MSU students are missing out when it comes to planning for their future.

That’s the consensus of the Career Management Center staff, who host four major career-related events each year. The staff also conducts resume workshops and preps seniors for life after graduation.

Students, however, aren’t showing up in droves.

Last fall, an average of 184 students came to CMC-sponsored events. The high point was when 340 students attended the Part-Time Job & Volunteer Fair. The low: only 66 students showed up at the Graduate and Professional School Fair, according to Dirk Welch, CMC Director.

The attendees make up about 3 percent of MSU’s 6,182 students.

The lack of student participation in events has left Welch puzzled.

“During difficult job market times, where competition for available jobs is fierce, it would seem that more involvement in utilizing all available opportunities to network and interface with employers and organizations would be happening,” he said.

The drop in attendance is not new, he noted.

Oddly enough, the drop in attendance began about the time the economy started to deteriorate. Job-hunting, always difficult for most college graduates, became even more of a challenge.

Welch said total expenses average $600 per fair or expo. These costs include marketing and promotion costs, printing and supply costs, food and hospitality.

Randi Roanhaus, employer relations coordinator for CMC, said one employer asked why more students weren’t present.

“In this instance, when they asked why students aren’t coming, I really don’t have an answer,” Roanhaus said. “Sometimes it is a lack of interest in graduate schools or finance issues.”

In a tight job market, attendance size often impacts whether employers will select MSU as a recruiting destination, Welch said.

“Midwestern is not A&M, Texas Tech or some of the bigger names,” said Roanhaus. “So we aren’t the first school on the radar for some of these companies.”

Roanhaus said the location of MSU is also a disadvantage for possible employers.

“We are four hours away from Canyon and the Lubbock area, where they get a lot of Colorado businesses. And we are two hours from the Metroplex area,” Roanhaus said. “MSU is also a briefcase school, so students go home on the weekends, which is a good thing because students have the advantage of attending career expos in both areas.”

Roanhaus said student attendance at such events is essential.

“I think students forget to plan for the future and let these career fairs slip by them,” she said.

However, career events are posted throughout campus on the MustangsHIRE boards, Roanhaus said.

On the other hand, Roanhaus said the Part-Time Volunteer Fair was well attended in the fall.

“The Career Expo last year had a new time in the afternoon and evening,” Roanhaus said. “We worked around students’ schedules to the best of our ability.”

A total of 110 students were present at the Career Expo, which cost the university about $1,200.

Roanhaus graduated from MSU in 2008 and started working for the Career Management Center last year.

“When I started in this department, I connected with other universities our size and that we are in competition like West Texas and Tarleton,” Roanhaus said. “The number of employers we have attend fairs and expos are astronomically competitive with those schools. But it is the student attendance at some fairs that are low compared to theirs. We are always hoping for more students to attend because the opportunities are endless for them.”

Students might be less likely to attend fairs and expos if they don’t recognize company names, but Roanhaus said this shouldn’t keep students from using their services.

“We don’t have Google, Yahoo or Facebook coming to our fairs,” Roanhaus said. “But students think there isn’t an industry for them. That is such a falsity. Everyone is going to start out predominantly in an entry-level job. Students don’t know what opportunities are going to open.”

Despite low student attendance, Roanhaus said the department receives compliments from employers on how well dressed and prepared MSU students are.

“Instead of building a foundation with employers we have, we are constantly recruiting for new ones,” Roanhaus said. “We must always show interest to employers so they will show interest in our students. This is a way we build relationships.”

The Career Management Center advertises events through print, web and electronic formats. The department also hangs banners in visible locations and incorporates yard signs into its marketing approach.

“It is always our hope and desire that as many students as possible will take advantage of the services and resources that the Career Management Center offers,” Welch said. “It is common practice for the Career Management Center to evaluate our events, services, and resources with the aim of identifying the things that are working well and any changes that could be made further strengthen the offering.”

The evaluation process has shaped and further refined the department’s events, Welch said.

Welch has been the director of the Center since 2003. The CMC today offers a much wider array of services to MSU students and alumni than it did then.

“Our visibility on campus has increased,” Welch said. “We have evolved in our use of technology and software in the delivery, evaluation and promotion of our services and resources.”

Much of the programmatic growth has occurred in the areas of part-time job, volunteerism, interview preparation services and professional development opportunities.

“The Career Management Center has spoken to colleagues in career services at other institutions across Texas and the nation. Like MSU, others have reported experiencing a decrease in student and alumni attendance at career fairs and expos.” Welch said.

Since 2003, the CMC has seen a dramatic increase in its outreach efforts across campus. According to Welch, presentations have increased by 375 percent and student and alumni use of the Center’s resources and services have grown by 415 percent.

For the 2010-2011 academic year, more than half of the Center’s student contacts have been seniors.

Students from Dillard College and the College of Health Sciences and Human Services utilize the CMC services the most with 32 percent and 26 percent, respectively.