Students making the transition from highschool to university struggle with conflicting information:

1. They have good grades--even great grades--but they are warned about being unprepared
2. They discover that university is more expensive than anticipated, but they are warned about taking part-time jobs that take too much of their time
3. They see university students take six years to complete a four-year degree program
4. They are told that they must have a postsecondary education to be meaningfully employed, but they see increasing numbers of university graduates employed in positions that do not require a degree

Why is their experience at odds with what they are told? 

1. Good grades may not be enough

Research done with high school and university students and educators indicates that our learning environments are suffering from a "disengagement epidemic." Teaching more students with smaller budgets, high schools and universities must use efficient methods to acquire measures of student learning, in other words, graded tests and papers.

We are all familiar with tests that are formatted as true or false, multiple choice or fill in the blank. We have also received papers that have little constructive criticism for us to improve our writing or critical thinking skills. The result is that many high school graduates arrive at university with grades that suggest high competence. Some first courses at university, particularly large classes with similar evaluation methods to those in high school, might confirm our belief in our competence. However, the bulk of university courses consist of tests and papers that require us to analyze material, think critically and explain our thinking convincingly. These are the courses that account for sudden drops in marks and student confidence.

Many students drop out or finish the year mistakenly believing that they may not be "cut out" for university. The real problem may be disengagement: lack of connection between performance and grades, disinterest in studies that seem mismatched with the student's interests; a sense of loss, confusion and apathy that comes from feeling unprepared to meet the challenges of a long course of study with unknown outcomes.

2. University is a full-time job

University faculty members owe students an education, but they do not owe students good grades. Good grades are not simply a measure of work completed but of reflective, critical responses to course content, communicated effectively. Depending on a student's natural inclinations and abilities, good grades may come easily in the first years. For most, consistent grades require consistent effort.

Students who arrive in class with readings completed and notes taken are already engaged. They are more likely to find courses interesting and to make links between course material and their personal development. They take pride in making convincing cases for their thoughts on increasingly complex subject matter. No matter how abstract or broad their education first appears, students begin to see a pattern in their own development and begin to actively pursue their interests.

Fully engaged students need and want time to work on course material. They do not sacrifice social activities and part-time work so much as consider their studies as a full-time job. Once they have completed or planned project time for each course, they know when they can feel free to socialize or earn money without feeling they are putting their studies at risk.

3. University is an investment of time and money

Students seeking to "get by" with minimal effort to acquire a degree upon graduation may succeed in spendiing several years and tens of thousands of dollars for a piece of paper, but they have missed much of the transformative value of higher education that will make serious students changed people by the end of their undergraduate program. 

Other students consciously choose to take longer with their degrees, hoping the job market will improve or to lighten the financial burden of advanced education by working more part-time. Unfortunately, staying out of the full-time workforce longer and taking longer to earn a degree add disadvantage and expense for the graduating student. At best, the student may be no further ahead, and at worst, he or she may significantly increase education costs and the delay in finding meaningful employment.

4. University courses are not job preparation

Employers once lined up to compete for undergraduates (yes, it's true: ask an engineer or an accounting major who graduated at least twenty-five years ago). Today, some researchers estimate two university graduates for every available job requiring a degree, indicating that half of our graduates will have difficulty putting their degrees to work for an employer. This immediate job future is a disappointing outcome to graduates who are well aware of the time and expense they have invested to simply apply for these positions.

Rules of Engagement encourages students to think entrepreneurially, to use their own creativity and commitment to make their own career whether it takes them into traditional career paths or helps them forge new businesses. Students are encouraged to think about working in a traditional job as just one choice rather than the only choice they have after graduation.