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Hora, M.T. (2025). Teaching transferable skills using a sociocultural perspective: A guide for faculty and institutions for creating college courses that highlight disciplinary knowledge, professional norms, and habits of mind. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Excerpt: We are in a moment in the early 21st century where higher education in both the U.S. and around the world is increasingly focused on students’ post-graduate success in the labor market, or what some call “career readiness.” This focus is sparking conversations about credentials, artificial intelligence (AI), career pathways, “hot” new jobs, and whether certain skills are being taught in college – competencies popularly known as soft, non-cognitive, social-emotional,
or transferable skills (e.g., critical thinking, communication, teamwork). Increased attention to transferable skills is an immensely positive development, as students will need these competencies to not only thrive in the rapidly changing world of work, but also to properly address problems facing society such as rampant misinformation, a climate emergency, and dizzying technological advances.
But the higher education sector is not well prepared to teach students transferable skills, largely because faculty are too often not trained in how to teach and design a course, much less the more challenging task of teaching complex skills like critical thinking or teamwork. While faculty professional development (PD) is becoming more common, many focus on technique alone (e.g., active learning, inclusive pedagogy) without addressing the problem of skills development, or rely on overly brief one-time workshops on “teaching soft skills.” While some promising examples of robust skills-oriented faculty PD do exist, they are limited by the dominant discourse of skills as generic, de-contextualized “competencies” or “soft skills.” This generic perspective is most evident in influential lists such as the NACE Career Competencies or the AAC&U’s Essential Learning Outcomes (ELOs) – where complex transferable skills such as communication are unfortunately reduced to descriptors such as, “clearly and effectively exchange information, ideas, facts, and perspectives.”
Bañuelos, N., Jang-Tucci, K., & Benbow, R. J. (2022). Hispanic/Latino Student Community Cultural Wealth, social networks, and career development at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater: A report by the Networks and Cultural Assets Project (NCA). University of Wisconsin–Madison, Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions.
This report contains findings from a pilot study by the Networks and Cultural Assets Project (NCA) focused on the career development, cultural assets, and social networks of Hispanic/Latino students at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UWW), a public comprehensive university of about 11,000 undergraduates in rural southeastern Wisconsin. In partnership with UWW staff, NCA seeks to better understand student resources by drawing on the Community Cultural Wealth framework and social network analysis.
Keywords: Community Cultural Wealth, Latina/o college students, social network analysis, career development, asset-based research, cultural capital, social capital
Jang-Tucci, K., Benbow, R. J., & Bañuelos, N. (2022). Hispanic/Latino student Community Cultural Wealth, social networks, and career development at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater: A methods and data compendium to the report by the Networks and Cultural Assets Project (NCA). University of Wisconsin–Madison, Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions.
About the Study
In this methods and data compendium, we present the qualitative and quantitative methods, data characteristics, and analysis results for a pilot study gathering asset-oriented data from undergraduate
students identifying as Hispanic or Latina/o at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UWW). Our goal was to better understand these students’ local academic and career development, valued relationships, and the cultural and social assets they derive from these relationships. With guidance from local educators, the design, data collection, and analytical work of the three human subjects-trained authors was undertaken with the permission of the UWW and University of Wisconsin–Madison institutional research boards.
Keywords: Community Cultural Wealth, Latina/o college students, social network analysis, career development, asset-based research, cultural capital, social capital
Banerjee, M., & Bingen, K. (2024). A Case for Equity in Experiential Learning: Work-Based Learning as a Viable Alternative to Internships. Experiential Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 7(4 – December). Retrieved from https://journals.calstate.edu/elthe/article/view/4145
Abstract
This study presents a course model to demonstrate how students’ current work experiences can be utilized as a viable alternative to internships. While internships have been shown to enhance a student’s college experience, underserved and underrepresented students are often unable to pursue this high impact practice due to financial, socio-cultural, and institutional barriers. To address this inequity, the authors present an alternative course model to internship completion that can be just as effective. SEE’s principles of good practice for experiential learning and NACE career competencies were used as a guiding framework for developing this course. Student outcome data (n=20) is presented from a small four-year public Midwestern university that serves a disproportionately higher percentage of disadvantaged students in the state. Paired sample t-test shows that students achieved significant improvement in all eight career competencies with the most gains in leadership, career and self-development, and critical thinking. The results demonstrate that work-based learning can be an alternative to internships, allowing students to achieve career competencies. When structural barriers beyond a student’s control prevent them from participating in an internship, work-based learning can be a tool to mitigate equity concerns and level the playing field as it relates to access to internships.
Song, H. & Hora, M. T. (2024). Navigating Barriers to Access Internships: Challenges for Thwarted Interns Across Institution Types and Student Demographics. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions. University of Wisconsin–Madison, Division of Continuing Studies.
Executive Summary
This study investigates the barriers for students at 2-year and 4-year institutions to successfully pursue an internship, an experience that research indicates can have positive impacts on academic development and post-graduate career success. Given prior research suggesting that various demographic and academic attributes such as race, gender, socioeconomic status, first-generation status, and field of study may influence student experiences with various obstacles, we use a combination of descriptive analysis, heat map visualization, and logistic regression to provide new insights into the nature of college student encounters with these barriers.
As part of a partnership between Strada Education and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Research on College Transitions, the National Survey of College Internships (NSCI) was administered in the Spring of 2023 across diverse institutions in the U.S. For this analysis the study sample included 1,067 students from 2-year institutions and 1,016 students from 4-year institutions who had not taken an internship but had been interested in doing so (n=2,083) – a population that we call the “thwarted interns.” These students were asked whether nine possible barriers (e.g., heavy course load, lack of childcare) had prevented them from successfully finding and securing an internship. Descriptive analysis with heat maps and logistic regression analyses were used to illustrate and quantify the extend and distribution of these obstacles.
Song, H & Hora, M.T. (2024). A Literature Review of the Research on College Internships from 2021-2023: Focusing on Equity and Quality During the Pandemic Era. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions.
University of Wisconsin–Madison, Division of Continuing Studies.
Abstract: Internships are increasingly recognized as a critical component of higher education, offering students essential opportunities for career development and professional growth. However, persistent questions remain regarding access to internships, the structure and quality of these experiences, and the need for updated literature reviews to address recent issues in the field. This report presents a literature review of studies published between 2021 and 2023, building upon prior reviews by the Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions (CCWT). The findings highlight ongoing challenges in accessibility and racial and gender dynamics, the diverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on internship formats, and the varying outcomes of internships based on factors such as supervisor support, task relevance, and social interaction. Recommendations for future research and practice are provided to enhance the effectiveness and equity of internships.
Keywords: College Internships, Post-pandemic, Accessibility, Racial and Gender Dynamics, Virtual Internships, Labor Market Outcomes, Supervisor Support, Task Complexity
Chin, M.Y., Jeffries, J., & Thompson, M.N. (2024). The Impact of Downward Classism on Social Class Concealment Among College Students Who Are Low-Income. Journal of College Student Development 65(3), 316-320. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/csd.2024.a929245. 
Abstract: Given the privileging of white, middle-class norms in higher education, students who are low-income encounter classism in college (e.g., Cattaneo et al., 2019). Specifically, these students experience downward classism as posited by the social class worldview model (SCWM) in the form of discrimination or prejudice for deviating from the economic and sociocultural norms in their institutions (Liu et al., 2004). The model describes people’s beliefs and experiences as shaped by their economic cultures and classism. College can thus be considered a type of economic culture for students. Downward classism has been shown to negatively impact low-income students’ academic and social outcomes, including their social connectedness and perceived stigmatization (Allan et al., 2016; Nguyen & Herron, 2021).
Results from a growing body of correlational and qualitative research have illustrated the ways in which students who are poor or working class manage their social class identities in higher education. Strategies of class code-switching (e.g., altering language) and disassociation (e.g., hiding status) were commonly used by students to manage the stigma associated with their lower social class statuses as well as pressures toward upward mobility in college settings (Elkins & Hanke, 2018; Radmacher & Azmitia, 2013). Poor and working-class college students were more likely to hide or conceal their social class backgrounds when they interacted with those of higher status (Aries & Seider, 2005; Radmacher & Azmitia, 2013). These findings suggest that for low-income students, social class concealment may function as a response to maintain their social status when faced with downward classism per SCWM (Liu et al., 2004). However, concealment may exacerbate negative emotions and hinder students from gaining social support, which can reinforce their disconnection from others (Aries & Seider, 2005).
Despite the well-documented links between social class and other social identities (e.g., first-generation student status, race/ethnicity) that have critical implications for college students’ experiences (Hinz, 2016; Radmacher & Azitia, 2013), limited research has examined how students’ other identities are connected to experiences with classism. Further, existing results have yielded mixed findings. In one study at a public university, students’ financial stress, but not their social class, significantly predicted their exposure to classism. This relationship did not differ between students of color and white [End Page 316] students (Cattaneo et al., 2019). In a different study, Allan et al. (2016) found that both students’ social class and first-generation college student (FCGS) status significantly predicted more experiences with classism.
This study built upon previous research to examine the daily phenomenon of social class concealment among low-income college students attending a large public land grant university in the US and to explore how students’ identities contribute to concealment. Using data from a mixed-methods daily diary study (Chin, 2020), we tested whether students concealed their social class more frequently among interaction partners (i.e., person or people with whom students interact) with higher status (H1) and whether more effort was used to conceal their status among partners with higher status (H2). Next, we explored differences in the overall concealment frequency reported among subgroups of low-income students based on their FGCS status, race/ethnicity, transfer student status, and their own perceived social status.
Keywords: Higher Education · Low-Income Students · Classism · Financial Stress · First-Generation College Students · Academic Outcomes · Upward Mobility · Stigmatization
Fetter, A. K., & Thompson, M. N. (2023). The impact of historical loss on Native American college students’ mental health: The protective role of ethnic identity. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 70(5), 486–497. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000686 
Abstract: Culturally relevant stressors and protective factors are vital to understanding and effectively supporting Native American/Alaska Native (NA/AN) college students’ mental health and well-being. This study examined the theorized pathways among historical loss, well-being, psychological distress, and the proposed cultural buffer of ethnic identity in the indigenist stress-coping model (ISCM). Cross-sectional data were collected via online survey and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Participants were a national sample of 242 NA/AN college students. Participants were predominantly women (n = 185; 76%) and median age was 21 years. Partial support was found for the ISCM. Participants reported frequent thoughts of historical loss, which were associated with lower well-being and higher levels of psychological distress. Ethnic identity moderated the relationship between historical loss and well-being such that those with stronger ethnic identities reported a weaker relationship between historical loss and lower well-being. Results underscore the importance of culturally specific risk and protective factors in NA/AN college students’ resiliency and inform needed interventions and systemic change in higher education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Impact Statement: Native American (NA) and Alaska Native (AN) college students experience some of the most significant educational inequities in the United States but little research focuses on specific and unique pathways for resilience within this population. Evidence suggests that historical loss is a relevant stressor for NA/AN college students and having a strong ethnic identity protects students’ well-being. Creating greater educational equity requires higher education institutions to address this stressor and explicitly support students’ ethnic identities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Keywords: Native American · Alaska Native · Mental Health · Higher Education · Well-being · Historical Loss · Ethnic Identity