The Employers' Perspective

Graduates today are entering a dynamic and volatile world, and Champlain's Education in Three Dimensions is preparing them to lead rich and exciting lives both personally and professionally. Our Core curriculum has been developed according to best practices in general education, and in keeping with Champlain's professional focus we also consulted a large body of research that reports what 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. Our four-year Core curriculum emphasizes critical and creative thinking, curiosity and problem-solving, the ability to evaluate a situation from multiple perspectives, effective communication, global awareness, ethical reasoning, and teamwork.

Here's some of the research that was instrumental in our decision to create an interdisciplinary, integrative Core curriculum and that continues to inform its design:

FastCompany.com article download, "The Most Important Leadership Quality for CEOs? Creativity"

Executive Summary of the American Association of Colleges & Universities' College Learning for the New Global Century (2008). See pages 10-14, entitled "Do Employers Value Liberal Education?"

AAC&U "How Should Colleges Assess and Improve Student Learning?" (2008)

AAC&U "How Should Colleges Prepare Students to Succeed in Today's Global Economy ?" (2007)

AAC&U chart indicating which essential learning outcomes employers want colleges to place more emphasis on (2006)

The value of a liberal education/liberal arts in high demand in the corporate world.

Harvard Business Review