Bridging academic and career services: A practice-informed integration model for graduate employability

As expectations for graduate employability intensify, higher education institutions are increasingly challenged to align academic learning with career preparation in meaningful and sustainable ways. While universities have expanded external partnerships with employers, less attention has been given to the internal collaboration required to embed employability within the academic core. This article presents an account of practice grounded in sustained collaboration between faculty and career services at a regional university. Drawing on professional experience and engagement with relevant literature, the authors articulate the Faculty-Career Services Integration Model, a four-domain framework encompassing Structural, Process, Cultural, and Outcome dimensions of collaboration. The article contributes a practice-informed framework that supports institutional reflection on faculty-career services integration and positions graduate employability as a shared institutional responsibility.