A Degree is More than a Major: Explaining USU’s Degree Profile

Norm Jones, Director of General Education and Curricular Integration

Norm.jones@usu.edu

USU Citizen Scholar Degree ProfileA USU Grad will

• understand processes of acquiring knowledge and information;

• reason logically, critically, creatively, and independently, and be able to address problems in a broad context;

• recognize different ways of thinking, creating, expressing, and communicating through a variety of media;

• understand diversity in value systems and cultures in an interdependent world; and

• develop a capacity for self-assessment and lifelong learning.

Grads Have These Competencies

• reading, listening, and viewing for comprehension;

• communicating effectively for various purposes and audiences;

• .

Grads Have These Competencies

• understanding and applying mathematics and other quantitative reasoning techniques;

• using various technologies competently; and

• working effectively, both collaboratively and individually

Why do we have the goals listed in our profile? Isn’t the major what

gets you the job?

HARTRESEARCHA S S O T E SC I A

It Takes More Than A Major:Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success

Key findings from survey among 318 employersConducted January 9 – 13, 2013for

7

Our company puts a priority on hiring people with the intellectual and inter-personal skills that will help them contribute to innovation in the workplace

Candidates’ demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, & solve complex problems is more important than their undergraduate major

Our company is asking employees to take on more responsibilities and to use a broader set of skills than in the past

Innovation is essential to our company/organization’s continued success

The challenges employees face within our company are more complex today than they were in the past

Innovation, critical thinking, and a broad skill set are key for meeting complex challenges in the workplace.

Strongly agree with this statement about employees/future hires Somewhat agree

95%

93%

93%

92%

91%

8

Having both field-specific knowledge and skills AND a broad range of skills and knowledge

Having a range of skills and knowledge that apply to a range of fields or positions

Having knowledge and skills that apply to a specific field or position

Quality = A Both/And VisionLong-term career success requires broad knowledge and specific skills

Which is more important for recent college graduates who want to pursue advancement and long-term career success at your company?

How do we prepare them to succeed in their majors?

How do we provide the competencies employers want in

our graduates?

TWO YEAR: WHAT SHOULD A STUDENT KNOW, UNDERSTAND AND BE ABLE TO DO BEFORE ENTERING UPPER DIVISION COURSES?

There are levels of competence

FOUR YEAR: WHAT SHOULD A STUDENT KNOW, UNDERSTAND AND BE ABLE TO DO UPON DEGREE COMPLETION?

There are levels of competence

Mapping the Degree

General Education

• Core Competencies in Communications and Quantitative Reasoning

• Breadth of knowledge• Understanding of how knowledge is created• Understanding of how knowledge is assessed• Understanding of how knowledge is accessed

University Studies

• Continues development of competencies in fields outside the major

• Ensures that students use knowledge from General Education

The Major

• Provides many of the competencies, and reinforces others

• Provides in depth disciplinary training

Electives and Extracurricular Experiences

• Serendipitous Depth • Exploration• Passions• Experience• Community engagement

But isn’t a degree 120 hours? Yes. But what does an hour mean?

Is a Credit A Competence?

• Is passing the class the same as being competent?

• Is old learning still useable learning?• What if a student has all the hours, but is

incompetent?• (Will the student need to be competent

eternally?)

Is the Credit about to Disappear as a Measure of Learning?

• It is under consideration by the Carnegie Foundation that created it.

• Credits do not measure learning, they measure seat time.

• All of us need to be talking about learning as the measure we will use, not credits or time before a teacher.

What to tell our advisees

• What do they need to know, understand and be able to do if you want to succeed?

• What skills and competencies their proposed major expects. And when?

• What are the competencies associated with their majors and their degree upon completion.

We and they should talk about their competencies, not their

major, as the outcomes of their degrees. The major is significant,

but it is not a degree.