Astin, A. W. (1999). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal of College Student Development, 40(5), 518-529. Astin defines student involvement as the amount of physical and psychological energy that a student devotes to the academic experience, and includes time spent studying, interacting with faculty and participating in student organizations as examples of this involvement. The author contends that faculty members should not treat a student as a black box with inputs and outputs, but instead should stimulate student involvement in the learning process to increase the energy they expend. The most finite resource students have is time, therefore, administrators and faculty must find ways to get students to devote their limited resource to their academic experience. How they use their time is important, as students who spend all of their time on academics succeed academically, but do not develop personally or grow friendships on campus. Astin concludes that the more effort and time students allocate to the university experience, the greater their learning and student development. Administrators and faculty should create an environment that fosters both academic and extracurricular involvement in campus life. Zacherman, A., & Foubert, J . (2014). The Relationship Between Engagement in Cocurricular Activities and Academic Performance: Exploring Gender Differences. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 157-169. doi:10.1515/jsarp-2014-0016 The authors of this study recognized that previous research showed that students who were involved in campus activities outside of the classroom performed better academically than students who did not. However, there was limited research on the effects of over-involvement. The researchers also noted that previous studies had shown the curvilinear effect employment while in school had on the students GPA. There was a positive increase in GPA for students working up to 15 hours per week, but a decrease in GPA for students working over 30 hours per week. Zacherman & Foubert used a random sample of 20% of respondents to the 2006 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) in an attempt to see if: 1) successively higher numbers of hours per week involved in cocurricular activities have a significant relationship with undergraduate GPA, and 2) if men and women differ in the pattern of their relationship between involvement and GPA. They found that students who participated in 1-5 hours of cocurricular activities had an increased GPA of approximately 0.1/4.0, but that the relationship was curvilinear and that involvement of more than approximately 20 hours per week was more detrimental than no involvement at all. Zacherman & Foubert also found that both male and female students saw similar increases from 0-5 hours of involvement, but that over involvement had a more drastic negative affect on male students than female. A major limitation of this study is that GPA was based on students responses to the NSSE survey question What have most of your grades been at this institution up till now?, which is vague and self-reported, meaning that students may have mis-reported their GPA. Co-curricular learning Foubert, J . D., & Grainger, L. U. (2006). Effects of Involvement in Clubs and Organizations on the Psychosocial Development of First-Year and Senior College Students. NASPA Journal, 43(1), 166-182. The researchers of this study used Chickering and Reissers seven vectors to examine the connections between a students level of club or organization involvement and their psychosocial development. Chickering and Reissers seven vectors are: developing competence, managing emotions, moving through autonomy toward interdependence, developing mature interpersonal relationships, establishing identity, establishing and clarifying purpose, and developing integrity. Foubert & Grainger had students complete self-assessments at the start of their freshman year, start of their sophomore year and end of their senior year. They found that students who were active organization members or leaders had significantly higher psychosocial development by their senior year in comparison to peers who were not involved. Particular areas of improvement were purpose, educational involvement, career planning, life management and cultural participation. The authors conclude that the findings show the importance of making these types of opportunities available to students. Kuh, G. D. (1995). The other curriculum: Out-of-class experiences associated with student learning and personal development. The Journal of Higher Education, 66(2), 123-155. Kuh idendified that previous studies confirmed that college graduates see many benefits in increased knowledge in many academic and social skills from in and out of class activities. He notes that little research existed on which types of extracurricular activities have a larger contribution to skill development. He seeks to answer the question through a series of qualitative interviews with graduates from eight institutions. Respondents identified out-of-classroom experiences that required them to use leadership and organizational skills as most beneficial (such as leading student government or organizations), followed by interacting with peers (increasing interpersonal competence, humanitarianism and cognitive complexity) and academic- related activities (applying classroom knowledge to real world experiences). Kuh concludes that future employment opportunities will require interpersonal skills (communication, leadership skills, teamwork) and out-of-classroom experiences provide the opportunities to build those types of skills. Colleges should create conditions that promote out-of-classroom activities and encourage students to participate.
Kuh, G. D. (2009). What Student Affairs Professionals Need to Know About Student Engagement. Journal of College Student Development, 50(6), 683-706. Kuh begins by stating that student engagement is related to the time and energy that students expend on activities in college and how the institution gets students involved in these activities. He references several studies that show that students who are more engaged have better rates of persistence, development of psychosocial skills, and higher GPAs, amongst other factors. Kuh summarizes a large amount of previous research and states that it shows that students who are more engaged, particularly students who are less prepared for college, will have a better college experience if they are engaged in campus activties. He also asserts that students who work up to 10 hours per week on campus have a higher self-reported GPA. The author then presents five questions he believes still need to be researched, including: How do institutions increase the number of students engaging in programs? How do we engage students involved in online learning? How do institutions benchmark and assess the benefits of engagement? The author concludes with some observations on who is resposible for increasing this engagement and finds that academic and student affairs professionals need to work together to develop involved curriculums, but that students also need to take a lead and see the benefits of their own involvement. Kuh, G. D., Cruce, T. M., Shoup, R., Kinzie, J ., & Gonyea, R. M. (2008). Unmasking the effects of student engagement on first-year college grades and persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 79(5), 540-563. The authors of this study used student engagement as a key component of determining first-year students anticipated grades and whether or not they continued to their sophomore year. Student engagement was measured through results taken from students who responded to questions in the NSSE survey from 18 different institutions and included time spent studying and time spent participating in co-curricular activities. Kuh et al found that student engagement in educationally purposeful campus activities had a net effect of raising a students GPA by 0.04/4.0. They also found that engagement had a more positive effect on raising GPAs of students who entered college with lower standardized test scores and had a higher effect on raising GPAs of Hispanic students. The authors also found that students who engaged in educationally purposeful activities were more likely to persist to their second year of studies at that institution. Involvement and Sense of Belonging O'Keeffe, P. (2013). A sense of belonging: improving student retention. College Student Journal, 47(4), 605-614. OKeeffe starts by identifying that current attrition rates for first year students at American universities is between 30-50%. The cost of non-completion is felt by institutions, governments and the students themselves. He mentions that ethnic minorities, students with disabilities, academically disadvantaged students, students from low socioeconomic status, probationary students, part-time students and first generation students are at most risk for non- completion. The author identifies a students sense of belonging on campus as an important factor in determining their persistence, which he states is the students feeling that the institution cares about them and their success. To create the sense of belonging and feeling of being cared for by the institution, OKeeffe recommends that faculty and staff foster positive relationships and programs that show the institutions concern for the students success. Tieu, T.-T., Pancer, S. M., Pratt, M. W., Gallander Wintre, M., Birnie-Lefcovitch, S., Polivy, J ., & Adams, G. (2010). Helping out or hanging out: the features of involvement and how it relates to university adjustment. Higher Education, 60(3), 343-355. The authors believed that the quality and structure of students extra-curricular activity, which they defined to be activity that was well organized and had established learning outcomes, is more significant to student adjustment to campus life and skill development than participating in unstructured activities. The authors developed an instrument, the Activity Structure Instrument (ASI) to measure the amount of structure in student activities and hypothesized that student participation in more structured activities would increase the effectiveness of the transition from high school to university. The researchers surveyed a group of students at 5 different Canadian universities in November and March. They found that students who participated in more structured extra-curricular activities, such as Residence Council or Athletic competitions, were better able to adjust to university life than students who participated in loosely structured extra- curricular activities, such as going out dancing and working out in the gym. It was theorised that students in high quality extra-curricular activities found as much importance in those activities as they did from classroom activities. Suggestions of Creating Co-curricular Transcripts Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J . A. (1996). Implementing Service Learning in Higher Education. The Journal of Higher Education, 67(2), 221-239. The authors of this study would like to see a reemphasis on the dignity to the scholarship of service by institutions of higher education, noting that universities have great resources, in students, faculty, and facilities, that can help enhance learning and improve the communities around the institutions. They feel that service based learning can take place as curricular and extracurricular community service activities, which they identify as student organizations, student leadership groups and campus religious organizations. They note the benefits of experiential learning and the fact that students can develop skills through their service activities outside of the classroom. Bringle & Hatcher continue on to propose a Comprehensive Action Plan on Service Learning in which an entire institution would make a commitment to become involved in service learning, including the administration, faculty and students. As a way of recognizing student involvement in activities, they recommend either creating service learning academic courses, or implementing co-curricular transcripts to record the experiences that would not be shown on a traditional academic transcript. They also suggest that additional research should be done on what other student outcomes may come from service experiences. Gabelnick, F. (1997). Educating a Committed Citizenry. Change, 29(1), 30-35. The author begins by describing a paradigm shift needed in education in order for the American education system to build citizenship among graduates. To Gabelnick, a committed citizenry will be developed by shifting society and universities from a culture of competition to one of collaboration. The author suggests multiple ways to increase civic values amongst students, particularly service learning, in which students, together with faculty members, are involved in projects based around helping the environment or alleviating hunger in their community. To track the student's involvement, Gabelnick notes that a new concept of a co- curricular transcript could be utilized. Co-curricular transcripts, she notes, are used at the time by three small colleges to track how student involvement in civic and social activities are a part of the student's academic accomplishment. Students gain competencies through this type of engagement that can be brought to a work situation to create professional achievement, which is why it should be recorded. She concludes that higher education institutions will build 21 st
century leaders by creating individuals with a civic virtue and social commitment. Developing Skills Employers Seek Ellis, M., Kisling, E., & Hackworth, R. G. (2014). Teaching Soft Skills Employers Need. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 38, 433-453. doi:10.1080/10668926.2011.567143 The researchers performed an analysis of Office Technology courses offered at South Carolina Community Colleges (SCCC) and compared the soft skills taught in the courses to the soft skills employers in the state were seeking in Office Technology courses. It was noted that many studies showed that employers sought soft skills in addition to hard skills, but that there was little research to see if those soft skills were being taught. The authors then compare several studies conducted by researchers, governmental departments and private groups, and found that all of the studies revealed similar soft skills that were sought: teamwork, interpersonal skills, communication/language proficiency, self-discipline, problem solving, conflict resolution skills. It is stated that Community Colleges and Universities serve the role of preparing a workforce to maintain strong regional and national economies, and that many employers are finding that current graduates are not prepared to fulfill that role with the shortfall of qualified workers expected to grow in the future. The researchers conclude that the SCCCs are teaching adequate soft skills to the graduates of the Office Technology courses.
Kretovics, M. A., & McCambridge, J . A. (1998). Determining what employers really want: Conducting regional stakeholder focus groups. Journal of Career Planning & Employment, 58(2), 25-28. The authors of this study met with employers from manufacturing companies, service- sector companies, small businesses and large metropolitan area businesses. Through 90 minute interview sessions, they determined the most important skill employers were looking for are first off hard technical skills in the chosen field, as shown by coursework or work experience. After that, employers look for communication skills, teamwork skills, coachability skills, leadership skills, sales skills, problem-solving skills, organization skills, crisis management skills, and presentation skills. Employers are also looking for candidates with personality attributes that show that they are responsible, self-starters, flexible/adaptable, imaginative, change agents, lifelong learners, motivators, self-confident, street smart and quick thinkers. The authors conclude that GPA is important, but not the sole factor employers look at when hiring. They also recommended that campus involvement in student organizations is viewed by employers as an indicator of a students ability to manage multiple priorities successfully. Robles, M. M. (2012). Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today's Workplace. Business Communication Quarterly, 75(4), 453-465. doi:10.1177/1080569912460400 The author identified that prior research showed that employers saw a candidates soft skill abilities, defined as character traits, attitudes, and behaviorsrather than technical aptitude or knowledge the intangible, nontechnical, personality-specific skills that determine ones strengths as a leader, facilitator, mediator, and negotiator, accounted for 75-85% of their prospect of succeeding in the workplace. This is a shift from hard skills being more important, which has been caused by the North American economy moving from a manufacturing one to an information and management one. The researcher asked a group of business executives in his community to list soft skills that they deemed important in employees. After compiling a list of skills and grouping them in to like categories, a second survey was sent to the same executive asking them to rank their top 10 soft skills sought using a 5 point Likert scale. The executives ranked the skills as such: Communication, Courtesy, Flexibility, Integrity, Interpersonal Skills, Positive Attitude, Professionalism, Responsibility, Teamwork, and Work Ethic. Robles concludes that hard skills will get a graduate an interview, but soft skills will allow them to keep the job. Currently most employers surveyed in other research stated that recent graduates do not possess the required soft skills. The author believes Higher Education Institutions need to do a better job of preparing graduates with these soft skills.
Velasco, M. S. (2012). More than just good grades: candidates' perceptions about the skills and attributes employers seek in new graduates. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 13(3), 499-517. doi:10.3846/16111699.2011.620150 The author of this study surveyed recent graduates in Spain and asked them what skills they believed their first employer after graduation was looking for in them. The respondents self- reported that the skills/attributes their employers sought included enthusiasm/hard-working, positive personality, interpersonal abilities/teamwork, work ethic/integrity, and computer/technical literacy. Good academic qualifications and knowledge of own field were ranked 6 th and 7 th , respectively. Velasco identified that these results were similar to results found in surveys of employers on the same subject.
Works Cited Adams, S. (2013, October 11). The 10 Skills Employers Want in 20-something Employees. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/10/11/the-10-skills- employers-most-want-in-20-something-employees/ Astin, A. W. (1999). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal of College Student Development, 40(5), 518-529. Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J. A. (1996). Implementing Service Learning in Higher Education. The Journal of Higher Education, 67(2), 221-239. Carnevale, A. P., Smith, N., & Strohl, J. (2013). Recovery: Job Growth and Education Requirements Through 2020. Washington: Georgetown University. Retrieved from cew.georgetown.edu/recovery2020 Ellis, M., Kisling, E., & Hackworth, R. G. (2014). Teaching Soft Skills Employers Need. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 38, 433-453. doi:10.1080/10668926.2011.567143 Foubert, J. D., & Grainger, L. U. (2006). Effects of Involvement in Clubs and Organizations on the Psychosocial Development of First-Year and Senior College Students. NASPA Journal, 43(1), 166- 182. Gabelnick, F. (1997). Educating a Committed Citizenry. Change, 29(1), 30-35. King, J. M., & Anderson, D. M. (2004). A Practitioner's Guide to a Learning-Centered Co-Curricular Activities Program. College Student Affairs Journal, 24(1), 91-100. Kretovics, M. A., & McCambridge, J. A. (1998). Determining what employers really want: Conducting regional stakeholder focus groups. Journal of Career Planning & Employment, 58(2), 25-28. Kuh, G. D. (1995). The other curriculum: Out-of-class experiences associated with student learning and personal development. The Journal of Higher Education, 66(2), 123-155. Kuh, G. D. (2009). What Student Affairs Professionals Need to Know About Student Engagement. Journal of College Student Development, 50(6), 683-706. Kuh, G. D., Cruce, T. M., Shoup, R., Kinzie, J., & Gonyea, R. M. (2008). Unmasking the effects of student engagement on first-year college grades and persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 79(5), 540-563. National Center for Educational Statistics. (2012). Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Fall 2001 and Spring 2007 through Spring 2012, Graduation Rates component. Washington: U.S. Department of Education. O'Keeffe, P. (2013). A sense of belonging: improving student retention. College Student Journal, 47(4), 605-614. Robles, M. M. (2012). Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today's Workplace. Business Communication Quarterly, 75(4), 453-465. doi:10.1177/1080569912460400 States News Service. (2012, September 14). Campus Engagement Network COUGSYNC Tops 11,000 Users. Pullman, WA, USA. Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com.mutex.gmu.edu/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?lni=56K7-PH11- DYTH-G0XN&csi=8058&hl=t&hv=t&hnsd=f&hns=t&hgn=t&oc=00240&perma=true Tieu, T.-T., Pancer, S. M., Pratt, M. W., Gallander Wintre, M., Birnie-Lefcovitch, S., Polivy, J., & Adams, G. (2010). Helping out or hanging out: the features of involvement and how it relates to university adjustment. Higher Education, 60(3), 343-355. Velasco, M. S. (2012). More than just good grades: candidates' perceptions about the skills and attributes employers seek in new graduates. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 13(3), 499-517. doi:10.3846/16111699.2011.620150 Zacherman, A., & Foubert, J. (2014). The Relationship Between Engagement in Cocurricular Activities and Academic Performance: Exploring Gender Differences. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 157-169. doi:10.1515/jsarp-2014-0016