The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) has announced an upcoming professional development event tailored for educators and administrators seeking to enhance student outcomes in higher education. As part of its ongoing HACU-member webinar series, the organization will host a specialized session titled "Measuring What Matters: Embedding Career Readiness Assessment into the Undergraduate Business Curriculum and Student Experience."
The virtual event is scheduled to take place on November 19, 2026, beginning at 1 p.m. Central Time. Educators, institutional leaders, and faculty members interested in participating can access the registration portal online through Zoom. This upcoming session aims to address a critical and growing area of focus within modern higher education: how institutions can reliably measure, evaluate, and improve the professional development journeys of undergraduate business students before they transition into the workforce.
Examining Innovative Strategies at Dominican University of California
At the heart of the webinar’s agenda is a detailed exploration of how the Dominican University of California is actively transforming its educational approach. Specifically, the session will examine the institution’s implementation of a comprehensive pre- and post-assessment strategy integrated directly into its undergraduate business curriculum.
Rather than treating career preparation as an extracurricular add-on or a service provided solely by a separate career center office, the model being showcased weaves assessment directly into the fabric of academic coursework. By evaluating students at multiple points throughout their academic journey, the university is able to track measurable growth across several vital dimensions of professional and personal development.
The webinar will focus heavily on how this strategy captures progress in key areas such as core career readiness, professional relationship building, the cultivation of life design mindsets, and overall career mobility. For higher education professionals attending the session, the discussion will provide a transparent look at both the structural mechanics and the philosophical underpinnings of this curricular integration. Participants will gain practical, actionable strategies for embedding similar assessment frameworks into their own institutional settings. Furthermore, attendees will learn how to leverage the resulting data to gain a deeper, evidence-based understanding of student growth, pinpoint existing gaps or areas requiring program improvement, and inform strategic institutional decisions regarding future curriculum design and resource allocation.
Expert Perspectives from Academia and Industry
To provide a well-rounded and comprehensive perspective, the webinar will be led by two distinguished professionals representing both the academic environment and external impact evaluation: Giulia Welch and Marieli Rubio.
Giulia Welch serves as the director of internships and professional development as well as an adjunct professor at the Barowsky School of Business, which is housed within the Dominican University of California. In her dual capacity, Welch brings frontline experience bridging the gap between theoretical classroom instruction and the practical, real-world demands of the modern job market. Her work at the Barowsky School of Business places her in a unique position to understand the daily challenges and opportunities faculty members face when attempting to incorporate career readiness metrics into traditional business courses.
Joining Welch as a co-presenter is Marieli Rubio, who serves as a partner and the vice president of impact at Career Launch. Rubio brings an external, analytical viewpoint focused on measuring the tangible outcomes and societal impact of educational programs designed to launch students into successful careers. Together, Welch and Rubio will offer attendees a dual lens, combining the institutional realities of implementing academic changes from within a university with the broader methodological framework of tracking career launch impact and student progression.
Part of the Ongoing HACU-Member Webinar Series
The upcoming presentation on November 19 is being offered as a dedicated component of the broader HACU-member webinar series. This ongoing professional development initiative is designed by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities to support its member institutions by sharing best practices, innovative pedagogical models, and effective administrative strategies tailored to the unique needs of diverse student populations.
As colleges and universities across the nation face increasing scrutiny regarding return on investment, graduate employability, and the overall value of an undergraduate degree, events like the one planned by HACU provide a vital platform for collaboration and shared learning. By highlighting successful institutional frameworks—such as the pre- and post-assessment model utilized at the Barowsky School of Business—HACU continues to foster an environment of continuous improvement among its network of colleges and universities.
Registration for the "Measuring What Matters" webinar is currently open for interested professionals through the designated HACU Zoom registration link. As the higher education landscape continues to evolve in response to changing economic conditions and workforce expectations, sessions focusing on measurable student outcomes and intentional curriculum design are expected to draw significant interest from academic leaders, business faculty, and career services professionals alike.
