This post was collaboratively written by Nancy Nelson and Joel Beaupré, and revised by Jesslyn Wilkinson, Marcia Chaudet, Nasreen Sultana, 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 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

Criteria used to assess 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 criteria: What aspects of professionalism are you assessing in your course?

The criteria 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 a program and continue to hone behaviours in the workplace.

Instead, when defining professionalism, select criteria that:

• Are most meaningful and manageable for the specific context of the course, taking into account level, credential, and sequencing in the program.
  • Choose criteria that are connected to course learning outcomes, professional guidelines (as specified in the program handbook), and Essential Employability Skills.
• Are observable and can be documented for every learner.
• 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.” A few designated programs at Conestoga document attendance hours for accreditation purposes in an exception to the policy. In the majority of programs, however, attendance is not to be evaluated because Conestoga emphasizes outcomes-based learning.

When selecting criteria by which you will evaluate professionalism, consider the following:

• Do professionalism criteria provide meaningful evidence of learning and development in this specific course? What evidence do criteria provide in terms of student learning in the course?
• Do students understand – and are they informed of – the relevance and significance of professionalism criteria? Professionalism marks can appear arbitrary unless clearly tied to learning outcomes.
• Are the selected criteria 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 criteria that, based on an initial scan of tools already in use, are being measured by college educators.

Examples of Professionalism Categories and Criteria 

Translating professionalism expectations into assessment criteria

Once you feel confident with the criteria 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.

Professionalism is learned and practiced over time, so it’s important to consider how students will be socialized to professionalism criteria throughout a course and a program. You can consider how professionalism criteria will be introduced, deepened, and applied, and all levels of the program. Expectations for professionalism should be carefully calibrated to reflect the level of the course and the credential of the program.

Scaffolding Professionalism

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 standards for professionalism in a specific assessment, what feedback is required for that student to adjust learning strategies and improve 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 improve over time.   

It’s also important to note that professionalism does not need to be assessed in every course: students benefit from various but selective opportunities for professional socialization throughout a program.

Recap of best practices   

• Select only those professionalism criteria that are connected to course learning outcomes or Essential Employability Skills.
• 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 like to provide a defined target for learners. 
• Ensure professionalism criteria are observable and can be documented for every learner to minimize bias.
• Distribute grades across the semester and across assessments, allowing students to adjust learning strategies in response to formative feedback. 
• Provide scaffolded 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.