Higher education leaders are under pressure to develop college graduates who are ready to succeed in the work place. The changing workplace and the expanding “knowledge economy” values a number of skills that the traditional transcript and diploma do not convey. Thus, there are increasing efforts to improve how universities present what their students have learned and other efforts to find out what businesses most desire in new hires.
The concept that students graduate from college with just a diploma to measure their academic achievement seems downright quaint, according to Goldie Blumenstyk, author of "When a Degree Is Just the Beginning." As a result, a proliferation of digital credentials are overturning long-held beliefs about the value of a college degree. Digital credentials can be shared between stake holders in a new e-portfolio format on commercial sites.
“The reason we’re so excited about them is that they contain claims and evidence,” says Daniel T. Hickey, an associate professor of education at Indiana University at Bloomington and an advocate of badges and other new forms of verifiable credentials.
Work is also underway in many quarters to develop the next generation transcript. The current transcript tells only a fraction of the story, according to Cathy Sandeen, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Colleges and Extension, in a recent Inside Higher Ed article (Paul Fain, "Beyond the Transcript," 7/13/15). The transcript of the future will go beyond grades and credit hours by documenting co-curricular and experiential learning, or even soft skills such as good communication and writing.
AACRAO at the forefront
The Lumina Foundation recently granted $1.27 million to AACRAO and NASPA to explore how to collect, document, and distribute information about student learning and competencies, including skills acquired outside the traditional academic classroom.
As well, AACRAO’s recent Technology and Transfer Conference addressed some of these concerns in Austin, Texas--a hotbed of high-tech industries and creative start-ups. A panel of Austin business leaders discussed the state of education and work and explored how colleges and universities can work together to prepare the workforce of the 21st Century. According to the panelists, the qualities most valued in employees are creativity, flexibility, motivation, goal-oriented focus, self-initiative, confidence, innovation, performance amid uncertainty, ability to work independently, and possession of strong critical thinking skills.
Higher education is eager to address the needs of business but many questions remain unanswered. To name just a few: How can curriculums be redesigned to cultivate the skills and capabilities employers need? What kinds of credentialing should higher education offer? What types of learning artifacts should students acquire? How can higher education prepare students to work in future jobs that don’t yet exist? How could student records better reflect what employers need to know?
The Austin business leaders offered the following suggestions to conference attendees:
- Cultivate in students a balance between general critical thinking skills and specific skills that are relevant today
- Design curriculums with activities that require solving real problems faced by real organizations
- Greater clarity in student transcripts would be a major improvement
- Redesign transcripts to highlight measured accomplishments
- Writing samples could be included as part of the transcript redesign
An executive summary of the panel discussion from AACRAO’s Technology and Transfer Conference is available in a PDF format here. In addition to the panel discussion, it includes summaries for the "ACCelerator: Providing an Innovative Way to Teach and Learn" and "Competency-Based Education 2.0" plenary presentations from the conference.
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Register for AACRAO’s next professional development Conference at AACRAO SEM (November 1-4 in Hollywood, Florida). AACRAO's SEM conference presents the most comprehensive and current information and training for managing student enrollment. With sessions led by experienced, successful enrollment leaders, you and your team will have access to the latest concepts and innovative practices in strategic enrollment management today.
For a preview of upcoming SEM sessions, you can participate in AACRAO’s FREE webinars covering:
Using a Competency Model to Attract, Develop and Retain a SEM Workforce October 1, 2015 (2-3pm ET)
Understanding Student College Choice October 9, 2015 (2-3pm ET)