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Regents committee reviews career services metrics; presenters flag internship access and employer coordination
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Summary
University career services leaders told Regents that postgraduate outcomes meet strategic targets but that internship distribution, unpaid placements and first-generation salary gaps require targeted staffing, central employer supports and funding for unpaid internships.
Sarah Newberg, executive director of Career Services Administration (CSA) at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, told the committee that the system’s postgraduate outcomes survey delivered strong results for recent graduates but also revealed gaps.
Newberg reported that the combined survey for the class of 2022–23 achieved about a 75% response rate and that the median reported salary was roughly $55,000. She said 64% of graduates reported completing an internship; 87% of those internships were paid and 41% of interns received a job offer from their internship. The university’s "career success" measure — defined as employed, pursuing further education, in the military or in structured volunteer service — was reported at 92.5%.
Jill Kolozinski, director of career services at the University of Minnesota Duluth, described shared services and employer engagement tools CSA provides, including a single instance of Handshake for all campuses, a systemwide post-graduation survey, the University job and internship fair (UMJF), and pilots such as WorkPlus and a Salesforce CRM to present a unified employer interface.
Newberg and Kolozinski outlined several recommendations to strengthen outcomes: increase career-staffing capacity for personalized advising, expand mentoring and networking (a "career champion" program), offer targeted support and small grants to help students undertake low-paid or unpaid internships, and create central supports to help small and medium employers host higher-quality internships. Newberg also noted exploration of AI tools to automate resume reviews and free counselor time for complex advising.
Student representatives and Regents raised equity concerns: several speakers said unpaid internships disproportionately affect first-generation and international students and asked whether central funding or alumni-supported stipends could reduce barriers. Newberg said colleges and some campuses already run scholarship efforts for unpaid internships and that CSA is advocating for more central funding and employer onboarding resources; she added that the university can remove problematic hosts from its job-posting system when partners fail to meet expectations.
Committee members asked for more granular graduate and professional student employment data and discussed options for integrating alumni mentoring platforms with existing tools such as Handshake and the UMAA Maroon & Gold Network; presenters said efforts are underway to consolidate resources on a central platform under development in CSA.
The committee did not take formal votes; presenters provided materials in the docket and the Regents requested follow-up reporting on internships, employer engagement recommendations and equity measures.
