What Makes a Course Valuable? Avoiding Worthless Courses and Majors

32 Pages Posted: 23 Jan 2017

See all articles by Hershey H. Friedman

Hershey H. Friedman

Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Frimette Kass

Brooklyn College; Journal of the CPA Practitioner

Date Written: January 20, 2017

Abstract

The perceived purpose of college education has shifted in the past century from teaching ethics/morality/values to acquiring a philosophy of life to acquiring the skills to do well in a career. Acquiring the right skills for professional success means taking the right courses. This paper attempts to answer the question as to what makes a course or major valuable. The author describes ten skills that students must acquire to achieve professional and personal success. In the knowledge economy, successful firms desperately need employees with such skills as creativity, critical thinking, and a passion for knowledge. Students without these skills may find employment but will ultimately find themselves stuck in dead-end jobs.

Keywords: Skills, 4 C’s of education, college majors, critical thinking, adaptability, collaboration, communication skills, care ethics, lifelong learning, disciplinary elitism, ethnic cheerleading

JEL Classification: C00, C10, C40, I20, L15, L21, L82, L86, M31, M37, O3

Suggested Citation

Friedman, Hershey H. and Kass, Frimette, What Makes a Course Valuable? Avoiding Worthless Courses and Majors (January 20, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2902929 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2902929

Hershey H. Friedman (Contact Author)

Brooklyn College of the City University of New York ( email )

Frimette Kass

Brooklyn College ( email )

2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11210
United States

Journal of the CPA Practitioner ( email )

22 Jericho Turnpike, Suite 110
Mineola, NY 11501
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.nccpap.org

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