Looking for a reading re what university is about, for first-year discussion

[polly_mer]

You are starting from a hard spot if you insist that the primary goal of college is something other than to get a better job and you're teaching at a non-elite place.

Accepting that many to most of your students are in college to get a better job and then focusing on how merely going through the motions instead of actually learning will not get them that good job may be a more effective path.

This response puzzles me.  What I said was that the core goals are "not only to get a better job".  I have no problem with people's desire to get a better job via a university degree.  I don't need to help them understand this goal -- they already know it.  What I want is to help them see other things as well. 

You do need to help them understand what actions in college will get them that job.  It's not the mere fact of having a college degree and it's absolutely not being able to repeat some mantra about how the liberal arts contribute to critical thinking and communication skills.

The theory of college is worthless to those who are in college to get a good job.  Much more useful:

* personal introspection on what one wants to do all day after graduation and exploring the options through job shadowing and internships.

* personal introspection on what one's own actions indicate on actual priorities versus voiced priorities.  For example, someone who is spending a lot of time organizing the club activities while neglecting classes is possibly on the wrong major and should look for a path that emphasizes organizing.  Someone who chooses project work over problem sets may be at the wrong school and perhaps should be looking at programs more aligned with their interests.

* doing basic research on how various personal skills translate to the workplace.  Many people are better off focusing on building a professional network and a wider personal network that has contacts of contacts who can recommend for non-advertised opportunities than getting the highest grades in unrelated courses.

* doing basic research on jobs available where one wants to live.  The student who wants to go back to the farm community might be better off interacting with the university extension program to learn about the singleton jobs that exist in nearly every rural county.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/a-crusade-against-terrible-advising has examples on how to do these things and why they matter.