Faculty and staff at the University of Rhode Island gathered for a book club workshop centered around the book “Hacking College: Why Major Doesn’t Matter and What Really Does,” and discussed how its ideas could be applied to better support students on March 4.
Posted through the University’s Advancement of Teaching and Learning office, URI professors, advisers and campus staff discussed the book’s insights about student success, career readiness and the role of higher education in preparing students for life after college.
The book argues that skills, experiences and intentional engagement during college play a larger role in long-term career success.
Attendees discussed how the book’s ideas could be incorporated into their own roles on campus, particularly when advising students who may feel uncertain about their academic path.
The event was organized in part by Melanie Brasher, a sociology professor at URI and a faculty leader within ATL.
“One of the big things ATL does is faculty development,” Brasher said. “We help professors get better at their jobs with teaching, advising and other ways of supporting students.”
The group included staff from the career center and administrators who work closely with student advising.
“We are a mix of people,” Brasher said. “Professors, people who work in the career center, and people in administrative roles who do advising. We’re reading this book together to think about how we could implement some of these ideas here.”
Participants also had the opportunity to hear from one of the book’s authors, Ned Laff, who joined the workshop virtually to discuss the book and answer questions from attendees.
Faculty and staff asked Laff about how universities can move beyond a major-centered model of advising and help students build interdisciplinary paths that reflect their interests.
Other questions focused on how advisors can encourage students to take advantage of underused campus resources, such as mentorship opportunities, internships and experiential learning.
Attendees also discussed the practical challenges of implementing the book’s ideas within existing university structures. Some participants asked how faculty and advisors can balance institutional requirements with the book’s more flexible approach to designing a college experience.
The conversation allowed participants to reflect on how advising practices at URI could evolve to help students connect their coursework with long-term career and personal goals.
The book club builds on previous programming related to the book, including the second annual fall symposium held in the Memorial Union that introduced many faculty and staff members to its concepts.
Through conversations like the workshop, organizers Todd Dresser and Melanie Brasher hope to encourage collaboration across campus and help faculty and staff think more intentionally about how they guide students through their college experience.
