Evaluating Professionalism in College Courses

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This post was collaboratively written by Nancy Nelson and Joel Beaupré, and revised by Jesslyn Wilkinson and Ada Sharpe

Background 

Many college educators aspire to teach, reinforce, and assess professionalism in their courses, though they may approach this objective in different ways, using different language. The grading category of ‘professionalism’ generally relates to skills and attitudes that are transferrable, non-technical, and essential to many workplaces. Separate from marks for content knowledge, professionalism marks are typically awarded to encourage and reinforce behaviours that are desirable in students, and that will also be valued when those students enter the workplace (McKeown, 2019).

Examples of professionalism can include attendance and punctuality, communication skills, organization, ethical awareness, and interpersonal skills, to name just a few. Some refer to these categories as “soft skills,” but considering how hard they can be to teach and learn, this term might be misleading.  

To encourage the formation of good habits and the demonstration of essential workplace behaviours in a course, course outlines may include ‘professionalism’ as an evaluation component. Professionalism is commonly valued at no more than 5-10% of the overall course grade. To promote objectivity and fairness in assessment, grading tools (such as rubrics or checklists) must be designed, distributed, and socialized for the purpose of evaluating professionalism.   

Defining professionalism in your course

Indicators of professionalism may look different depending on the course, program, credential, and vocational area. Such differences are important in defining what professional behaviours look like in a personal support worker as opposed to an engineer or a chef, for instance. The first step in evaluating professionalism is defining your indicators: What indicators of professionalism are you assessing in your course?

The indicators you select don’t have to be exhaustive or numerous. Keep in mind that no single course can be expected to teach, reinforce, and assess all dimensions of professionalism. Students will learn and practice professionalism across the course of a given program and continue to hone behaviours in the workplace.

Instead, when defining professionalism, select indicators that:

• Are most meaningful and manageable for the specific context of the course, taking into account level, credential, and sequencing in the program.
• Can be concretely described to students.
• Can be practiced throughout the semester so students can adjust and improve.
• If relevant, reflect professional standards as determined by accrediting or professional bodies.

A quick note: Keep in mind that Conestoga’s Evaluation of Student Learning Policy states that “Attendance is not used as an evaluation component.” When selecting the indicators by which you will evaluate professionalism (indicators that may include facets of attendance, preparedness, and punctuality in specific courses) consider the following:

• Does this indicator of professionalism provide meaningful evidence of learning and development in this specific course? What evidence does the indicator provide in terms of student learning in your course?
• Do students understand – and are they informed of – the relevance and significance of this indicator? Professionalism marks can appear arbitrary unless clearly tied to learning outcomes.
• Are the selected indicators relevant to the development of professional behaviours in your field? Or are they generally being used to encourage students to show up to class?

Table 1 includes examples of professionalism indicators and criteria that, based on an initial scan of tools already in use, are being measured by college educators.

Examples of Professionalism Categories and Criteria 

Category	Criteria
Accountability and Reliability	– Demonstrates punctuality   – Comes to class/lab/shop prepared  – Actively engages in the course   – Takes responsibility for own work, including problems or issues  – Respectfully uses college facilities, resources, and equipment for intended purpose  – Shows care and attention to detail
Ethics & Integrity	– Demonstrates respect for diversity of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, intelligence and socio-economic status  – Demonstrates awareness of ethical issues and their relevance to professional conduct
Non-verbal Communication	– Respects personal space including physical, touching, and social distancing   – Dresses in a manner appropriate to the context, which includes following professional guidelines and workplace safety expectations   – Behaves in a way that respects diversity, equity, and inclusion
Reflection, Self-improvement, and Adaptability	– Seeks appropriate help as required   – Accepts and provides constructive feedback   – Incorporates feedback to make changes in behaviour as required   – Demonstrates commitment to ongoing competency and professional growth   – Collaborates with peers in completing assigned tasks – Shows leadership as well as lets others lead
Other	– Follows other program, course or organizational rules, policies and procedures including _________________.

Translating professionalism expectations into assessment criteria

Once you feel confident with the indicators you’ve selected, it’s time to consider how you will communicate expectations to students through grading tools, whether a rubric or checklist or other tool. It’s critical that students understand what characterizes the desired professional behaviours so they have a concrete target to work toward.

An example: Professional indicators translated into descriptive criteria

In this checklist, Voorhies (2023) identifies four indicators of professionalism (what she calls “Dimensions”) for chiropractic students and elaborates on each indicator with descriptive criteria. The checklist also includes the grading scheme, so students can see how many criteria must be achieved to pass.

Timing, feedback, practice

It’s important for professionalism marks to be issued at timely intervals (2-4 times over the span of the course) so that students have opportunities to receive, reflect on, and respond to feedback related to their progress. For instance, if a student did not achieve minimally acceptable criteria in Voorhies’ sample checklist above, what feedback would they require to adjust learning strategies and perform better on subsequent assessments?

Equally, offering opportunities for students to practice desired behaviours (say, through role play, no-stakes exercises, or self-assessments) before being formally assessed can create more transparent and equitable conditions for assessing attributes and skills that are often only mastered with time and socialization within a profession.

When students are continually aware of their strengths and needs, they are better equipped to grow in the categories of professionalism over time.   

Sample Evaluation Tools 

Below are examples of evaluation tools that can be downloaded, modified, and used to grade professionalism: 

• Download Checklist-style Rubric for Professionalism in Class (DOC)
• Download Checklist-style Rubric for Professionalism in Shop or Lab (DOC)
• Download Analytic Rubric for Professionalism (DOC)

Recap of best practices   

• Choose a manageable quantity of professionalism indicators that are most meaningful to the course.
• Limit professionalism grades on any given assessment so that it does not exceed 5-10% of the total course grade.
• Provide concrete descriptions of what professionalism looks in relation to individual assessments to provide a defined target for learners. 
• Distribute grades across the semester, allowing students to adjust learning strategies in response to formative feedback. 
• Plan to provide formative feedback and practice opportunities, considering how students will practice the desired attributes before being formally assessed.

References

McKeown, D. (2019). Professionalism rubric: A tool to avoid conflating content knowledge with professional behaviors in academic assessments. College Teaching, 67(4), 252–253. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2019.1650708.

Voorhies, J. L. (2023). Assessment of professionalism in a chiropractic college: A design and implementation of a rubric. Journal of Chiropractic Education, 37, 2, pp. 162-70. https://doi.org/10.7899/JCE-22-21.