California State University Long Beach (CSULB) bridges between a student’s academic life and career through the Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) program. This program focuses on helping the students to develop the professional skills and personal attributes that are most appreciated by prospective employers.
So, how to join the Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) program? If you are interested in joining the SCPD program, you may need to know its requirements. No worries! This post will show you anything about the CSULB Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) program through our post. Here you go!
How Does the SCPD Program Work?
The Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) program has been a precious part of the College of Business (COB) at California State University Long Beach (CSULB) for many years. This program was established in 2008 and was successfully updated in the 2010-2011 academic year to meet the changing needs of students to enter the workforce in the second decade of the 21 century.
The SCPD program aims to help the students of the College of Business be as successful as possible during college and also after graduation. According to some studies, it reported that students who had a mentor will be more engaged, become a mentor, volunteer, hold a leadership position and many more.
The Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) program offers four distinct programs including:
- The Business Professional Certificate (BPC)
- Community Scholars (CS)
- Junior Mentoring Program (JMP)
- Corporate Mentoring Program (CMP)
Well, the students who are participating in any or all of those SCPD programs are able to keep track of their progress in a personalized Passport booklet that is provided by the SCPD office. Need to know, all CSULB programs are free of charge to students and also the participation is voluntary.
Additionally, the students who are participating in the CSULB program will have higher graduation rates. They will also be better prepared for the corporate world and commonly make more productive and competent employees.
Here’s How to Join the SCPD Program?
Joining the Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) program is pretty easy to do, as long as you meet any requirements. After you complete your SCPD Application, you will then be automatically enrolled into CSULB Business Professional Certificate Program (BPC).
Here’s how!
- Business Professional Certificate Program (BPC) is a series of workshops. Here, once you attend around 14 workshops, you will then accept a certificate.
- You need to log into SSO at http://csulb.okta.com/in order to RSVP for the workshops.
- You can click on BeachSync.
- You can type SCPD in the search bar. Then, choose ‘CoB Student Center for Professional Development’.
- Last, click the ‘Join Now’ button to join the Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) program.
Additionally, after you complete the Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) Application, you should know that the Passport pick-up from the SCPD Office will be on hold until further notice as the pandemic of Covid-19.
So, if you are interested in joining the Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) program, make sure to follow the instructions above correctly.
Learn More About Four SCPD Programs
As we’ve mentioned, the SCPD program offers four distinct programs that each will have a specific goal. If you want to know more about SCPD’s distinct programs, let’s see our explanation below!
- Business Professional Certificate (BPC)
BPC program consists of professional development workshops and events where all participants should attend this program. Need to know, the CSULB’s calendar is updated every semester. You can see that the workshops are only available in the fall and spring semester.
Moreover, all workshops in the BPC program are presented by business professionals with expertise in the topic covered. Afterwards, the BPD Certificate is granted to the students who successfully meet the requirements of this program that is attending 14 workshops by the time they graduate.
- Community Scholars
The CS program involves the students of California State University Long Beach group mentoring inner-city school students. Community Scholars (CS) has required training in the fall semester for CSULB students. Then, the mentoring will take place in the spring semester with the high school students.
However, the Community Scholars (CS) program is a big chance to give back and also simultaneously develop leadership, presentation skills and teamwork.
- Junior Mentoring Program (JMP)
JMP is a one-semester program in which a junior level student is paired with young professionals in a mentoring relationship. In this case, mentors will assist the students to prepare for their college careers, sharing their knowledge and skills, as well as advice on how to balance their study, work and personal life.
The Junior Mentoring Program is intended to resume building and professional development activities. It aims to better prepare the students for the job market and complement their academic learning experience.
- Corporate Mentoring Program
CMP is an academic year (starting from August to May) program in which a senior level student or students in their last academic year will be paired with a mid to senior level professional in a mentoring relationship.
Moreover, the mentoring personalized and focus of the partnership will be determined by a mutually agreed contract. The goal of this program may vary. Aside from soft skills development in areas including self-confidence, self-awareness and professionalism, it also often results in tangible achievements.
SCPD’s Scholarships/ Awards
The Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) will recognize the students for outstanding achievement in three categories, at the end of each academic year. Here are all categories:
- Professional Excellence Award: Professional Development
- Director’s Award: Overall Excellence
- FEI Award: Excellence in Accounting and Finance (in partnership with FEI)
Well, the winners in those categories will receive an award. They are also recognized at CSULB’s annual Awards Banquet. Then, the FEI Award winners are also recognized at the FEI Awards Banquet.
Throughout the year, the students will be responsible for engaging in the activities which qualify them for the awards and documenting those activities. In this case, the award winners will be chosen based on an essay that discusses the student’s achievement in the respective category.
