Carleton is introducing a new electives focus option for student degrees that will allow students to concentrate their free credits to appear on their final transcripts.
Unlike minors and majors, which are already an option for Carleton students, electives do not show up on degrees. By choosing the electives focus, university officials said they hope this will better allow students to communicate their interests and talents to employers.
The initiative was the result of recommendations given by the University Panel on the Future Direction of the BA in their final report. Janet Mantler, the chair of the Course Clusters Working group, who is heading the project, said via email they are researching and analyzing data to “determine whether such an initiative would be interesting and have relevance.”
She said they are still looking to see whether articulating certain skills, such as an ease to communicate effectively or numerical literacy, could be of significant value to employers.
Jessica Lemke, a third-year social work student at Carleton, said via email she thinks the project could help students.
“I think that something like this would be really helpful in social work,” Lemke said. She added it would be nice to see her transcript express her interest in Indigenous studies, instead of having to specify in job interviews that she took a few credits.
Since the project is still under construction, there are many questions that remain to be answered and clarified. Bryan Tobin, a Carleton communications graduate returning in the fall to do his masters, said he would like to see whether a more hands-on approach to the focus would be possible to develop other necessary skills in the field.
“It’s great to be book smart and have a degree, but it’s better to actually have the hands-on experience,” Tobin said. The group will continue their research into the initiative over the summer and will make their recommendations in the fall.
Students attended focus groups July 9 to discuss their interest in the project. Currently, the group is discussing the project with departments, university administration, and prospective employers of Carleton graduates.
Mantler said the reaction from students has been positive so far, but the future is up in the air.
“I can’t even hint yet at what we will be recommending,” Mantler said.
