Educating for Adaptability: Exploring Transferable Skills and Disciplinary Influence in Higher Education

Abstract

With increasing attention on student employability and the idea of “return-on-investment” for a college degree, universities have begun to focus on how well their students are acquiring transferable skills as a means of promoting student success. The current study attempts to explore areas of strengths and weaknesses for various majors across three dimensions of transferable skills: Speaking & Complex Discussions, Creativity & Problem Solving, and Complex Writing. Using survey data from 5,823 seniors attending 33 institutions who participated in the 2022 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement, results from Ordinary Least Squares regression models suggest several significant relationships between major field and transferable skills. Some majors are positive predictors of these three types of transferable skills, while others are negative predictors. These patterns are apparent even after controlling for a variety of other student identities and institutional characteristics. Potential reasons and educational implications for these findings are discussed.