LEAP for Students
Through the Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) initiative, AAC&U is helping students, their parents, policymakers, and others understand what really matters in college—the kinds of learning that will truly empower college students to succeed and make a difference in the twenty-first century. Launched in 2005, LEAP is organized around a robust set of essential learning outcomes designed to help all college students prepare to succeed in a challenging world. LEAP also seeks to shine a spotlight on the ways in which colleges and universities are developing high-impact educational practices designed to provide these outcomes to all of today’s students. LEAP recommends that all college students, regardless of their chosen field or major, achieve the outcomes of a liberal education.
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What Really Matters in College? |
In the twenty-first century, the world itself is setting very high expectations for knowledge and skill. The ground is shifting for everyone in virtually all important spheres of life—whether economic, global, cross-cultural, environmental, civic. The world in which you will live is one of disruption rather than certainty, of interdependence rather than insularity. This is why it is important that you get the most out of college and learn broad set of skills and capacities so you can deal with change.
What really matters in college are the things you will learn and how well you apply what you learn. |
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What Major Should I Choose? |
Your specific choice of “major” matters far less than the knowledge and skills you gain through all your studies and experiences in college. In terms of jobs, employers don’t hire “majors.” They hire individuals with potential to succeed over the long term and add value to their companies or organizations.
The good news is that you can get a liberal education—and all the good things that come with it—whatever your major. You do not have to choose either the liberal arts or career preparation. Colleges and universities are developing programs and practices that are spread across the entire educational experience. Make sure your advisors know what you want. It is up to you to raise the subject—and ask the right questions.
More on Undergraduate Majors |
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Why Do I Have to Take This Course? |
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This guide is intended to take some of the mystery out of curricular requirements and educate students about what really matters in college -- the broad learning outcomes developed over the entire course of their undergraduate years. The ideas presented represent a consensus of contemporary thinking about the purposes of undergraduate education.
Read an excerpt |
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What Will I Learn in College? What You Need To Know Now To Get Ready for College Success |
| This is a guide to college learning designed for the college-bound high school student. The guide also features Advice from Campus - candid recommendations from contemporary college students about how to prepare for college success.
Read an excerpt
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What Are Employers Saying? |
"My company lives and dies on our ability to innovate and to create the new products and processes that give us an edge in this very competitive global economy. ESCO needs people who have both a command of certain specific skills and robust problem-solving and communication skills. " — Steven Pratt, CEO, ESCO Corp. and Chair of the Oregon Business Council
More Employer Perspectives
Top Ten Things Employers Look for in New College Graduates
Advice for Parents |
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What Are Students Saying? |
The Editorial Board of the Stanford Daily wrote an editorial titled, "The Value of a Liberal Education." The board notes, " But the fact that college education is becoming increasingly specialized further warrants liberal education requirements. We are entering a workforce and society where having knowledge in just one field will not suffice.... And in an increasingly technology-dependent world, it is important that those majoring in the humanities and social sciences have college-level exposure to math, science and engineering if their major does not already require it."
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What Is a Liberal Education? And Why Is It Important to My Future? |
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This brochure serves as an introduction to what a liberal education is—and why it is important to all college students. It is based on research findings from the LEAP initiative and was developed with input from leading employers, recent graduates, economists, and students. This brochure provides a contemporary definition of the term “liberal education,” the most important outcomes of college, and perspectives from recent graduates and employers. It also provides a set of questions designed to help students construct a purposeful pathway through college. Ideal for use in first-year and transfer student orientation, first-year seminars, academic advising, admissions, and career counseling.
This brochure is available for bulk purchase only in increments of 500 copies (1 box). Purchase the brochure online. |
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