MARIAN COLLEGE

I am writing this letter in support of Matt <omitted>'s application for admission to your graduate program. Matt is currently a senior psychology major at Marian. I knew him before he enrolled as a freshman three and a half years ago (I helped to recruit him) and I have become increasingly impressed with him as he has progressed through our program. I have been at Marian since 1972 and I can honestly say that of the approximately 200 psychology majors who have been members of our department since then, Matt has demonstrated the highest potential for success in graduate school. This is not an idle claim because 70% of our majors go to graduate school and 96% of those who pursue their graduate education on a full-time basis earn the degree they seek.

Matt's greatest strength is his ability to perform research. As a sophomore he enrolled in Computer-Assisted Research, our senior-level capstone research course. Students in this class must complete a full research project (from literature review to final manuscript) in only one semester and must present the results of their research at the meeting of the annual Mid-America Undergraduate Psychology Research Conference that is held at the University of Southern Indiana every April. Matt's presentation at this convention was, in my opinion, the best given at the conference that year. His clarity and composure during his presentation and his poise and ability to think on his feet during the question period following his presentation were truly remarkable for a sophomore. He presented two more papers at this conference in his junior year (which were even better than his sophomore paper) and he plans to present two more this year. He conducts himself very professionally at these conferences and is particularly adept at networking with students and faculty from other institutions to gain more insight into their research and share his findings with them.

One of his papers at last year's conference was a presentation of a new student evaluation of faculty form that he and several others students constructed as a research team. It is significant to note that the president of Marian invited Matt's team to present their new evaluation form to the college community at an Open College Forum last spring. They were the first students in Marian's history to present at an Open Forum and their evaluation form was overwhelmingly approved by the faculty and has been in use ever since. If the ability to perform meaningful research as a member of a cooperative group is a characteristic that is valued in your graduate program, then Matt will be as valuable to your department as he has been to ours.

Matt has taken three classes from me (General Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Readings in Psychology) and performed very well in all of them. He is a very intelligent, enthusiastic, prepared, well-spoken, and assertive student who gets the most out of his classes and gives a considerable amount of himself in return. His comments in class are always timely, to-the-point, and valuable in summarizing existing discussion or stimulating new avenues of thought. His writing is clear, concise, and cogent. He has excellent computer skills and is minoring in Computer Applications. He is a self-starter who is capable of carrying out academic tasks with little or no supervision. One of his special skills is his ability to integrate information from a variety of sources to produce novel, realistic, and creative interpretations and conclusions. His performance in my Readings in Psychology course was exceptionally high and he attained the goals of this course (see attached syllabus) with flying colors. He is very ready for the rigors of the graduate classroom.

One of Matt's cardinal traits is a deep-rooted sense of ethical and moral responsibility. We have had many conversations about the ethical climate of Marian College and a tangible result of these interactions has been a cooperative research effort that deals with the issue of academic integrity. One of the papers that he read at last year's research conference--entitled "Factors that Affect Academic Honesty"--investigated the prevalence of the types of academically dishonest behavior (e.g., cheating and plagiarism) on our campus and the factors that promote and prevent them. Matt and I have been invited by the President to present these findings at an upcoming Open College Forum and the Academic Dean has requested that we co-author a code of academic integrity for inclusion in the next issue of the college catalog.

Success in graduate school is a function of many variables including intelligence, motivation, and personal characteristics. This third factor is often overlooked, either intentionally or unintentionally, by the authors of letters of recommendation. Matt is an extremely well-rounded, relaxed, likeable, confident, and genuinely pleasant person. He is at ease with others and does his best to make others feel at ease. He accepts responsibility in a mature and capable manner (e.g., he has recently accepted the position of president of our student government after the current president resigned). He seeks out and performs difficult tasks competently and without complaint, is always willing to come to the assistance of others, has a well-developed sense of propriety, and has more friends than any other student I know. In short, he is the type of person who can make you feel better about yourself simply because you know him.

In conclusion, I recommend Matt to you without the slightest hesitation. He is exactly the type of undergraduate student I would accept into a graduate program if I was in the position to do so. He has unlimited potential as a psychologist and will represent the profession with honor in the coming years.

MARIAN COLLEGE

I am writing this letter in support of Julie <omitted>'s application for the 1998-99 Indiana Personnel Association Scholarship. I have known Julie since she entered Marian as a freshman three years ago when I played a role in recruiting her. Since that time I have come to know her very well as a teacher in three of her classes and through numerous academic and extracurricular interactions. It is my sincere belief that she is eminently qualified for and deserving of the distinction of your scholarship. I say this because she has demonstrated to me that she possesses extraordinarily high levels of academic ability, motivation, and potential for contributions to human resource management.

Julie earned a grade of "A" in each of the three classes that she has taken from me (i.e., General Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and History and Systems of Psychology). It is significant to note that the criterion for an "A" in all three of these classes is the attainment of 95% of the total possible points. General Psychology is an extremely rigorous class, and only approximately 3-4% of its students receive "A" grades. Her performance in History and Systems was even more remarkable. She received perfect scores on nine of the ten tests and earned 100 out of a possible of 100 on her term paper. Her current accumulated GPA is 3.89 (on a 4.0 scale) and her GPA in psychology classes is 4.0. She has received no grade lower than an "A" since her freshman year. She is a member of the Honors Program and will graduate "with Honors" next year. This level of academic performance indicates an extremely firm grasp of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a liberally educated person and is a strong predictor of future success. Her plans definitely involve graduate school, and she and I are currently investigating the options in this area.

One of Julie's strongest assets is her ability to analyze, integrate, and synthesize information from a variety of sources and to bring this information to bear on an important topic. The term paper ("The History of Industrial Psychology and the Misuse of the Job Applicant Interview") that she wrote in my History and Systems class is a good example of this, and I have enclosed a copy as an addendum to this letter. Students in this class must write papers that accomplish the following three objectives: (a) trace the history of a particular area of psychology in which the student has an academic or occupational interest, (b) explain a controversial issue that exists within this area, and (c) defend a particular point of view that is part of this controversial issue. Julie's paper was by far the best in the class, not only because of the precision and clarity of her writing style and organization, but also because of the thoroughness with which she researched her topic (i.e., she cited 32 references although the assignment required only 10). Her paper is the perfect beginning to a research project in human resource management that she plans to undertake next year in a class entitled Computer-Assisted Research. This class requires the completion of an empirical research project with the aid of microcomputer applications at each stage of its development (i.e., bibliographic search, statistical analysis, graphics production, and word processing). The final requirement of this course is the presentation of the finished paper at the annual Mid-America Undergraduate Research Conference. Julie attended the conference this year to observe the presentations so that she could know exactly what is expected next year when she is a presenter. I have absolutely no doubt that she will produce a research project that reflects very positively on herself, our department, and Marian College.

Julie is a wonderful example of a student who is a strong but unobtrusive source of leadership in the Psychology Department. She is held in high esteem by both her peers and her teachers. Both groups are aware that she is a young woman of considerable intelligence and motivation who is willing to contribute her skills to group efforts in a quietly effective manner. She has been an active and contributing member of both the Psychology Club and Psi Chi (the national honor society in psychology) for the past three years and will hold the office of Secretary/Treasurer of the Psychology Club during her senior year. The club will benefit from her leadership. There is no doubt in my mind that she will continue to contribute her significant interpersonal and leadership skills to the field of human resource management.

In summary, I recommend Julie to you without the slightest hesitation. She is the type of young person to whom I would award a scholarship such as yours if I was in the position to do so.

MARIAN COLLEGE

It is with pleasure that I write a letter of recommendation for Jennifer <omitted>. I have known Jennifer since she entered Marian College as a freshman three and one half years ago. Since that time, I have known her as a student in two of my classes and as her department chairman. Jennifer has always impressed me with her serious enthusiasm. At first glance, this combination may seem contradictory but, in fact, it is not. I first met Jennifer as a student in my introductory psychology class. She impressed me as a very earnest (i.e., serious) student, who became steadily more excited about (i.e., enthusiastic) psychology as the semester progressed. I was very pleased when she approached me to sign her intent form to become a psychology major. Since then, I have watched her use her seriousness and enthusiasm to develop into a successful psychology major, who possesses a strong knowledge base in psychology and a growing set of psychological skills (e.g., research, psychometric, and clinical).

The most recent class Jennifer has taken from me is our Senior Seminar in Psychology, and her performance in the class was excellent. She wrote two strong papers on the topics of conflict and substance abuse, collaborated with three of her classmates on a skillfully written "book chapter," participated actively and constructively in two lengthy groups discussions, and presented a carefully prepared and professionally delivered formal presentation to the class. These accomplishments are due to three important characteristics that have made Jennifer a successful student: Her strong work ethic, her ability to interact successfully with others, and her attention to detail. The excellence of her papers was due to her willingness to devote a considerable amount of time and effort to the process of revising and polishing her work until it was to her and my satisfaction. Her strong performance during the collaborative tasks (i.e., the discussions and the book chapter) was due to her ability to interact successfully with a wide variety of people in a productive manner and her willingness to prepare herself for challenging tasks. Her strong performance during her formal presentation was a result of the facts that she knew her subject well and that she prepared rigorously.

In summary, I recommend Jennifer to you without reservation. If you are seeking an employee who has exhibited the following skills and characteristics during her undergraduate career, then I suggest you give her your full consideration.

PUTTING YOUR PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR SKILLS TO WORK

Marian College students often overlook the relevance of their liberal arts education to the world of work. While Marian's primary purpose is to provide its students with a well-rounded education?rather than training them for one specific job?many of the skills developed in the classroom have direct bearing on success in the workplace. Throughout their years at Marian, students are required to develop and refine their writing, speaking, and research skills. These skills are fundamental to career success. Part of what distinguishes a liberal arts education is its breadth of exposure to different disciplines. Students must learn to write and speak clearly about and conduct scholarly research on topics outside their majors. The ability to adapt to different environments, to understand viewpoints different from their own, and to comprehend unfamiliar information is important in many careers and essential to job advancement (e.g., promotions and raises). Another advantage of Marian's liberal arts education is that, because classes are small, students are often assigned projects requiring them to develop and improve their writing, speaking, and research skills. Your peers at larger institutions seldom have the opportunity to give in-class presentations or to receive comments about the style and content of their writing assignments. Marian's smaller classes allow students to take essay exams?not just computer-scored tests?that develop their ability to formulate arguments and support them with evidence. Marian students often underestimate the value of their education and their opportunities to develop job-related skills and, because of this, they are also often unable to sell their skills to potential employers. To become aware of the skills you are developing, reflect on the assignments you have completed in your classes and use the following lists to compare what you are acquiring with what will be expected of you in your future job.

THE SKILLFUL PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR: THE BRITISH PERSPECTIVE

Many psychology graduates fail to do justice to themselves on application forms and in interviews because they freeze up when they come to the dreaded question of "What do you have to offer us?" They tend to have difficulty verbalizing the skills they have acquired, and also fail to recognize that graduates from other disciplines may not have acquired these skills. Psychology does not merely equip students for the psychological professions; it also provides a very sound background for many other careers. Listed below are some of the skills which typical psychology majors will have acquired during their undergraduate education. None of these skills is unique to psychology, but not many disciplines can offer such a comprehensive list. How often, for instance, do you find college graduates who are simultaneously literate, numerate, computer-literate, and good problem solvers?

LITERACY: The ability to write both succinct reports and more lengthy analyses. Psychology graduates are accustomed to writing essays and papers, which allow them to explore issues in detail, but they also become familiar with the techniques of concise writing within a pre-set format, as they write up their practical reports. The ability to produce a concise report is often cited by managers as a skill they would like their management trainees to have.

NUMERACY: The ability to handle and interpret statistical information. Few jobs require mathematical whiz-kids, but psychology graduates are good at drawing the implications out of data summaries and probability statements.

COMPUTER LITERACY: The ability to use a computer package, whether word processing or statistics, and the ability to learn to use new ones. The ability to program is rarely required and most organizations accept that their own systems are likely to be new. But most psychology graduates are familiar with the basic use of computer packages by the time they graduate.

INTERPERSONAL AWARENESS: Knowledge of the mechanisms of social communication and the potential sources of interpersonal conflict. This is not the same as being socially skilled oneself (although it contributes), but does make a difference in understanding and dealing with interpersonal problems when they arise in the workplace. And most psychology graduates are familiar with this type of knowledge.

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS: Knowing how environments, organizations, etc., can directly influence people's understanding and behavior. Very few psychology graduates are unaware of the importance of environment, and yet many non-psychologists do not notice environmental factors.

PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS: The ability to identify different strategies and approaches to solving problems. This may be on a macro-level, in applying totally different perspectives or levels of analysis to the problem, or at a more basic level in terms of choosing appropriate methods to deal with it. It is a valuable skill in the organizational world, and one which psychology graduates are strikingly good at. They are trained from the very first lab class.

INFORMATION-FINDING SKILLS: Knowing how to go about looking for information on a particular topic or general area. Not a skill needed for every job, but useful in many of them nonetheless.

CRITICAL EVALUATION: The ability to appraise information and situations realistically, and to anticipate problems or difficulties. This is an essential managerial, and is one in which psychology graduates are directly trained.

RESEARCH SKILLS: Knowing how to go about gathering systematic information about human experience or behavior. We train students in a number of different methods - at the least, observational, experimental and case study techniques. Such awareness of methodology is useful to any number of different professions, some obvious ones being marketing and health education.

MEASUREMENT SKILLS: Knowing how to go about designing questionnaires and developing other measurement tools. Psychology graduates acquire these skills again normally as part of their methodology course. But they are not easy skills to acquire and not many graduates understand the underlying principles of them as thoroughly as does a typical psychology graduate.

PERSPECTIVES: The ability to look at issues from several different points of view. Although this is a skill in which psychology graduates are directly trained, they often do not realize that they have acquired it. But it is a valuable one for an employer.

HIGHER-ORDER ANALYSIS: The ability to extract general principles from immediate or concrete situations. Psychology graduates tend to be better than most people at spotting recurrent patterns or similarities between situations, and at looking at issues in terms of their underlying principles rather than becoming bogged down with the details of the immediate situation.

PRAGMATISM: The ability to make the best of a non-ideal situation, and to get on with working within pre-set constraints. It does not take much exposure to psychological methodology for psychology students to realize that the perfect experiment is going to be elusive and they will simply have to get on with doing it as well as possible anyway! As graduates, this gives them a strongly practical element which is valuable in many forms of work.

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