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Microcredentialing, which often takes the form of digital badging or certificates,

lack both hard and soft skills

Schools evaluate students based on individual improvement

Thinking about solar?

Green Ray Solar this week is expected to announce UL certification for a solar panel that puts out alternating current, rather than direct current as most solar photovoltaic panels do today. AC panels can be simpler to install and wire together than traditional panels, which makes a piecemeal approach easier,

Traditionally, solar panels are tied into a device called an inverter, which converts the direct current from panels into household alternating current. Strung together, several panels produce enough voltage to run an inverter which, sized for a rooftop array, is roughly as big as a computer monitor.

Now consider that, according to the American Association of Community Colleges, about half of all freshmen and sophomores are enrolled at the nation's 1,300 two-year colleges, and many of those students transfer to four-year institutions. For a large percentage of people who earn bachelor's degrees, then, the liberal-arts portion of their education was acquired at a two-year college. Next, factor in all of the community-college students who enter the work force after earning two-year degrees or certificates, and whose only exposure to the liberal arts occurred in whatever core courses their programs required. The conclusion becomes obvious: Two-year colleges are among the country's leading providers of liberal-arts education, although they seldom get credit for that role.

Employers rank communication and analytical skills among the most important attributes they seek in new hires, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Perhaps those of us who teach those very skills at community colleges should embrace the integral role we play in preparing the nation's workers rather than rejecting the idea of work-force development as somehow beneath us.

More important, this new perspective could have a positive effect on student success. If we come to see ourselves as preparing students not just for transfer but ultimately for the work force, students may be more likely to understand the relevance of the skills that we teach them and better able to use those skills for some purpose other than just getting a passing grade.

Critical thinking has long been regarded as the essential skill for success, but it’s not enough, says Dr. Puccio. Creativity moves beyond mere synthesis and evaluation and is, he says, “the higher order skill.”

Traditional academic disciplines still matter, but as content knowledge evolves at lightning speed, educators are talking more and more about “process skills,” strategies to reframe challenges and extrapolate and transform information, and to accept and deal with ambiguity.

find some cultural norms to break,”