Jeffrey Howard, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, UNC Pembroke

Invest: sat down with Jeff Howard, vice chancellor for student affairs at UNC Pembroke, to learn more about the experiential learning opportunities leading students to successful transitions into the workforce. He also discussed partnerships with high-demand industries in the region, and ways UNC Pembroke remains affordable to students.

How is UNC Pembroke expanding its experiential learning opportunities to give students a competitive edge in today’s job market?

A couple of years ago, we realized we needed to do some things to help set our students apart. They’re getting a really good experience here, but having that experiential learning background on their resume and during interviews really distinguishes them.

So, we added a position within our career center focused on experiential learning, started meeting with and building relationships and partnerships with the academic side — our colleges and schools — and worked to expand and refine our relationships with industry and corporate America in our backyard, so to speak.

The results of that are 89% of our undergraduate students are completing some type of experiential learning as part of their undergraduate career, and that really helps set them apart. We also received a nearly $1 million grant from the Department of Education to help students pay for transportation, childcare, and even housing related to their internships or academic careers.

Through those partnerships, we’ve built some excellent pipelines at the local, regional, state, and even global levels with partners like Ancestry.com, Fleet Feet, SAS, and a lot of federal partnerships. For example, we’ve signed MOUs with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This has created pipelines for our students, both in person and virtually, which is just as important in today’s world.

Could you expand on some of the high-demand industries UNC Pembroke is working with?

We have a new and growing cybersecurity program as well as computer science. In tandem with that, we developed an esports team because these all funnel into a skill set and interest area for students. We’ve developed some really cool partnerships around the area, like the North Carolina Electric Cooperative. They do a lot around broadband and cybersecurity. Emerging Technologies Institute (ETI) here in our area has been a wonderful partner, and a lot of students have gotten connected with them.

EVHybridNoire is another example. It’s an electric vehicle company, and we have several students doing internships with them right now.

We are keeping abreast of those emerging technologies and new areas that are starting to grow and expand. It’s hard to be two steps ahead, but we try to stay a step ahead. As things emerge, we work to find opportunities — for example, around AI right now.

We’re looking at what’s happening with AI, how we build that into the experience for students, and who is incorporating it into their internship or fellowship programs. This ensures students gain relevant, cutting-edge experience.

You mentioned 89% of students participate in experiential learning. Is that increase due more to students seeking these experiences, or to employers highlighting a skills mismatch?

I think it’s a little bit of both. We follow the NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) competencies closely. NACE surveys corporate America every year to identify the skills they’re looking for in graduates and compare those to what they’re seeing. There’s often a gap between the two.

We’ve focused on developing student skills through programming, courses, and partnerships so that by the time they get to internships, they’re putting their academics into action. This hands-on experience really motivates them.

Once students started talking to peers who had these experiences—whether for two weeks, two months, or a whole summer — it created a kind of self-perpetuation. So, it’s been both us addressing a need and students realizing the value of these opportunities.

Internships can sometimes reveal a career isn’t the right fit. Does UNC Pembroke address this?

Yes, we’ve developed a program called BraveVentures. It takes students on half-day visits to various companies around the region to learn about internship opportunities and employment, understand what skills companies are looking for, and see what opportunities they have now and in the future.

We target a lot of undeclared students for this program, as well as for an introduction to career development course taught by our career counselors. These initiatives help students refine their interests. For example, a student may realize, “I have an interest in this field, but this specific role isn’t the right fit.” We can then help direct them toward a better match for their goals and skills.

How is UNC Pembroke remaining accessible to students?

UNC Pembroke is an NC Promise school. We offer a very reasonable tuition rate for in-state students of $500 a semester. That’s very hard to believe, especially for someone like me, who 20 years ago was probably paying that much for my own tuition. To hear that it’s still $500 is wonderful.

The second important stat for us is that one in two of our students graduate debt-free.

In addition to all the wonderful experiences they’re getting here, they’re leaving on a very strong financial footing. UNC Pembroke has also been named one of the most diverse institutions in the South by U.S. News & World Report.

When our students come here, they’re paying that very reasonable tuition, 50% of them are graduating debt-free, and they’re having an experience that is truly global. Many other schools across the country send students out of state or abroad to gain these kinds of experiences, but our students are getting them right here on campus.

These experiences are part of their classroom learning, being involved in clubs and organizations, and living on campus. They’re interacting with a very diverse group of fellow students, which is something we believe sets them apart.

Along with this experiential learning component, the experiences they’re having at UNC Pembroke make them truly marketable and prepared for the world.