16D
Wednesday, Aug. 23, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
Rock, paper, scissors Study shows many students change majors
by Charles Higginson Kansan staff writer
When Mary Mechem came to KU three years ago, she planned to major in business. But after her third semester, she knew business school was not for her.
"Oh, it was very depressing," said Mechem, Wichita senior. "At that point I was very frustrated. What do I do with my life?"
Many students, like Mechem, don't start their college careers with a firm choice of major but University programs are much of their anxiety is unwarranted.
In the 1988 fall semester, more than 17 percent of the students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences declared themselves undecided. Pam Houston, assistant to the dean of liberal arts and sciences, said the class was higher because many undecided students listed another choice.
"I think it's at least twice that," Houston said.
She said many students who listed pre-professional concentrations would either change their minds or must be admitted to professional schools.
Houston said students' anxieties about indecision were based on several factors.
"Part of it's because they're 18, and their lives have been pretty well structured," she said. "They feel they should be able to make decisions."
Undecided students also feel pressure from parents and from friends who have made a choice, she said. Students' anxiety can be extreme.
"Some people think we're going to expel them if they don't choose a
major," said Joe VanZandt, coordinator of advising at the Advising Support Center, 4017 Wescoe Hall. "It's perfectly OK to be rather looser about what it is you want to major in for at least three semesters."
VanZandt said national surveys indicated that the average undergraduate changes majors twice.
He said students actually might penalize themselves by choosing too early. If they spend two years taking courses that don't apply to general education requirements and later change majors, they face starting over.
VanZandt said any major in the college could be completed in four semesters, and many could be finished in three.
Houston said that students' liberal arts undergraduate majors did not have a large impact on their eventual career choices and that the choice of a major should not be dictated by overly specific career plans.
"What they need to think about is getting a liberal arts education," she said. "I guess what I'd like to see in students is more curiosity. Do some questioning. Do some exploring. Find out what's right for them as individuals."
"I really think of higher education as a time to expand your experiences and expand your knowledge, and not time to be career-trained," she added.
VanZandt said the job market was too volatile to be used as a criterion for choice of major.
"If they're reasonably good students and educate themselves in the basic skills of reading and writing, the job market takes care of itself," he said.
"We do have students who do not seem to be able to identify any intrinsic interests," he said. "Frequently those students benefit if they leave school for a while and go out into the world."
Other campus offices also help students identify their interests. The Career Resource Center, 116 Bailey Hall, contains a library of career information and a computerized career assessment system called the System of Interactive Guidance and Information, or SIGI.
When Mechem realized she needed to find a new major, the center was her first stop. She spent two days using SIGI and eventually chose communications studies. She plans to graduate in May.
SIGI lists over 220 occupations. As students respond to questions designed to rank personal values, it selects occupations to match their values.
"They get things they've never thought of before," said Dorothy Keller, career counseling specialist. "The problem isn't that they haven't got enough choices. The problem is too many choices."
VanZandt said students who were undecided because they were good at many things often had multiple majors.
If no established major fits their interests, the College provides for special majors as an alternative, he said. Working with a major adviser and two other faculty members, the student develops an academic plan with requirements similar to those of established majors.
"it's not terribly common, but it's not rare either." VanZandt said.
Liberal arts grads in demand
by Gwendolyn Parrett Kansan staff writer
Terry Glenn, director of the University Placement Center said the center has contacts with a number of
employers interested in students with liberal arts degrees.
Although many jobs require some kind of specific training, students seeking liberal arts degrees shouldn't let that scare them. According to Allan Cox's book, "Inside Corporate America," one-third of all corporate executives prefer hiring graduates with liberal arts degrees.
Many students with professional degrees choose a career when they choose a major, but those with liberal arts degrees have a tougher time deciding what to do with the rest of their lives.
Glenn said the placement center helped students get jobs in many different fields.
"It's kind of open in terms of what the possibilities might be," he said. "We have them look at research kinds of positions. We'll have them look at sales positions. We'll have them look at training positions, and a variety of entry-level positions in different areas of the business world."
college degree.
Glenn said that some employers were very specific about wanting graduates with certain majors, such as computer science, communications and business. Others were only interested in finding someone with a
Many liberal arts graduates never try to find a career related to their majors. Philosophy majors, for example, have a difficult time finding jobs that demand their specific training.
Warner Morse, director of undergraduate studies in philosophy, said that once philosophy majors were hired, employers generally liked them because they thought logically and were less tied down to traditional ways of thinking.
"Quite a number of congressmen have philosophers on their staffs just because they're particularly good at writing clearly and logically, and thinking through their decisions," he said.