Abstract:

While skills assessment, resume building and rehearsing interview scenarios are common student assignments in college career development courses, building management-level perspectives or second career selections as an alternative track for students is rare. DeVry University serves a majority student population comprised of working adults. Given this more experienced student populous who are required to take a career development course for degree completion, this demographic of student seeks career assignments geared towards leadership and promotional opportunity, rather than assignments created for entry-level employment. From an andragogical perspective, it is critical that curriculum designers consider the life-stage of the adult learner in order to increase the opportunities for critical thinking, self-reflection, and overall professional growth. The more experienced student will now have the opportunity to explore assignments designed for their mid-career professional position rather than from an entry-point perspective only.

In order to demonstrate the value of using inclusive language to support adult learning, this paper examines the course redesign of DeVry University: CARD405 Career Development. The course is a required class completed by senior level students and can be seen as a challenge to students’ motivation when course content is not directly applicable to their current career development phase. This paper focuses on the how to address a diverse student population by offering alternative assignment tracks and emphasizes the importance of inclusive language along with assignment options. This strategy enables students to explore assignments through various viewpoints, such as the lens of the hiring manager, or the leader seeking mentoring opportunities. This methodology encourages the student to take a more holistic approach to course assignment completion, content mastery and real-life application.

By examining the literature on student trends in higher education along with adult learning models, this research emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the students’ life experience as it relates to the design of the curriculum. From a theoretical foundation, this paper details how to modify course content so that students can critically examine goals for achieving life-long networking, mentoring and leadership opportunities. This study describes the course composition, the redesign process, and anticipated areas of potential assessment, ergo broadening the relevancy of a traditional college career course. Based upon the result of this study, future plans for additional course redevelopment with alternative tracks for students is plausible.

Keywords:

Andragogy, adult-learner, non-traditional student, working adult, curriculum design, life-long learning, career development.