UMUC

Career Services

Counseling Policies

Rights, Responsibilities, and Expectations

In all its services, UMUC's Office of Career Services emphasizes the basic right of individuals for independence of expression and concern for personal dignity. At the same time, the Center's staff has the right to expect reasonable and responsible behavior on the part of learners and alumni utilizing their services. Our experience is that when individuals develop realistic expectations of the career counseling process, that experience is a positive one.

What You Can Expect

  • Career Center professionals, without imposing personal values or biases, will assist individuals in developing a career plan or making a career decision. They will do their best, but may not have an answer for every situation. You have the right to know at all times the identity, professional status, and professional credentials of the Career Center professional staff.
  • Career Center professionals will know the career services field and the educational institution and learners they represent, and will have appropriate counseling skills.
  • Career Center professionals will provide learners with information on a range of career opportunities and types of employing organizations. They will inform learners of the means and resources to gain access to information which may influence their decisions about an employing organization. Career services professionals will also provide employing organizations with accurate information about the educational institution and its learners and about the recruitment policies of the career services office.
  • Career Center professionals will provide generally comparable services to all employers, regardless of whether the employers contribute services, gifts, or financial support to the educational institution or office and regardless of the level of such support.
  • Career Center professionals will maintain Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) compliance and follow affirmative action principles in career services activities in a manner that includes the following:
    • Referring all interested learners for employment opportunities without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability, and providing reasonable accommodations upon request; Notifying employing organizations of any selection procedures that appear to have an adverse impact based upon the learner's race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability;
    • Informing all learners about employment opportunities, with particular emphasis on those employment opportunities in occupational areas where certain groups of learners are underrepresented;
    • Developing awareness of, and sensitivity to, cultural differences and the diversity of learners, and providing responsive services;
    • Responding to complaints of EEO noncompliance, working to resolve such complaints with the recruiter or employing organization, and, if necessary, referring such complaints to the appropriate campus department or agency.
  • Any disclosure of learner information outside of the educational institution will be with prior consent of the learner unless health and/or safety considerations necessitate the dissemination of such information. Career services professionals will exercise sound judgment and fairness in maintaining the confidentiality of student information, regardless of the source, including written records, reports, and computer databases.
  • Only qualified personnel will evaluate or interpret tests of a career planning and placement nature. Learners will be informed of the availability of testing, the purpose of such tests, and the disclosure policies regarding test results.
  • You have the right to be informed of university policies and procedures that relate to learners/alumni conduct. Learners/alumni are entitled to information about the University's mechanism for the initiation, review, and resolution of their complaints.

Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers - Principles for Professional Conduct For Career Services and Employment Professionals.

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What We Expect of You

  • Information disclosure. You are responsible for providing to the best of your knowledge, accurate and complete information about services desired, past history, and other matters related to services.
  • Respect and consideration. You are responsible for being considerate of the rights of other students/alumni and Career Center staff.
  • Compliance with counseling recommendations. You are responsible for complying with recommendations as agreed by students/alumni and career counselor including recommended follow-up care. This includes keeping appointments on time, providing at least 24-hour notice prior to cancellation of appointments, and providing feedback on referrals or other requested information. You will inform career counselors when their suggestions are not working.
  • Honesty. You will be honest with the career counselor; without honesty, counseling of any kind is usually ineffective.
  • Reporting of learner or alumni complaints. You are responsible for helping the Career Center to provide the best possible services to all learners. Recommendations, questions or complaints should be reported to the Career Center Director at
  • Knowledge of University policies and procedures. Students and alumni are responsible for following the University's policies and procedures.
  • Cancellations. We request that you cancel appointments 24 hours in advance of the appointment – at that point, every effort will be made to reschedule the appointment within 5 business days.
  • Professional Dress. It is not necessary to dress in a suit for your counseling appointment. We do recommend that you dress professionally to attend networking events, job fairs and mock interviews.
  • Lateness. If you are more than 10 minutes late for an appointment, the career counselor reserves the right to reschedule the appointment.
  • Telephone Appointments. All students are expected to call their assigned counselor at the time scheduled and the phone number provided. After 10 minutes, your appointment will be canceled and you must reschedule.

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Web site links contained within the Web site pages of the UMUC Office of Career Services

  • Please note that links to career-related Internet sites are provided for your convenience and UMUC is not responsible for their content and cannot vouch for their accuracy.

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