The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) has announced an upcoming professional development event tailored for educators, administrators, and institutional leaders within its member network. The organization will host a specialized 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 address a growing priority in higher education: how institutions can move beyond traditional academic metrics to systematically evaluate, track, and enhance the career preparedness of undergraduate students, particularly within business programs. As universities nationwide face increasing demands to demonstrate the practical value of a degree and ensure strong career outcomes for diverse student populations, events like this offer vital insight into actionable assessment frameworks.
Registration for the event is currently open, and interested participants from HACU-member institutions can secure their virtual seats by accessing the registration link provided through the organization’s announcements.
Examining Real-World Implementation at Dominican University of California
The core of the upcoming HACU webinar will focus on a detailed case study highlighting the innovative work being done at the Dominican University of California. Specifically, the session will explore how the institution is implementing a comprehensive pre- and post-assessment strategy directly within its undergraduate business curriculum.
Rather than treating career development as an extracurricular add-on or a service provided solely by a separate career center, this curricular integration weaves professional growth metrics into the academic journey itself. The webinar will delve into how Dominican University of California measures critical growth markers among its students, looking closely at development in career readiness, relationship building, life design mindsets, and overall career mobility.
For faculty members, department chairs, and academic administrators attending the session, the presentation will offer practical strategies for successfully embedding these types of assessments into existing courses. By doing so, programs can capture baseline data when students enter the curriculum and measure their progress over time, ensuring that educational offerings genuinely prepare undergraduates for the modern, dynamic workforce.
Furthermore, the discussion will highlight how institutions can leverage the resulting data to gain a deeper understanding of student growth patterns. This information is crucial not only for validating the effectiveness of academic programs but also for identifying specific areas where student support or curriculum design can be improved. Armed with concrete data, academic leaders are better positioned to inform future program decisions, allocate resources effectively, and continuously elevate the undergraduate business experience.
Expert Presenters Leading the Discussion
To provide attendees with both academic and industry perspectives, the webinar will feature two prominent professionals deeply engaged in student success and institutional impact.
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 at Dominican University of California. Welch brings direct, hands-on experience in bridging the gap between classroom instruction and professional practice, offering attendees a firsthand look at the administrative and pedagogical realities of implementing career readiness tracking within a business school environment.
Joining her as a co-presenter is Marieli Rubio, partner and vice president of impact at Career Launch. Rubio brings a broader programmatic and evaluative perspective to the session, focusing on the measurement methodologies and impact metrics that help educational institutions evaluate the efficacy of their career development initiatives. Together, Welch and Rubio will combine campus-level operational insight with broader impact assessment frameworks, providing a well-rounded exploration of the topic for webinar participants.
Part of the Ongoing HACU Member Webinar Series
This upcoming professional development session is being offered as part of HACU’s ongoing member webinar series. The association regularly curates and hosts virtual programming designed to support its member institutions in enhancing academic quality, fostering student success, and sharing institutional best practices.
By focusing on career readiness assessment in undergraduate business education, the November 2026 webinar addresses a central mission of HACU-member institutions: empowering students with the skills, networks, and mindset required for lifelong professional achievement and upward mobility.
Institutional leaders, faculty members, and staff from HACU-member colleges and universities are encouraged to mark their calendars for November 19, 2026, at 1 p.m. CT, and utilize the official registration link to participate in the live event and subsequent discussion.
