The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) has announced an upcoming professional development event tailored for educators and administrators within higher education. The organization will host a member webinar titled “Measuring What Matters: Embedding Career Readiness Assessment into the Undergraduate Business Curriculum and Student Experience,” scheduled for November 19, 2026, at 1 p.m. Central Time.
The virtual session is designed to provide academic leaders, faculty members, and career development professionals with actionable insights into how contemporary universities are evaluating and enhancing student professional outcomes. Interested participants affiliated with HACU member institutions can secure their attendance by registering through the official online portal provided by the association.
This specialized webinar will shine a spotlight on innovative practices currently taking place at the Dominican University of California. Specifically, the presentation will explore how the institution is successfully implementing a comprehensive pre- and post-assessment strategy directly within its undergraduate business curriculum. By integrating these evaluations into everyday coursework and academic milestones, the university aims to accurately measure and foster tangible growth in critical areas of professional development.
Among the core competencies and developmental metrics targeted by the Dominican University of California strategy are career readiness, relationship-building skills, life design mindsets, and overall career mobility. In an evolving economic landscape where traditional degrees must increasingly demonstrate practical value and return on investment, institutions of higher education are under mounting pressure to systematically track how well their programs prepare students for the modern workforce.
Attendees tuning into the November session will walk away with practical strategies for seamlessly embedding assessment tools directly into existing curricula. Furthermore, the discussion will cover methods for leveraging the resulting data to gain a deeper, more empirical understanding of individual and collective student growth. By analyzing these assessment metrics, academic departments can more effectively pinpoint areas requiring programmatic improvement, optimize resource allocation, and make informed, data-driven decisions regarding future curriculum updates and strategic initiatives.
The virtual event will feature insights from prominent academic and industry professionals who are directly involved in shaping student success initiatives. The presentation will be led by Giulia Welch, who serves as the director of internships and professional development as well as an adjunct professor at the Barowsky School of Business within the Dominican University of California. Welch brings firsthand experience in bridging the gap between classroom theory and real-world professional practice for undergraduate business majors.
Co-presenting alongside Welch will be Marieli Rubio, partner and vice president of impact at Career Launch. Rubio brings an external, impact-driven perspective to the discussion, offering participants a broader view of how structured assessment frameworks can be scaled, evaluated, and utilized to demonstrate institutional accountability and student advancement across diverse higher education settings.
This upcoming session forms part of the broader, ongoing HACU-member webinar series, which is specifically curated to address critical topics facing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and other colleges and universities committed to educational equity, student retention, and career success. Through these regular virtual gatherings, HACU continues to facilitate professional collaboration, share institutional best practices, and support member campuses in their mission to empower undergraduate and graduate students for competitive career landscapes.
