Office of the Registrar

From: Office of the Senior Associate Dean

Dear OSU-Cascades students,

Last year was the inaugural year of Cascades Edge, OSU-Cascades’ signature career program. Feedback collected from students was largely positive and participation was high, with 90% of first-year students completing at least one career and self-development activity. The program has also generated a lot of excitement among supporters and the community

After analyzing the first year of the program and getting feedback from faculty and students, we are making improvements that will better focus the student experience on what was most valuable.  

• Greater integration of career and experiential learning directly into courses. This is already happening in many courses, yet in some cases may not be readily apparent to students. With this new approach, it will take time to implement. Over the next year, we plan to identify and expand these valuable activities, with the goal of them occurring every term for every student, and that they are clearly apparent.
• You will no longer need to log activities in the checklists in Bend Beavs Central, as feedback indicated this was burdensome. Instead, these will become a resource list to help you identify High Impact Career Activities that you should pursue each term. The resources can also be used by career and academic advisors in conversations with you to encourage deeper engagement.
• For this year, continue to access and create Action Plans in Bend Beavs Central. You are encouraged to create and continually update them, and these will help guide discussions and planning with career and academic advisors. Creation of Action Plans will be integrated into some first-year courses.
• Expanded access to OSU-wide career resources and programs, such as job shadowing and mentoring.
• Because of low usage, the career competency LinkedIn badging will be discontinued. You may continue to access and use badges that have already been earned. They can be found in Bend Beavs Central.

We are proud that Cascades Edge has been recognized as such a robust, innovative career program. Its first year has shown promise and also provided opportunities for it to become even better. OSU-Cascades remains fully committed to students’ goals and future. If you have questions or concerns, please contact me.

Sincerely, Christine Pollard

Senior Associate Dean, Oregon State University-Cascades, 1500 SW Chandler Avenue, Bend, OR 97702, [email protected]