The Employer's Perspective

Graduates today are entering a dynamic and volatile world, and Champlain College's Core Curriculum is preparing them to lead rich and exciting lives, both personally and professionally. In keeping with Champlain's professional focus, our Core has been developed according to best practices in higher education and in consultation with a large body of research that explores the specific qualities and capabilities that today's employers seek.

Employers in most fields report placing a high premium on hiring graduates who arrive on the job already in possession of "soft" skills—or power skills, as we and many others prefer to call them. Our four-year Core Curriculum emphasizes these competencies:

  • critical and creative thinking
  • curiosity and problem-solving
  • the ability to evaluate a situation from multiple perspectives
  • effective communication
  • global awareness
  • ethical reasoning
  • teamwork

Here is a brief list of just some of the research that was instrumental in our decision to create an interdisciplinary, integrative Core Curriculum—and that continues to inform its design:

Recognition of Champlain's Innovative Core Curriculum