What Do Colleges and Universities Pay for Career Services?
On average, four-year colleges and universities allot just $10.53 per student to cover career services, according to research by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). The amounts reported by respondents to NACE’s 2006-07 Career Services Benchmark Survey ranged from $0 to $300 per student.
“Most career centers, however, don’t rely solely on institutional funding to provide their students with services,” explains Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. “In general, the larger the school, the larger the portion of the career center operating budget that comes from non-institutional sources.”
This is evident when looking at a comparison of institutions’ per-student contribution by enrollment size:
- Less than 1,000âÃî$45.21
- 1,001âÃî2,500-$13.26
- 2,501âÃî5,000-$7.90
- 5,001âÃî10,000-$6.95
- 10,001âÃî20,000-$3.66
- Greater than 20,000âÃî$3.11
Note: Averages were calculated by looking at the budgetary numbers reported by career centers participating in the benchmark survey; participants were asked to supply their yearly budget and indicate how much of that budget comes from their institution. NACE then compared the amount from the institution with their enrollment size to get a “per student” contribution.
About NACE’s 2006-07 Career Services Benchmark Survey for Four-Year Colleges and Universities: The 2006-07 Career Services Benchmark Survey for Four-Year Colleges and Universities was conducted in two parts over the 2006-07 academic year. Information in this press release was included in the first part of the survey, which covers staffing, budget and finance, and Class of 2005 graduating student activity.
Part One of this survey was sent to 1,452 NACE four-year member schools in September 2006 and data were collected through November 2006. Responses were received from 524 schools, for a response rate of 36.1 percent.
Article courtesy of NACE. About NACE: Since 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has been the leading source of information about the employment of college graduates. NACE maintains a virtual press room for the media at www.naceweb.org/press/.
