Adding value to the humanist graduate Between standardized education and individual profiling

During the coffee break, the student participants in the advisory board meeting started discussing what elective subjects, they had chosen. Peter explained that he had chosen Journalistic Communication, because he already worked so much with organization and management in his spare time. Julie also did a lot of activities outside her studies, she explained, because she felt like she had to design herself, not to look like the others. Observation notes, May 2017 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

The value of the humanist graduate 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

Employability perspective The value of the humanist graduate 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

The value of the humanist graduate Employability perspective Ethnographic analysis The value of the humanist graduate 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

The value of the humanist graduate Employability perspective Ethnographic analysis The value of the humanist graduate Study of materialized valuation practices Fenwick, T. & Edwards, R. (2011): “Considering Materiality in Educational Policy: Messy Objects and Multiple Reals”. Educational Theory, 61(6), pp. 709-726. 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

The value of the humanist graduate Employability perspective Ethnographic analysis The value of the humanist graduate Valuation as simultaneous assessment and labelling Study of materialized valuation practices Munesia, F. (2012): “A flank movement in the understanding of valuation”. The Sociological review, 59, p. 32. Fenwick, T. & Edwards, R. (2011): “Considering Materiality in Educational Policy: Messy Objects and Multiple Reals”. Educational Theory, 61(6), pp. 709-726. 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

The value of the humanist graduate Employability perspective Preliminary ethnographic observation material Ethnographic analysis The value of the humanist graduate Valuation as simultaneous assessment and labelling Study of materialized valuation practices Munesia, F. (2012): “A flank movement in the understanding of valuation”. The Sociological review, 59, p. 32. Fenwick, T. & Edwards, R. (2011): “Considering Materiality in Educational Policy: Messy Objects and Multiple Reals”. Educational Theory, 61(6), pp. 709-726. 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

The value of the humanist graduate Employability perspective Preliminary ethnographic observation material Ethnographic analysis The value of the humanist graduate Valuation as simultaneous assessment and labelling Study of materialized valuation practices Humanities + Denmark Munesia, F. (2012): “A flank movement in the understanding of valuation”. The Sociological review, 59, p. 32. Fenwick, T. & Edwards, R. (2011): “Considering Materiality in Educational Policy: Messy Objects and Multiple Reals”. Educational Theory, 61(6), pp. 709-726. 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

The humanist graduate as a standard product University legitimizing formal qualification credentials Tomlinson, M. (2012): ”Graduate Employability: A Review of Conceptual and Empirical Themes”, Higher Education Policy, vol. 25, pp. 409-410 Standardization materialized into study regulations: Learning outcomes Graduate profile Valuation of the graduate materialized into the grades sheet: Value assessed according to learning outcomes Value labelled for the use of future employers

Observation notes, August 2017 On the agenda of todays advisory board meeting are the coming changes of the study regulations of several degree programs. Arthur, the deputy head of the department, presents all the suggested changes as bullet points on a slide, including specified requirements for several of the student assignments. When he is done, one of the employers in the room asks, if these changes represent a normalization of the degree programs. Arthur hesitates a bit. “This would be good for us employers”, the employer says, because the requirements will make it less uncertain, what content the graduates have covered during their studies. Observation notes, August 2017 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

Observation notes, September 2016; March 2017 I rarely hear employers talk about grades or degrees, when they explain what they look for when they are recruiting a new employee. A degree is often a requirement, yes, but when selecting candidates for job interviews, it is more about personal values and beliefs, personality, what the applicants engaged in, what they want to do, what they chose to be particularly good at… Observation notes, September 2016; March 2017 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

The humanist graduate as an individual profile Valuation of the graduate materialized into the CV: Value assessed and labelled according to experience Achieving positional advantage Adding value through the application letter: Building a dynamic employability narrative, including both hard and soft currencies Tomlinson, M. (2012): ”Graduate Employability: A Review of Conceptual and Empirical Themes”, Higher Education Policy, vol. 25, pp. 420-421 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

Trends towards standardization The Bologna Process: ECTS, Module Structures – standardization of time Qualification Frameworks and Learning Outcomes – standardization of the educational product The Danish policy context: The Study Progress Reform – students expect to downgrade the time spent on part time jobs, internships and international mobility (Danish report from 2016) 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

A new task for universities Massification: A degree gradually becomes less sufficient for ensuring positional advantage Employability agenda: Degree programs and universities are measured on graduate employment 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

Conclusion There seems to be a tension between: a) standardization of higher education and certainty of educational content and quality b) developing an individual profile of each graduate with experience, cultural skills, personality, values, and so on (at least within the humanities) Trends going towards standardization and less opportunity for students to build other credentials alongside their studies (at least within the specific current Danish policy constellation) The employability of the graduates – and their positional advantage on the labor market – is now a university matter! 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017

Pointing towards the future Questions for higher education practice: How can we design higher education in a standardized educational system with spaces for building uniqueness? …experience? …values? …personality? Questions for philosophy of higher education: What is (higher) education? What is a degree? Is it about building sameness, or can it be about building uniqueness? Can standardized degree programs educate for ‘bildung’ and accommodate the unpredictable? 17/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201817/09/201830/10/2017