Our Mission & Story



Imagine being a part of a network of professional colleagues who understand the situation you're in, the challenges you're experiencing, and have a genuine interest in collaborating to develop innovative solutions together. That's what CSEA means to our members, and much more!

Our members stories include using our benchmarking surveys to justify hiring new staff, learning better ways to connect with students, enhancing employer brands on campus and benchmarking to develop new programs. 

Through our mission, vision and values, we support our members by meeting them where they are and providing resources they need to be successful - whether it's through individual connections, formal groups, ongoing research or collaborative events.

 

Our Mission

Founded in 1994, the MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance is the premier provider of education, information and expertise for the support and development of individuals in the MBA and other graduate business career management and employment professions.

Our Vision

Our vision is to be globally recognized as the foremost expert and resource fostering innovation and connections for career services and employers in MBA and business masters programs.

Our Values & Beliefs

  • Collaboration ~ We empower and support each other to be creative, resourceful and innovative in the pursuit of new initiatives that add value to our constituents. We treat members of our community with respect; we learn from each other and help each other succeed.
  • Integrity ~ We conduct our work according to the highest professional standards. We deliver excellence in all we do.
  • Diversity ~ We are inclusive of professionals representing all MBA and graduate business programs regardless of size, type, rank or draw is paramount to the success of our organization. Networking among managers and experts in our field and exposure to different cultures and business environments is essential for lifelong learning and professional practice.
  • Member-Focused ~ The services we offer, what we do and how we operate are driven by the members. The organization is integrally and completely related to the individual character of the people from which it is composed. We take responsibility for creating an environment of celebration, mutual respect, recognition and inspiration.
  • Thought Leadership ~ Dissemination of knowledge about our profession is influenced by experienced, tenured individuals who have relevant information and subject matter expertise. Because we are a collaborative organization, all members benefit.

 

Our History

The organization was founded in 1994 when a group of MBA career services professionals came together at a GMAC conference. Before then, there was no formal organization for MBA career services professionals to come together to share best practices. Schools also expressed concern that MBA employment data was not being collected in a consistent or comparable way, leading to stakeholders making their own assumptions about the validity of the data. Thanks to our partners at GMAC and AACSB, we created conferences and other programming opportunities to meet the needs of our membership. We also developed the Standards for Reporting MBA Employment Statistics, the only peer-reviewed, globally accepted standards for collecting and analyzing MBA employment data, still in use today.

Through it all, our members have remained our #1 priority. Through involvement in committees and leadership roles, members have a direct impact on our strategic direction and the implementation of our programs and services, allowing us to maintain relevancy in a changing world.

Click here to view the evolution of CSEA.