Recent data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) highlights the exceptional career readiness of UMBC graduates. “UMBC continues to surpass national career outcome rates across all degree levels,” said Christine Routzahn, director of the Career Center.

Bachelor’s Degree Outcomes

Nationwide, nearly 85% of Class of 2023 bachelor’s degree graduates were employed or pursuing further education within six months of graduation, according to NACE’s First Destinations report. UMBC stands out with an impressive Career Outcome Rate of 93%.

• Full-Time Employment: Nationally, 57.2% of bachelor’s degree recipients were employed full-time within six months, compared to UMBC’s 65%.

• Further Education: While 20.2% of graduates nationwide pursued further education, UMBC’s rate was higher at 24%.

Graduate Degree Outcomes

UMBC’s graduate degree holders also excelled beyond national averages:

• Master’s Degrees: For master’s degree graduates, the national career outcome rate—defined as being employed or pursuing further education within six months—was 89.4%, according to NACE’s report. UMBC outpaces this with a Career Outcome Rate of 90.8% for master’s recipients.

• Doctoral Degrees: Doctoral graduates nationwide had a 92.5% outcome rate, but UMBC achieved an exceptional 100%.

These results reflect our strong academic programs and the collective efforts of the UMBC community in fostering student achievement. "Our collective work empowers UMBC students to achieve meaningful career paths and long-term success," Routzahn emphasized.

For the fifth year in a row, Residential Life's curriculum "ResCore 4" was selected as a showcase presentation at this year's Institute on the Curricular Approach (ICA) hosted by ACPA.

Five Residential Life staff members traveled to Chicago in October to present on a component of our residential curriculum. The presentation, "Following the Gold Brick Road: UMBC's Journey with Facilitation Guides," focused on Residential Life’s use of facilitation guides within the Residential Life curriculum. 

“We are happy that Residential Life could support us attending and presenting at this conference,” said Chris Ambrose, acting associate director. “ICA is a great opportunity each year to dive deeper into the curricular approach and come back to campus re-energized to keep moving forward! It's always a great time for us to network with other institutions to discuss trends and learn best practices.”

Those who attended the conference are below: 

• Chris Ambrose, Acting Associate Director

• Grace Collins, Residential Education & Leadership Coordinator

• Derek Webber, Community Director

• Miracle McKinon, Community Director

• Charlito Iwuagwu, Community Director 

The presentation abstract notes: "Clarifying staff roles is essential to the successful execution of the curricular approach. Our recent stop on our curriculum journey led us to further explore utilization of facilitation guides. Our phased approach gathered assessment data directly from students to capture the learning that occurred. The data displayed statistical significance reinforcing the value of our curriculum and the meaningful impact it had on their experience. After this, we introduced facilitation guides developed by professional staff that were piloted sequentially by student staff in creative ways. This presentation will bring you along our journey following the ‘Gold Brick Road’ of where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are headed with the successful implementation of facilitation guides at UMBC."

Ambrose shared, “Residential Life recently named and branded their curriculum the ‘ResCore4’ with input from our student staff and creative assistance from our partners in Student Affairs Communications and Marketing. We got stickers of our new logo made at commonvision and passed them out at the conference and everyone LOVED them! Finally, we couldn't have done this without our graduate assistants and other members of the Curriculum Committee that weren't in attendance at the conference but definitely contributed to building the presentation and the success of our curriculum overall.”

We know not everyone needs clinical counseling services when they're experiencing a tough time, but sometimes a little extra boost of support during a particularly hard week or even semester can still be helpful when managing stress.  Retriever Integrated Health provides free self-help and after-hours crisis resources to allow students to access help at whatever level they need.

Togetherall is a free online peer-to-peer community exclusively for college students, and offers a safe and anonymous place to get support with your mental health 24/7.  Togetherall is monitored by licensed clinicians and is a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively and learn how to manage your mental health. Within the Togetherall platform, members are anonymous, so no one will know you’re using it unless you tell them. Most members report feeling better and more able to cope as a result of using Togetherall.

WellTrack Boost is designed to help students understand and manage their mental health. WellTrack offers self-paced courses focused on learning coping skills to manage concerns such as Depression, Anxiety and Stress.  WellTrack also offers guided meditations, a journaling experience, and a mood tracker.  The app or web-based service can be used on its own or in conjunction with counseling services, either at RIH or in the community.

WellTrack Connectis a search tool for students who are looking for a counseling provider in the community.  Students can search by location, types of service, insurance, and preferred counselor traits.  WellTrack Connect highlights counselors who have a specific area of expertise in working with college students.

Finally, Retriever Integrated Health provides after-hours crisis support by mental health professionals via Protocall.  If a student is experiencing an immediate but non-life-threatening mental health crisis, they can call RIH at (410) 455-2542 and follow the prompts to be connected with a mental health provider.  If a student is experiencing a life-threatening emergency, they should call Campus Police (410) 455-5555 or, if off-campus, 911.

It's normal to feel overwhelmed, lonely, or anxious from time to time, especially during college, and it's ok to reach out for help if you need it!