Treffer: Microcredentials for Humanities Students

The Humanities to Career initiative is grounded in the belief that the study of the humanities/liberal arts (HLA) can be an asset in preparation for technical and professional careers. Lorain County Community College, in Elyria, Ohio; Bunker Hill Community College, in Boston; and Northern Virginia Community College, located outside of Washington, DC, are beginning their third year of work on implementing the initiative. The grants awarded to the three community colleges by the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation were the culmination of an 18-month research and planning process in partnership with Jobs for the Future (JFF). In a 2023 survey of college students conducted by the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE), 42% of students said that their schools had taught them little or nothing about in-demand jobs in their local areas. Although we don't have this data broken out by major, it is likely that HLA majors are heavily represented among those who did not learn what they needed to know to succeed in finding a job and building a career. The first brief about the project focused on the challenges colleges were facing in identifying professional or durable skills and teaching them. This second brief represents a report from the field about how each college is progressing with integrating professional skills into students' coursework largely through the development of microcredentials--short-term professional or durable skills content that is embedded in humanities programs.

ERIC