Faculty and Staff Services
The mutual goal of faculty, staff, and the Career and Professional Development Office is student success. By working together, we can help young adults’ transition from students to professionals as seamlessly as possible.
Refer A Student or Employer
Realizing that you have direct contact with students, we believe that you are an essential component to our team's ability to effectively deliver employment services. We welcome your referrals! Please refer students for any employment needs they might have.
Please also feel free to refer employers to our team. We will conduct follow-up and outreach and inform them of ways to connect to events and opportunities at the University.
References and Recommendation Letters
The following guidelines are merely suggestions to aid faculty in choosing whether to serve as a reference for a student or, more specifically, whether to write a recommendation letter.
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Before Writing a Letter
To Agree or Not to Agree: Agree to write a letter only if you can honestly write a supportive letter. Decline the request if you either do not know the individual well enough or cannot comment positively about the student’s abilities and skills.
Ask the student to provide you with 1) a due date, 2) a current resume, and 3) all contact information necessary to address the letter of recommendation.
- Job Search Recommendations: Ask for the exact position description or one representative of the type of position the applicant is seeking. Ask for a summary of the student's professional goals.
- Graduate School Search Recommendations: Ask for a copy of the student's personal statement, and any specific criteria requested by the graduate/professional school program (i.e., a specific recommendation form or questionnaire).
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Writing a Letter
- Start the letter by describing how and for how long you have known the student. Mention specific situations where you worked with or observed the student.
- Provide your evaluation of the student's capabilities and suitability to the profession. Identify key areas such as work performance, management and research abilities, leadership qualities, cross-cultural and interpersonal skills.
- For a graduate school recommendation, specifically reference the student's ability to conduct research and scholarly work.
- Offer a "big picture" of the student's overall promise and potential.
- Try to differentiate and highlight the student's specific and individual strengths.
- Specific examples are the strongest evidence supporting the individual's abilities. Don't be too brief, but instead provide relevant information and examples of achievements.
- State your own qualifications as they relate to the profession, organization, or program.
- In most cases, a letter of recommendation is one page with up to four paragraphs.
- Recommendations should be printed on university letterhead and signed.
- After you’ve written the letter consider providing the student with a copy, keep a copy for yourself, and ask the student to update you on the process.
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National Association of Colleges and Employers Resources
Check out these additional resources:
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FERPA and Letters of Recommendation
UW-Platteville faculty and staff who serve as a reference for a student have an additional responsibility under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to obtain a signed, written consent from the student to disclose information in a student’s education record. Therefore, faculty who wish to disclose a student's grade or GPA must get the student's signed, written consent prior to disclosing any non-directory information.