Utah lawmakers and higher education leaders have emphasized during the last few years that a student’s ability to receive a well-paying job after graduation must be a top priority for the state’s colleges and universities. Higher education often requires a significant financial and time commitment on the part of the student, and since many of them pursue a degree with the ultimate goal of getting a job, it makes sense for universities to make an intentional effort to assist students in that endeavor.

While the University of Utah has been working to meet that demand in a multitude of ways long before it was a legislative request, one current project is preparing students to excel in the job market by helping them cultivate and articulate their durable skills. The Durable Skills Faculty Fellows Cohort launched with a call for participants Tuesday, February 10, through the Martha Bradley Evans Center for Teaching Excellence (MBECTE).

Durable skills are foundational, uniquely human abilities such as communication, collaboration and problem-solving. Research shows that finding applicants who possess such skills is a top priority for companies when they hire new employees.

“Our faculty do incredible work empowering students to think critically, collaborate effectively and solve complex problems,” said Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Mitzi M. Montoya. “This new Fellows program gives us a shared language to surface new approaches to that work—so students can more clearly connect what they’re learning in the classroom to who they seek to become beyond it.”

Gaining durable skills in the classroom

Classes at the U—regardless of the subject—all teach students durable skills in one form or another, but helping students identify those skills can be tricky. For instance, a student in an upper-division coding class might not realize that in addition to learning a new coding language, they’re also becoming more capable problem solvers.

The experience of learning a new skill of any kind can strengthen students’ ability to think critically, respond to problems creatively or become more innovative. And if courses include pedagogical techniques such as group projects or presentations, students also become more adept at leadership, collaboration, professionalism and communication.

If instructors can make explicit connections between classwork and durable skills, they can prepare students to translate their educational experiences into compelling narratives for employers, graduate schools and other stakeholders. So, when students graduate and move on to the next steps in their journeys, they can better understand and articulate their skills.

“Durable skills sit at the heart of a transformative undergraduate education,” said Vice Provost for Student Success T. Chase Hagood. “They enable our students to adapt, communicate, collaborate and lead in a world that will keep changing. When students can recognize and articulate these capacities, they leave the university prepared not only for their first job, but for a lifetime of community engagement, societal contribution and personal success.

“I’m energized by the leadership of our Faculty Fellows and the momentum this creates for infusing career readiness more intentionally across the student experience.”

To help instructors embed durable skills into coursework and articulate them to students, U Career Success, the Office of General Education and the MBECTE collaborated to create a Durable Skills Framework. This framework is comprised of outcomes established by multiple nationally-recognized workforce readiness standards: NACE Career Readiness Competencies, AAC&U VALUE rubrics and the U.S. Department of Education’s Employability Skills Framework. The skills in the framework include critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration and teamwork, emotional and cultural competence, creativity and innovation, information and technology literacy, leadership and professionalism, and career and self-development.

Mapping majors to competencies

Already, the U has codified General Education Learning Outcomes that instructors embed in general education coursework, but the Durable Skills Framework takes this one step further by encouraging instructors to make the durable skills infused in the curriculum more transparent to students.

Additionally, the U is ramping up these efforts by applying the framework to upper-division courses. Faculty in all majors and programs across campus are encouraged to find ways to integrate durable skills into coursework so each student can graduate feeling like they know the value of their degree.

Faculty drive change

Through Feb. 20, the MBECTE is recruiting participants for the new Durable Skills Faculty Fellows Cohort that will work with MBECTE and UCareer Success to focus on infusing essential durable skills into key parts of the curriculum at the U. The fellows will target undergraduate education courses, aiming to better prepare students for their future careers and civic responsibilities across colleges and majors.

Ultimately, faculty are key to helping students connect competencies to learning outcomes, and the U is positioning them to let their expertise drive this effort. Faculty connections with their industries also make this effort attainable, as prepping students for success in the job market requires a partnership between universities and businesses.

By offering targeted assistance, MBECTE hopes faculty will feel supported as they help students develop and articulate transferable, enduring skills necessary to succeed in a rapidly changing world, as well as the ability to articulate those skills and abilities to potential employers.

“MBECTE will support faculty in integrating durable skills in meaningful ways across the curriculum, as well as help faculty assist students in articulating those skills beyond the classroom,” said MBECTE Director Anne Cook. “We are excited about the potential this project has for impacting student success across the university.”