1. Supporting Your Exploratory Student

2. Exploration is work.
Being “Exploratory” entails the active pursuit of knowledge of values, skills, majors, minors, extra-curriculars and professional aspirations to determine an educational path for yourself.

3. A student’s college major determines their career path.
True or false?
A student’s college major determines their career path.

4. False!

5. A student’s college major determines their employability.
True or false?
A student’s college major
determines their employability.

6. Top Twenty Skills Employers Seeking in 2019 Graduates
National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)
Top Twenty Skills Employers Seeking in 2019 Graduates
1. Ability to work in a team
2. Problem-solving skills
3. Written communication skills
4. Strong work ethic
5. Verbal communication skills
6. Leadership
7. Initiative
8. Analytical/quantitative skills
9. Flexibility/adaptability
10. Detail-oriented

7. Top 20 Skills Employers Seeking in 2019 Graduates
11. Interpersonal skills (relates well to others)
12. Technical skills related to position
13. Computer skills
14. Organizational ability
15. Strategic planning skills
16. Friendly/outgoing personality
17. Tactfulness
18. Creativity
19. Entrepreneurial skills/risk-taker
20. Fluency in a foreign language

8. This is a Win-Win The good news for grads:
No matter what you have studied in school,
whether anthropology or French or computer science,
you will have had to learn the top five skills on the list.
Susan Adams, Forbes

9. 80,574 students - 87 colleges - 5 years
Got Evidence?
CONGRUENCE STUDY
80,574 students - 87 colleges - 5 years
Success results when major matches:
Values
Interests
Personality

10. Got Evidence? VIP/major match > Academic success >
CONGRUENCE STUDY
80,574 students - 87 colleges - 5 years
Greatest success results when major matches:
Values Interests Personality
VIP/major match >
Academic success >
Personal success>
Professional success

11. It’s not about the job
Millennials will have jobs in adult working lives.
Your student may have even more.
Some have not even been invented yet.
“Students who cling to the old model of major = job,
because of influence by parents, higher education and peers,
will struggle in the new economy.
They will continue to do as trained
and will ultimately be looking for jobs that no longer exist.”

12. Medicine Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)
Of students who applied, medical schools accepted
43 % biological sciences majors
47% physical sciences majors
51% humanities majors
45% social sciences majors
“Admission committee members know that medical students can develop the essential skills of acquiring, synthesizing, applying and communicating information through a wide variety of academic disciplines.”

13. Top majors with highest law school acceptance rates:
The American Bar Association:
“The ABA does not recommend any undergraduate majors or group of courses to prepare for a legal education. Students are admitted to law school from almost every academic discipline.”
Top majors with highest law school acceptance rates:
Philosophy
Anthropology
History
English

14. Best advice from professions:
choose majors that interest and challenge you
work hard for excellent grades
develop research and writing skills
make the most of the opportunities and experiences

15. Good grades in your major
Bottom Line:
Good grades in your major
are more important
than your major.

16. Developmental Stages Matter
First-year students have a dualistic mind set
Believe there is one right answer for everything, hence only one “right” major for them.
Tend to look to others for the answer (advisor, parents, peers, and faculty) rather than draw conclusions based on their own research, personal goals, and self-reflection.
(Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010).

17. What do students need to make a good choice of major?
Self knowledge
Educational knowledge
Occupational knowledge
Decision-making knowledge
National Association of College Academic Advisors
ALL are cultivated in Exploring the Options

18. Exploring the Options
Not required, but students who complete it have higher persistence to sophomore year and graduation rates.
Combines academic advising, career education, values clarification, decision making and research skills.
Students leave with an academic plan and detailed statement of purpose.

19. Why Exploring the Options?
Accountability
Relationship with a professor who knows your student
Shared experience with other Exploratory students
Take an informed stance in current conflict over purpose of college
Articulate own beliefs and goals for college
Systematic approach teaches transferable decision and research skills
Develop an academic plan

20. Typical First Semester Course Load
Ithaca Seminar (4 credits)
Academic Writing or Quantitative Literacy Course (3)
ICC Themes Course (3 credits)
ICC or elective course (3 credits)
Discipline of interest course (3 credits)
Exploring the Options course (1 credit)

21. Integrative Core Curriculum Teaches Critical Skills for College and Careers
Read
Write
Listen
Speak
Think critically
Analyze
Synthesize

23. 120 Credits to earn a Bachelor’s Degree

24. True or False?
A student should wait to research a career choice before choosing their major
Students who explore don’t graduate on time
Asking your student if they have chosen a major yet is a good way to help speed the process

25. Better Question: What action can/did you take to explore?
Take Exploring the Options
Exploit campus resources
Go to the Majors and Minors Fair
Attend major info and Dining with the Deans sessions
Ask students and faculty about why they like their major/discipline
Go to a guest speaker in potential major or career

26. Messages to Students Exploration is work (that can be fun)
Trust the process
Doing well in major matters more than the major itself
Use ICC courses to explore
There is no wasted knowledge or experience
There is always more than one way to get where you want to go

27. Positive Actions You Can Take To Support Your Student
Support your student’s decision to explore.
Encourage a major that matches their values, interests and personality.
Reinforce the idea that exploration requires active research.
Urge a positive attitude toward the Integrative Core Curriculum
Encourage your student to exploit IC’s resources.
Remember: your student’s path belongs to your student. ☺

28. Director, Exploratory Program
Got Questions?
Elizabeth Bleicher
Director, Exploratory Program