“The shift toward business and away from the liberal arts has been described as the new vocationalism in higher education and, based on the preferences of today’s students, it seems likely that, in the short term, this pattern will persist ( Boyer218). In the work force, I find there needs to be a blend of technical abilities alongside communication and “people skills”. That would also be considered the core curriculum, basic knowledge we learn in our first year of higher education. To be considered a vocational idea, it means studying a subject in extreme, technical detail in order for a specific career. In the case of communications, this would be using computer and writing resources. This closely relates to one of the learning outcomes of a Communications major, stating, Use current technology related to the communication field effectively and ethically.
Students are not only in college in order to get an education, but also to map out what they want their career path to be. Therefore, universities need to keep this factor in mind and create courses that are career driven. Boyer given a effortful explanation to what the enriched major is, by saying, “Therefore, what we propose, as a centerpiece of the undergraduate experience, is the enriched major. By an enriched major we mean encouraging students not only to explore a field in depth, but also to help them put their field of special study into perspective”(223). To be enriched, is to dive into a major with its implications towards the future. Setting up with what an individual wants to do with their major, not solely about getting the education itself . An example that I have pulled is from the curriculum of UNEs handbook for a communications major. You can see this example below is listed in depth about a career setting, not only about learning the fundamentals of communications. Digital media writing is a specific kind of writing for a certain career field. This class provides instruction in the fundamentals of television news writing essential to all careers in television news. The class will concentrate on writing news scripts that are accurate, clear, concise and conversational. The course will explore the world of broadcast news as students gather stories and distill them into succinct stories appropriate for television broadcast news. Students will also have an opportunity to learn how a news broadcast is prepared including the staffing that is necessary to mount a successful newscast.
