Classroom goals vs Industry goals
To complete our program a student works in a team to complete a large project. If the project is completed successfully and the student did their best and completed the basic requirements but you still feel they are not quite up the indusrty standard, how should they be graded? How should you handle requests for employment recommendations from such a student?
Hi Llewellyn,
This is a question asked by many career college instructors and it goes to the heart of training students. A college is only as strong as its' product that being its' graduates. We follow the policy of recycling our students if they do not meet the industrial/business standards required for their field. In addition, they must show certain competencies in order to past state or national boards if required. We certain students we have identified certain areas in which they need additional training and expertise. They then take these course sections again until they demonstrate their abilities. We are careful to document these training needs so there is no misunderstanding by the student as to when they are going to be able to enter the job market.
As for the recommendations to employers, I have always been very careful to tell the truth about the student. I do it in a positive way but I clearly lay out the strengths the students have so the prospective employer knows what kind of employee they will be getting if they hire them. If I "burn" the employer market the word will soon get out and I won't have places to send my graduates. This is a form of quality assurance for both the employers and the students. By following this I am now in a position that if I send a student out they have the job because the employer knows I will only send them highly qualified applicants.
Gary
In my opinion, the student should be graded fairly, but perhaps extra time should be devoted to ensure that the student has had every opportunity to achieve excellence in the course. Recommendations should be honest, but fair. They should not unduly prejudice a student's chances for employment, but should not convey inaccuracies regarding the student's academic history.
Hi Todd,
Very well said. We must be accurate in our recommendations or our consumers (business and industry) will not longer look to us for their employees.
Gary
This is an area I have been struggling with. I am teaching course that is supposed to be based on a specific technology but the course description describes more of a overview of theory.
I have been working hard to show how the specific technology is used in a variety of environments but the principals of this technology can be applied using other technologies.
I have been grading on both theory and knowledge of the specific technology.
