I agree with many of the sentiments here already, and would add a few thoughts. We cannot prepare students for things that do not yet exist, but we should aim to prepare students with core skills that will help them navigate a changing world like critical thinking, ethical decision making, and effectively communication. We should also consider the role of experiential education in a student's academic journey. When done well, work-integrated learning becomes a part of curriculum whereby students spend time on reflection, making meaning between their coursework and lived experiences. This happens in pockets, but because of our silos it differs by college/school and among departments. We also need to see where we currently stand. Temple does not publicly share graduate outcomes, though we have this data, and this becomes a noticeable absence during peak times of ETDs and Open Houses. Our Owls are doing amazing things, and this data could help to enhance curriculum or practices when analyzed critically. Last (for now), we know our students are learning and growing through their coursework. We can aim to impart all the skills mentioned in this thread, but we also have to make sure students know how to articulate the value of their Temple degree. This might seem so basic, but we know that students can have a hard time threading their courses to skills gained without purposeful reflection. This extends to skills like resume writing - students can go their entire Temple career without engaging to create this important document that will be needed across industries Learning how to convey your skills in this specific type of document is a skill in itself that takes written communication, self-understanding, and an ability to make connections.

Temple can dismantle its silo structure to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations focused on innovation and problem-solving. Student assessment methods should encourage the development of portfolios that document one's skills, knowledge, and effort in addressing challenges encountered in one's field of study. Students should be introduced to some of the newest technologies and allowed to discover their capabilities and relevance. They should also be required to engage in at least one study abroad and/or volunteer experience.

What is the formula? As educators our challenge is become the future in our own approaches to teaching, guiding and mentoring. We have come a long way from the "yellow notes" but need to go further in preparing our students to be critical thinkers and demonstrate true adaptability and resilience in the face of a rapidly changing world.

I see many great ideas about how our educational methodologies should focus on critical thinking and problem solving. To better prepare our students, we need to support our faculty in becoming the change.

Temple won't be able to prepare students for careers that don't yet exist - however, it can give students the tools they need to learn critical thinking and probelm-solving skills. Classes should be structured to teach students how to work and think independently, whether this be more self-guided projects/research or some other form of independent education. Professors should provide clear guidelines and allow students some flexibility to develop independent critical thinking skills. It is critically important to have students engage in problem-solving to develop that skill.

You are correct! If we think of education as preparation for a vocation, the focus is on the jobs of the present, perhaps change at the margin.

More jobs and careers will require creative, collaborative, interdisciplinary professionals. Encourage interdisciplinary collaboration from the top down.

Prepare students for their careers outside of just checking the boxes of course work. My career field at Temple, music, is a key example of this. While they foster sensitive and skilled musicians, after degrees the former students flounder to find work or to even get a foot in the door to possibly start a career. In all of my years at Temple as an UG and a graduate student and now as an employee (19 years), I have only seen a very small handful of people (I can think of only 2) who have a successful music career and have not had to pivot to another career entirely outside of music after not being able to get any work. Most temple music grads end up being restaurant employees, working in real estate or insurance as Temple did not even prepare students on how to write a proper music resume or how to find work.

Move away from the rigidity of majors and allow students to form more open and customized graduation plans that span multiple disciplines and colleges. As things evolve and change dynamically, higher education should prepare students more broadly to tackle any challenge thrown at them rather than prepare them for specialized careers that may be outdated in a few years. The emphasis should be on critical thinking, experiential learning and diversity of exposure. Temple also needs to invest in academic counselors who can work with students on their research interests and suggest graduation plans that span different departments and schools.

Foster a growth mindset for students and teach them the skill of learning. Accenture has a playlist on YouTube called BrainHacks that is a great example.

Teach life change management strategies with the school of social work.

Teach how to tactically perform research in the University library. Like an onboarding class to the library.

Lean in on leveraging platforms such as LinkedIn Learning, Plural sight, and Data Camp.

Organizational Policies can be updated by engaging with consulting firms.

I think art is going to need to be more accessible across the University and I think it's going to need to expand into social media content creation. It's great Temple already has a partnership with Adobe Creative cloud!

The Career Center should continue to be a resource for students and alumni and engage with recruiters about best practices and what they're seeing.

With more interdisciplinary academic offerings across schools, colleges, and departments.

We must rethink traditional governance and processes. Remove barriers to innovation by eliminating some program accreditation and in place use industry advisory councils.
Remove traditional letter grades for courses where it makes more sense to learn from failures.

Challenge students more and have high expectations for them. The undergraduates I work with are disappointed that many of their classes feel watered-down, with overworked and underpaid adjuncts teaching them, and classmates who complain about too much reading and try to use AI to do their work. The university needs to reset academic expectations and support faculty in creative a curriculum that incorporates projects that require critical and creative thinking, presenting their work orally, and having a healthy - not dependent - relationship with tech tools.

Help faculty engage with alumni in the workforce and hire some faculty who have been in the workforce.

You will never "prepare graduates for careers that may not yet exist." You can prepare them to be good citizens and you can give them skills that will be useful no matter what comes in the future. Interdisciplinarity and critical thinking are key. Develop writing and quantitative skills. However, the challenge of climate change is not going away, so ANY career that helps to address this issue will be highly marketable, whether it be in ecology, sustainability, chemistry, law, communication, economics, etc...

A focus on transformative teaching that meets students' needs both now and in the future. This would require incentivizing educational development on teaching and learning.

Promote enrollment in classes that foster critical and dynamic thinking, especially in liberal arts departments. Especially in a world with a rapidly changing social climate, it is now more important then ever to equip students with the social awareness they will need to make informed, responsible, and sustainable choices in their careers and lives.

Interdisciplinary initiatives notably those that integrate education and the arts with math, technology and other sciences. Specialists need a shared language and to be able to understand the needs and limitations within the scope of other fields.

The wording of this question reeks of "let's use as many buzzwords as possible to convince people to let us expand GenEd and hold people back longer." The actual answer is the opposite: fewer controls and restrictions on courses to encourage faculty to think outside the box and teach the content that people actually need to learn.

I respectfully disagree. I believe that general education requirements are critically important for ensuring students are exposed to topics outside of their major. I believe that instead of lessening gen ed requirements, Temple should offer a broader variety of classes in different topic areas that cover those gen ed requirements. I believe gen eds are important for ensuring students develop interdisciplinary education; there is a chance with less regulation students may not engage in certain topics because they do not believe it to be relevant to their profession. General education requirements ensure that students are receiving a well-rounded education. I don't see any reason why an expansion of available general education classes would make graduating in four years not possible.

Agreed, and also fewer controls and restrictions on courses (e.g. static learning objectives and letter grades) to encourage students to think outside the box