in the Passport will reflect “where the student has been” in the program. Students who attend a workshop or other activity should have their attendance recorded either by a swipe of their Student ID Card or their signature on an attendance sheet. After a workshop or activity attendees will be asked to complete an online evaluation of the content and presenter. After completing the evaluation students may then go to the SCPD office and have their passport stamped. Passports will not be stamped unless the evaluation is completed.
IMPORTANT
Do not lose your Passport. It is a record of your achievements. You will be charged $25.00 for a replacement passport.
Business Professional Certificates
The professional development workshops and activities are offered multiple times during the two-year period and at least once each year. There are three levels of Business Professional Certificates – Silver Passport, Gold Passport and Platinum Passport.
- The Silver Passport can be earned by attending the Orientation, completing the personal assessment, attending and evaluating ten specified workshops and doing either one of two things: a) participating in Community Scholars or similar community service activity; or b) participating in Beachmasters for two semesters.
- The Gold Passport can be earned by completing the requirements of the Silver Passport, attending and evaluating two additional Level III workshops and attending Ethics at the Beach.
- The Platinum Passport can be earned by completing the requirements of the Gold Passport, attending and evaluating two of the four Level IV workshops and the CMP Introduction, and attending both Ethics at the Beach and the Leadership retreat.
Substitutions
Professional development workshops are also sponsored by other campus organizations and sometimes cover the same or similar topics. These organizations are The Leadership Academy, the Career Development Center and ABSOC. SCPD will give students credit for attending workshops sponsored by these other organizations if they are similar in content to Passport workshops. SCPD will give elective credit for attending professional development workshops covering subject matter not offered by SCPD if the workshop has been deemed in advance to be “Passport Approved”. Depending on the subject matter SCPD may determine that these elective credits satisfy one or more Passport requirements.
Certificate Requirements in Chart Form
Workshops and Descriptions
Level I
Career Learning Assessment: Provides a report on your unique profile of interests, abilities and motivations.
Mission, Vision, Values: Intended to align your vision of your future with your personal attributes and value system to help you make better career choices.
Five Dysfunctions of a Team: One of two teamwork oriented workshops to help you be more effective in a team environment by identifying five things that contribute to team dysfunction.
Myers Briggs or Team Profiles: The second teamwork oriented workshop to help you be more effective in a team environment through an understanding of how individual psychological profiles affect team interaction.
Conflict Management: Intended to help you learn how to resolve conflict to achieve more favorable outcomes.
Level II
Goal Setting: Tips on how to set realistic goals and manage your life towards achieving those goals.
Time Management: Tips on how to make time for your classes and your work, and still have time for a personal life.
Financial Planning: Not business planning, but personal financial basics and strategies for saving, investing, accumulating wealth and the appropriate use of debt.
Ethics in the Workplace: A look at the types of ethical challenges you will encounter in the workplace and tips on how to establish and manage to your own ethical bottom line.
Communication Etiquette/Effective Listening: Instruction on the right way and wrong way of the various modes of electronic communication in the business world and tips on how effective listening can dramatically improve communication.
Level II Passport Approved
The following workshops offered by the Career Development Center and ABSOC are Passport Approved.
How to Work a Job Fair: Tips on how to make the most of a job fair through pre-planning, effective execution and post fair follow-up.
Elevator Pitch: How to sell yourself in sixty seconds or less.
Business Etiquette: How to dress, act and look the part in the corporate world, including instruction on dining etiquette.
Students must complete a minimum of three Level II workshops plus an elective and a community service activity. Passport Approved workshops offered by the Career Development Center and ABSOC count towards the minimum.
Level III
CMP Introduction: An introduction to the Corporate Mentoring Program including how students benefit from having a mentor and the requirements to get in. This workshop is mandatory for all SCPD students.
Leadership in the Workplace: What is leadership and as an entry level employee how can you demonstrate your leadership skills?
Negotiating Skills: Life is a negotiation and nowhere is this truer than when negotiating a job offer or a salary increase.
Behavior Based Interviewing Skills: Instruction on how to be well prepared for interviews, including what employers ask and why, and how to prepare for your internship or job interview.
Effective Networking: This workshop teaches you how to build and maintain a professional network.
Social Networking: How social networks are used in a business environment and how employers use them to screen prospective employees.
Level III Passport Approved
The following workshop offered by the Career Development Center and ABSOC are Passport Approved.
Resume Writing: Instruction on how to write a resume that will improve your chances of getting the job that you want.
Students must complete a minimum of three Level III workshops plus an elective and a community service activity. Passport Approved workshops offered by the Career Development Center and ABSOC count towards the minimum.
Level IV
Effective Strategies for a Job Search: Students need a strategy for landing the job that they want. Find out what strategies work and what strategies do not work.
Web Based Job Search (eRecruiting): Tips on effective internet based job search and software that can give you access to internships and jobs, help you upload a resume for critique, help you apply for a job and more.
Evaluating a Job Offer: Learn the tools necessary to evaluate a job offer with confidence and why it is not just about salary.
So You Want to Start a Business: Not a workshop on entrepreneurialism, but a guide to the practical considerations of starting any business.
Pace of Achievement
As can be seen from the above, it is possible for a student to earn three Business Professional Certificates over a two year period. However, that would involve an incredible effort beginning with a student’s first semester as a junior. Students attempting such an accomplishment should be mindful of the time commitments required for academics, work, social events and other extracurricular activities (i.e. sports or ABSOC). Ambitious students should also be able to earn one or more of the Business Professional Certificates in the course of an academic year. Though again, this would involve a time commitment that most students may wish to spread out over two years so as not to interfere with other activities.
Programs
SCPD offers three structured programs – BeachMasters, Community Scholars and the Corporate Mentoring Program. Each program conveys valuable information and experiences that will benefit students prior to and after graduation.
BeachMasters
BeachMasters is the College of Business Administration Toastmasters club. Run by students and supervised by the SCPD Director, Beach Masters is an opportunity for students polish their all-important public speaking, interviewing and leadership skills. Public speaking is often ranked most people’s number one fear. Yet a person’s success greatly depends on how they present themselves and communicate with their boss, management, professional organizations, community groups and others. Therefore, overcoming that fear, presenting confidently, thinking and speaking spontaneously and looking and sounding professional is critical to making a positive lasting impression. Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of BeachMasters. In addition to being important to personal development, it is fun.
Community Scholars
Students mentor local high school students and use their positive college experiences to model success. Student mentors hone their presentation skills, work collaboratively and attend professional networking events. The program culminates when the high school students are brought to campus to help motivate them to succeed in high school and go to college. A student does not have to participate in the Passport workshops in order to participate in Community Scholars. However, it should be noted that Community Scholars satisfies the community service requirements of Levels II, III and IV. Enrollment in Community Scholars is limited to students who meet the following requirements:
- Be in good standing with the University
- Have a minimum 2.5 GPA
- Letter of recommendation
- Pass an interview
Other Eligible Community Service Activities
Below is a list of eligible community service activities. Others may be accepted with the approval of the Program Coordinator. Approval will be granted for volunteering regular hours supporting a non-profit or civic organization. It also will be granted for participating in meaningful projects.
- Alternative Spring Break
- Silent Auction
- Service Learning Center
- Other regular non-profit hours
- Other volunteer project
Corporate Mentoring Program
CMP is an optional Level IV activity that fulfills the elective and community service activity requirements. CMP students are paired with a corporate mentor for an academic year. Under the terms of a mutually agreed contract the mentor guides the student through personal choices that can impact a career. The focus is on character building, dependability, professionalism and self-confidence. A leadership retreat provides a highly effective learning experience that can fosters personal growth, teamwork and leadership skills. It consists of lectures and activities that encourage examination of self as well as challenging, experiential learning activities designed to enhance various skills relating to teamwork, leadership, trust, communication and many others that can be applied to academics and life in general. CMP is the capstone program and enrollment is limited to students who meet the following requirements:
- Be in good standing with the University
- Have a minimum 2.5 GPA
- Have a letter of recommendation
- Pass an interview
- Completed Level I and Level II requirements
- Attend Ethics at the Beach
- Attend the CMP Introduction workshop
Commitment
Students participating in SCPD programs are expected to live up to the commitments they make. Students participating in CMP will be asked to sign a contract that specifies their responsibilities. Students are responsible for ensuring that their activities are properly recorded in their Passport and in the SCPD office. The SCPD office maintains a database of student activities to ensure that commitments are being kept and it is important that this database be accurate.