Highlighting tools particularly useful for prospective or current college students
Through the Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) initiative, AAC&U is helping students, their parents, policymakers, and others understand what really matters in college—the kinds of learning that will truly empower college students to succeed and make a difference in the twenty-first century. Launched in 2005, LEAP is organized around a robust set of essential learning outcomes designed to help all college students prepare to succeed in a challenging world. LEAP also seeks to shine a spotlight on the ways in which colleges and universities are developing effective educational practices designed to provide these outcomes to all of today’s students.
In the twenty-first century, the world itself is setting very high expectations for knowledge and skill. The ground is shifting for everyone in virtually all important spheres of life—whether economic, global, cross-cultural, environmental, civic. The world in which you will live is one of disruption rather than certainty, of interdependence rather than insularity. This is why it is important that you get the most out of college and learn broad set of skills and capacities so you can deal with change.
What really matters in college are the things you will learn and how well you apply what you learn.
What Major Should I Choose?
Your specific choice of “major” matters far less than the knowledge and skills you gain through all your studies and experiences in college. In terms of jobs, employers don’t hire “majors.” They hire individuals with potential to succeed over the long term and add value to their companies or organizations.
The good news is that you can get a liberal education—and all the good things that come with it—whatever your major. You do not have to choose either the liberal arts or career preparation. Colleges and universities are developing programs and practices that are spread across the entire educational experience. Make sure your advisors know what you want. It is up to you to raise the subject—and ask the right questions.
This guide is intended to take some of the mystery out of curricular requirements and educate students about what really matters in college -- the broad learning outcomes developed over the entire course of their undergraduate years. The ideas presented represent a consensus of contemporary thinking about the purposes of undergraduate education.
What Will I Learn in College? What You Need To Know Now To Get Ready for College Success
This is a guide to college learning designed for the college-bound high school student. The guide also features Advice from Campus - candid recommendations from contemporary college students about how to prepare for college success.
"The only education that prepares us for change is a liberal education. In periods of change, narrow specialization condemns us to inflexibility--precisely what we do not need. We need the flexible intellectual tools to be problem solvers, to be able to continue learning over time." —David Kearns, Xerox
This brochure introduces AAC&U’s LEAP initiative to students and explains in clear terms why the outcomes of a liberal education are important and can give them an edge in school, life, and in their future careers. It quotes CEOs who believe a liberal education is central to students’ professional success, and features ten questions designed to help students construct a purposeful pathway through college. It is ideal for use in freshmen and student transfer orientation, first-year seminars, academic advising, and admissions sessions for college-bound students.
