Exploring Transferable Skill Development in Higher Education

• In Event: After College: Loans, Salary, and Transferable Skills

Abstract

With increasing attention on student employability and the idea of “return-on-investment” for a college degree, universities have begun to focus on how well their students are acquiring transferable skills. The current study attempts to explore aeras of strengths and weaknesses for various majors across three dimensions of transferable skills: speaking and complex discussions, creativity and problem solving, and complex writing. Using survey data from 5,823 seniors attending 33 institutions who participated in the 2022 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), results from OLS regression models suggest several significant relationships between major field and transferable skills. Some majors are positive predictors of the three types of transferable skills, while others are negative predictors. These patterns are apparent even after controlling for a variety of other student identities and institutional characteristics. Potential reasons and further educational implications for these findings are discussed.

Authors

• Angie Miller, Indiana University Bloomington

• Toni Bacigalupa Albaum, Indiana University Bloomington