Transferable Skills

Throughout your education, you have been asked to research topics and write papers, engage in thought-provoking discussions, consider diverse perspectives, and a host of other challenges that have required you to use both your discipline-specific skills as well as your soft skills to show proficiency of content-related topics. These are called transferable skills. Transferable skills are skills that you develop that can betransferred and applied within your chosen career. Transferable skills are highly valuable and essential for career success.

Rasmussen College recognizes the following as the top transferable skills required by employers today:

Personal Skills	Critical Thinking	Improving thinking, including problem-solving and creativity, by applying intellectual standards such as clarity, precision, logic, and reflection.
Digital Fluency	Effectively employing and understanding digital tools to express ideas in appropriate contexts.
Information Literacy	Recognizing when information is needed and possessing the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively needed information.
Global  Skills	Ethics & Professional Responsibility	Understanding and exhibiting principles of conduct and professional behavior which impact a greater good in the world and workplace. Understanding and applying ethical and professional principles of conduct.
Communication	Displaying capability in writing, reading, and oral communication; understanding of non-verbal language.
Diversity  & Teamwork	Demonstrating awareness and empathy while working collaboratively with people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

Transferable Skills Summaries

The following transferable skills summaries will provide you with a deeper understanding of what each Transferable Skill means and how it will affect you in the future. Having an understanding of the Transferable Skill(s) you will be using will provide clarity as you complete your Capstone Portfolio. Click on each the title of each transferable skill to view the corresponding summary:

• Communication Transferable Skill Summary
• Critical Thinking Transferable Skill Summary
• Digital Fluency Transferable Skill Summary
• Diversity & Teamwork Transferable Skill Summary
• Ethics & Professional Responsibility Transferable Skill Summary
• Information Literacy Transferable Skill Summary

Transferable Skills Rubrics

For this course, you will need to assess the suitability of assignments to demonstrate your proficiency in at least three of the transferable skills by using the transferrable skill rubrics below. Click on each title to view the corresponding transferable skill rubric:

• Communication Transferable Skill Rubric
• Critical Thinking Transferable Skill Rubric
• Digital Fluency Transferable Skill Rubric
• Diversity & Teamwork Transferable Skill Rubric
• Ethics and Professional Responsibility Transferable Skill Rubric
• Information Literacy Transferable Skill Rubric

Capstone Portfolio Requirements

For this course, you will be completing an electronic portfolio showcasing your use of transferable skills from past and/or current coursework as part of an assignment for this course. As you compile these pieces, consider the skills learned and enhanced in the classes you have taken, and reflect on how your transferable skills have improved throughout your education and created value for you as an employee thus far.

You will need to select one of the assignments from the portfolio of assignments that you have collected and saved in your “Transferable Skills Course Project Collection” throughout your degree program.

There may be a few of you who have not had an opportunity to take a course yet which required you to submit a project and grading rubric to your Transferable Skills Course Project Collection. This is okay; it depends on when you started your degree program. If this applies to you, then you can submit the project for this course for your Capstone Portfolio. You should select the assignment that best showcases your mastery of at least three transferable skills. To help with this, you should review the faculty feedback and grading rubrics for your assignments. Or, submit the project or major assignment from this course if it represents proficiency in at least three transferable skills.*Remember, we want you to submit what you feel is the best representation of at least three transferable skills. If you feel that the project and/or assignments from this course strongly reflect your understanding of transferable skills, feel free to submit it in lieu of an assignment or project from one of your previous courses.

In order to successfully complete your Capstone Portfolio:

1. Review the information contained on the “Transferable Skills” page under the “Transferable Skills Portfolio Project” page for each of the six transferable skills.
2. Review the “Transferable Skills Self-Reflection” page
3. Review the information and video contained in the “Capstone Portfolio Submission Instructions” page.
4. You will be submitting your exemplary project/assignment(s) and self-reflection essay, to the Optimal Resume Portfolio (see directions on setting up your portfolio by reviewing the Optimal Resume Instructions on the “Capstone Portfolio Submission Instructions” page).

Capstone Portfolio Requirements

For this course, you will be completing an electronic portfolio showcasing your use of transferable skills from past and/or current coursework as part of an assignment for this course. As you compile these pieces, consider the skills learned and enhanced in the classes you have taken, and reflect on how your transferable skills have improved throughout your education and created value for you as an employee thus far.

You will need to select one of the assignments from the portfolio of assignments that you have collected and saved in your “Transferable Skills Course Project Collection” throughout your degree program.

There may be a few of you who have not had an opportunity to take a course yet which required you to submit a project and grading rubric to your Transferable Skills Course Project Collection. This is okay; it depends on when you started your degree program. If this applies to you, then you can submit the project for this course for your Capstone Portfolio. You should select the assignment that best showcases your mastery of at least three transferable skills. To help with this, you should review the faculty feedback and grading rubrics for your assignments. Or, submit the project or major assignment from this course if it represents proficiency in at least three transferable skills.*Remember, we want you to submit what you feel is the best representation of at least three transferable skills. If you feel that the project and/or assignments from this course strongly reflect your understanding of transferable skills, feel free to submit it in lieu of an assignment or project from one of your previous courses.

In order to successfully complete your Capstone Portfolio:

1. Review the information contained on the “Transferable Skills” page under the “Transferable Skills Portfolio Project” page for each of the six transferable skills.
2. Review the “Transferable Skills Self-Reflection” page
3. Review the information and video contained in the “Capstone Portfolio Submission Instructions” page.
4. You will be submitting your exemplary project/assignment(s) and self-reflection essay, to the Optimal Resume Portfolio (see directions on setting up your portfolio by reviewing the Optimal Resume Instructions on the “Capstone Portfolio Submission Instructions” page).

What is Self-Reflection?

“You know more of a road by having traveled it than by all the conjectures and descriptions in the world.”–William Hazlitt

You can read countless books or watch countless videos about a topic, but there is no replacement for actual experience. Even after experience, there is still learning along the way. Being able to self-reflect at the end of a project, event, experience, or class is the best way to discover what went well, how we are impacted, and what we can change to better ourselves in the future. Nottingham (1998) states it as, “Self-reflection allows one to identify strengths and limitations in specific environments and the individual personality, learning, and behavioral characteristics that influence one’s interactions with others. Other important aspects of self-reflection are the considerations of differing attitudes, beliefs, cultures, ethics, values, and life experiences”. You will be in a career that will benefit from self-reflection, which is one of the best measures to keep getting better at what you do.

You will be looking at six different transferable skills and need to show proficiency in each of those skills, which will be used in courses now and in any type of future career after graduation from Rasmussen College. These skills allow you to better work with those you engage with on a daily basis. You will be required to choose a project/assignment(s) to upload to your portfolio that demonstrates the understanding of at least three of the six transferable skills and include a self-reflection on your proficiency in each skill and how it relates to your future career.

Critical self-analysis allows professionals to identify gaps in knowledge on a subject matter, skills, and competencies. There is tremendous power in critical self-reflection. Critical self-reflection is essential to advance personally and professionally, and it is expected of you as a Rasmussen College graduate as you enter your new profession.

Directions: In module 6, you will be asked to submit a reflection on transferable skills.You will be using at least three of the six transferable skills (see below) and the exemplary project/assignment(s) that demonstrate your course work during your program to develop your self-reflection to put into your Capstone Portfolio. Refer to the Transferable Skills Rubrics and the Self-Reflection Rubric to guide your response.

Self-Reflection Questions (minimum one paragraph for each question)
1	The transferable skills* that I chose to demonstrate proficiency of for this Capstone Portfolio Project are:
2	The reason I chose this assignment as evidence that I have mastered the transferable skill(s) of __________________ is:
3	As a result of completing this assignment, I have gained the following knowledge, skills and/or attitudes regarding this transferable skill:
4	The way I am going to incorporate this transferable skill into my work in my career field is:
5	A future goal based upon this transferable skill is:

*Remember; choose a minimum of three transferable skills to demonstrate proficiency for this part of the portfolio project. It may take up to three exemplary projects/assignments to demonstrate the skills. Make sure to answer the questions above for each transferable skill you chose in your reflection.

Use the following resources for further review:

Lenburg, C.B. (ND). Promoting competence through critical self-reflection and portfolio development: The inside evaluator and the outside context.

Nottingham, J. E. (1998). – Using self-reflection for personal and professional development in student affairs. New Directions for Student Services, (84), 71-81. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.rasmussen.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=keh&AN=9182191&site=eds-live

Taylor, T. (2014). Changing Pedagogy for Modern Learners – Lessons from an Educator’s Journey of Self-Reflection. Educational Technology & Society, 17 (1), 79-88.