Can You Get a Job Doing That? Earnest Lamb, PhD Fayetteville State University

The Commodification of Education

Commodification is the transformation of goods, services, ideas and people into commodities, or objects of trade. A commodity, at its most basic, is any thing intended for exchange or any object of economic value.

Commodification is coming to a campus near you. The language we use Governance/policies Products

The U. S. entertainment and media market generated $479 The U.S. entertainment and media market generated $479.23 billion in 2012, representing 29.2 percent of the worldwide revenue of nearly $1.639 trillion. In 2017, the U.S. is expected to account for $632.09 billion, or 29.4 percent of the worldwide total of more than $2.152 trillion, according to the report.

Memphis Paris New York New orleans Fargo/Moorhead London

How can we do a better job? What do graduates wished they had learned in school? How can we reimagine our programs in ways that will sustain our profession and add value to our degrees?

The Ten Things I’ve Learned

1. Transferable Skills Students often treat the curriculum like a to-do list. They learn it and then forget it. Help students to apply content from general education courses to their specific major. Reinforce core courses within the major throughout degree program. The goal should be to strengthen knowledge within the arts rather than transferring those skills to another discipline.

2. Diversify Skills End the binary opposites in the arts: work vs. play, high art vs. commercial art, teaching vs. doing, etc. Specialization at the expense of diversification limits your career pathway

3. Practice Makes Perfect Create opportunities for students to practice what they will be expected to do after graduation before they graduate. Students need to start thinking of themselves as independent contractors or startup companies. In other words they are potential employers rather than potential employees looking for work. ARTrenpreneurs = art + commerce

4. Help the Career Center December 2016 Gallup Poll revealed that only 16% of students found the career service center very helpful. Business and STEM majors were more likely to use career services than those in the humanities and the arts. In order for career services to be more helpful to art and humanities majors, they need to become more aware of the skill sets these majors possess and how marketable those skills are. Career services should be partners in developing and identifying artrenpreneural opportunities.

5. Alumni Support Before you ask for money, ask alumni to share what they found most or least valuable about their college experience. Especially, what they wished they had learned or took more seriously when they were students. 40% of alumni remain in the area upon graduation. Ask them to remain involved with alma mater by being a mentor to current students.

6. Use Data Help your administrators appreciate your program’s value by collecting data that addresses retention, graduations rates, etc. Use data to help counter the narrative that art and humanities majors are unemployable SNAAP: Strategic national Arts Alumni Project Americans for the Arts Gallup Polls Bureau of Labor Statistics

7. Destroy Silos Embrace the “herd” mentality. The arts and humanities are stronger when they work together. Look for opportunities to partner with other disciplines outside of the arts and humanities as equals

8. Engagement Look for opportunities off campus to engage the community with your program Think of how the arts can address or help solve a problem in the community

9. Faculty Involvement Help faculty become better mentors Develop a “cheat sheet” or a 30-second “elevator speech” faculty can use to address career pathways and employment opportunities

10. Advocacy As chair it is your responsibility to be an advocate for your department with the upper administration. If they see the arts only as service/entertainment and not academic you need to change that. Make sure you are part of the institution’s strategic plan in a specific and meaningful way.

Making money is art And working is art And good business is the best art. Andy Warhol

Department of Performing and Fine Arts Fayetteville State University CONTACT INFORMATION Dr. Earnest Lamb, Chair Department of Performing and Fine Arts Fayetteville State University elamb@uncfsu.edu