Champlain graduate, Cory Erk, standing in front of NBC studios in New York City.

InSight Program

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Discover You at Your Best

At Champlain College, your future is not left up to chance. From the moment you arrive on campus, your personal and professional goals are our number one focus. And though college may be known as "the best years of your life," we're committed to setting you up for even better years ahead.

The InSight program ensures that all Champlain College students graduate with the tools to take ownership of their career, finances, and self-care. A requirement for graduation, InSight is a four-year program that consists of three themes — Wellbeing, Personal Finance, and Career — which supplement your academics and introduce you to financial literacy, coping skills, and career development by way of workshops, seminars, field experiences, and coaching sessions.

During your four years at Champlain, InSight will make sure you:

  • articulate your personal value proposition
  • develop essential skills in personal finance
  • strengthen your coping skills, adaptability, and overall sense of confidence
  • create a student loan repayment plan before you graduate
  • become equipped to successfully transition straight from college into your future career
  • apply skills and competences to maintain optimism and awareness rather than anxiety and depression

How does it work?

Each semester, you will complete milestones by certain due dates. You'll need to have all your milestones completed by their due dates before you can register for the next semester's courses.

 


JUST THE FACTS

91% Employed


91% of Class of 2019 students are employed or continuing their education within six months of graduation.

88% Career-Relevant


Of those employed, 88% of the Class of 2019 are already in positions related to their career goals (within just six months of graduation).

89% Hands-On


Class of 2019 graduates completed one or more career-relevant, hands-on learning experiences during their time at Champlain. Some students will take on as many as five internships.

Expansive Career, Self-care, and Finance Learning

When it comes to understanding how to manage your career, promote your own brand, balance your time and energy, and develop solid financial practices, it’s simply not enough to take one class or have one experience.

You need years of multifaceted experiential learning.

That’s what the InSight program is all about.

Impactful Coping Skills

When you arrive on campus, you will complete a Wellness Assessment that will explore your overall wellbeing and identify opportunities for improvement and practice. Workshops, events, and regular meetings with your mentor address issues and challenges you will inevitably encounter in your college career. You will graduate with a personal plan to continue your self-care practices that will serve you for life.

Career Connections

Champlain College hosts Fall and Spring Career & Internship Fairs, where you are able to connect with professionals to discuss full-time jobs, internships, part-time jobs, seasonal jobs, professional development opportunities, employer information, and more. And thanks to the Champlain College Career Collaborative's extraordinary network of career partners, you'll go on site to global companies to learn how different industries function, pitch ideas, connect with alumni business leaders, and learn from the greatest minds in business, education, and nonprofit organizations.

Wellbeing, Career & Financial Peer Coaches

Peer Coaches are your career, wellbeing, financial mentors throughout the four-year InSight program. They help you locate programs and resources that align with your personal goals and needs, career aspirations, and will work with you to refine your career marketing and finance skills.

How it Works

1

Wellbeing

InSight's Wellbeing theme offers a tangible response to today's need for students to learn effective coping strategies against personal and environmental stressors. At Champlain, we proactively teach and integrate comprehensive wellness and self-care practices into the activities of students' lives while in College. First-year students complete Champ 101 as part of their first-year InSight wellbeing milestone.

To best prepare students for life after college, students will need to learn sophisticated wellness-related life skills that improve their adaptability, resilience, resourcefulness, and confidence no matter the situation and circumstances. Students will graduate with a Self Care Action Plan and be able to recognize symptoms of stress or burnout, and how to intervene for their own wellbeing.

You will develop skills including:

  • Social connectedness
  • Self-management and personal accountability
  • Help-seeking behaviors
  • Work-life balance

2

Personal Finance

A key component to success in the real world is the ability to make smart decisions with money. That’s why we make sure all Champlain students graduate with four years of practical, hands-on learning specifically in managing their personal finances.

Starting in your first semester, you begin learning fundamental personal finance skills. Over the course of your education, you will learn how to negotiate your salary (including benefits and evaluation of compensation packages), create and follow a budget, establish credit, manage debt, invest your money, and more.

You will also create the following: 

  • Personal financial assessment report that marks your progress from first year to fourth year;
  • Budget allocation report based on projected salaries for careers related to your major;
  • Cost-of-living analysis based on geographic location of your prospective job;
  • Credit action plan identifying steps you can take to improve your credit profile and standing;
  • Personalized student loan repayment plan.

Read Stability, Well-being, and Independence—The Lifelong Benefits of Financial Education on The View.

3

Career

What is career readiness and why should you care? Career positioning is a more expansive, holistic, and effective approach to career preparation than the traditional “career development.”  It’s about understanding what employers are looking for and presenting yourself as a compelling candidate.

Even before you arrive, you will start learning these important career positioning skills through the InSight program. Why? We start preparing you immediately to be marketable so you can land the best internships. Over the course of your four years at Champlain, you will continue to hone the skills that will set you apart in the marketplace.

By graduation, you will produce a:

  • Career profile with a competency-based statement of your skills;
  • Professional résumé and cover letter targeted to your position/career goals;
  • Polished, up-to-date LinkedIn profile;
  • 30-second "elevator" pitch that answers, “why should we hire you?”

Read How Career Positioning Helps You Launch Into Your Chosen Field on The View.

What the World Is Like With a Bit of InSight

Two students sitting on a stage. One is talking into a microphone.

Annual Sophomore Summit

Each fall, the Career Collaborative hosts Sophomore Summit, which includes a full day of career-related activities, panels, and workshops that will take your career and financial preparation to the next level. You'll network with alumni, build your professional résumé, create your LinkedIn profile, and start working on your credit action plan!

Two students standing in front of a board that shows a map of the United States and the relative cost of living for each state.

The Game of Life

In this live-action game, you will be challenged to make financial decisions about everyday things—from food to car payments to unexpected pet bills. This budget simulation is a low-pressure way for you to explore what your financial life may look like after college, based on a starting salary tied to your major, priorities, and lifestyle. 

Vermont Stickers Designed by Champlain Students

Interested in Learning More?

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