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National Association of Colleges and Employers NACE Center for Career Development and Talent Acquisition®
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  • NACE Strategic Plan 2022-25

    VISION: A diverse and inclusive community of professionals collaborating to achieve equitable employment outcomes for all.

    MISSION: NACE empowers and connects the community of professionals who support, develop, and employ the college-educated workforce.

    ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE: Achieving the mission and vision of NACE is accomplished by maintaining organizational health through the responsible management of its assets and optimization of its resources.

    VALUES:

    • Community: Embracing a spirit of community, partnership, and common interest.
    • Belonging: Honoring the fundamental value and dignity of all individuals by fostering and supporting diversity and inclusion to advance equity and allow everyone to be their authentic self.
    • Integrity: Always striving to do the right things, even when those things are not the easiest, or most obvious.
    • Innovation: Fostering new knowledge and a commitment to continuous learning and adaptability.
    • Impact: Nurturing ideas, inspiring excellence, and cultivating growth to effect positive change.

    CHAMPION DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION.

    Strategy 1: Develop DEI programs and standards for the professions.

    Objectives:

    • Investigate and develop DEI certificate programs.
    • Ensure equity and inclusion lens is used for all products and services.

    Strategy 2: Increase access to DEI data to promote decision making and to support advocacy for equitable initiatives and policy changes.

    Objectives:

    • Use an equity and inclusion lens in performing all NACE research.
    • Develop new research initiatives with a DEI focus to inform work of members and the association.
    • Evaluate/report progress on supporting the Black community and other marginalized populations, and meeting NACE’s commitments to antiracism.

    Strategy 3: Broaden engagement opportunities for diverse populations and stakeholders.

    Objectives:

    • Cultivate belonging among membership through purposeful affinity group engagement.
    • Expand content and programming to support and include representation of diverse populations.

    GOAL: LEAD DIALOGUE.

    Strategy 1: Strengthen the public’s awareness of NACE and the professions’ impact and outcomes.

    Objectives:

    • Identify and develop tailored messages and relationships to bring awareness to our work. 
    • Provide tools and resources to members that can be used to advance public awareness and advocacy efforts.
    • Provide members with tools/resources/research they can use to advocate on behalf of their operations and offices within their own organizations.

    Strategy 2: Position the value of NACE and the professions with key decision makers in government, industry, and higher education.

    Objectives:

    • Leverage NACE research to provide evidence of the impact of the career services and university recruiting professions on the workforce.
    • Develop contacts, partnerships, and collaborations with policymakers, organizations, entities, and individuals relevant to the higher education, human resources, and career/workforce space.

    Strategy 3: Promote the value of careers in career development and university recruiting.

    Objectives:

    • Develop tools and resources about career paths and advancement within the careers.
    • Obtain relevant data about the professions that can be used to promote them.
    • Partner with others (individuals, organizations, and programs) to promote the professions.

    Strategy 4: Advocate on issues of importance that may have an impact on the professions, the work of our members, and employment outcomes for the college educated.

    Objectives:

    • Develop/execute research efforts to support key public policy and advocacy topics.
    • Expand NACE’s presence in the national policy area through position papers, testimony, coalition membership, and/or other outlets and venues.
    • Promote career readiness and related content to support student success and early career transitions.

    GOAL: PROVIDE QUALITY RESEARCH, CONTENT, AND PROGRAMMING.

    Strategy 1: Develop and curate research and content to enable us to lead the national conversation on equitable employment for the college educated.

    Objectives:

    • Leverage environmental scans and other sources to set a research and content agenda.
    • Develop partnerships that will advance NACE research, content, and programming efforts and position NACE as a leader.
    • Develop standards of measurement and other pathways to strengthen the knowledge base of career readiness and competencies.

    Strategy 2: Provide programming that addresses member needs based on 1) their level of professional development and 2) job function/role.

    Objectives:

    • Develop programs/curriculum and content that address the needs of members based on their level of professional development and expertise.
    • Create a series of programs and content that address the needs of members based on the elements critical to their job functions.
    • Be the go-to source for entry-level professional training and leadership development.

    Strategy 3: Leverage the talent and expertise of our members to deliver leading practices and content.

    Objectives:

    • Develop a repository that can be used to store and retrieve information about member expertise.
    • Leverage Affinity Groups to develop and deliver content and programming.
    • Examine and explore modifications to existing Get Involved and Call for Proposal processes to maximize identification of subject matter experts.

    GOAL: EXPAND AND CULTIVATE COMMUNITY.

    Strategy 1: To drive membership expansion, identify and understand new audiences and their interests and needs.

    Objectives:

    • Perform member/audience gap analysis and develop recruitment targets and plan.
    • Refine member benefits and access based on needs of target audience.
    • Explore incentive and rewards programs.
    • Find new ways to capture prospective member information for solicitation purposes.

    Strategy 2: Create personalized opportunities and experiences for member engagement and retention.

    Objectives:

    • Enhance our new member onboarding experiences.
    • Develop an ongoing plan for member communication, involvement (volunteerism/leadership), and belonging.
    • Develop programming and content related to target member types/personas/localities.

    DOWNLOAD THE STRATEGIC PLAN

    Updated June 2022.


  • NACE believes in a world that is inclusive in approach and where equal opportunities and equitable outcomes exist for all. Read NACE’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement at www.naceweb.org/dei-statement.