Perspective magazine is an internal BYU-Idaho faculty publication that combines faith and teaching disciplines.
Daniel Moncayo, a member of the economic department faculty, believes that a college degree implicitly promises four things: social advancement, intellectual enlightenment, a good job and a good career.
The Perspective article, "Minimizing Regret," exposes the chasm of information missing when it comes time for new students to choose a major.
Students may be unaware of what the major entails and whether or not the career options that the major leads to have any demand for new employees.
Students attempting to navigate the path to their desired career without information about the corresponding labor market paint a picture resembling a blind man trying to win an archery contest.
Compounding this issue is an additional disconnect between the different university departments and demand in the labor market.
"I wrote the article because I believe not a whole lot of people see the problem," Moncayo said.
Moncayo suggests that the university design a course to educate students about different majors and the data on the chances that their major will lead to a career related to their field of study.
After completing the course, Moncayo intends to require students to sign a paper confirming the data provided before they choose a major.
For students picking a major, Moncayo suggests five criteria to consider.
1. Personal Growth
The major can lead to a career that helps develop one's talents, reach eternal goals and become a better person.
2. Autonomy
One has the ability to do things the way they think best, the opposite of being micromanaged.
3. Income
The career path makes enough money to enable one to be generous in their tithes and offerings.
4. Flexibility
Choose when to work to be there for family.
5. Preference
Enjoy the job. While it shouldn't be the first priority, it is important to consider.
Neal Carter, a political science department faculty member, seeks to help students by changing the grading method and culture.
"We need to encourage students to develop and to get away from the transactional mindset that I have to do a specific set of tasks to get this grade so that I can get my degree and instead saying, you're investing four years of your life so that you can change your life," Carter said.
Carter's article in Perspective lays out the research behind different grading schemes and their effects on students.
Carter has been testing alternative grading schemes in his classroom that encourage risk-taking and creativity in place of the current system that focuses on punishing mistakes.
Carter explained how research shows people's performance and enjoyment in the activity decrease once they are paid to do it.
Working for a grade works psychologically similarly to grading, according to Carter.
After students see a grade, they tend not to consider the feedback along with an assignment, the verdict has already been given.
Carter believes that moving to a pass-fail system would help shift students toward a growth mindset.
28 years. That's how long Kirk Gifford has been a faculty member in the economics department.
In his Perspective article, "The Badlands, a 525 Chain, and a Reservation," Gifford weaves together life lessons with the tale of him and his son's motorcycle journey around the Great Lakes and back.
Gifford identifies three lessons in his time at BYU-I.
1. It is going to be tough, look beyond the hard time to how good it is going to be after.
Gifford compared his trip through the Badlands, with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit, to BYU-I students in the middle of the semester needing to look forward to how good spring break will be.
2. It's OK to backtrack, start over or find an alternate way.
"In Heavenly Father's plan, things just tend to work. We may not think that, we may not see it, but it all works out," Gifford said.
Gifford recounted how his son's motorcycle needed a new chain, so they took the gamble of driving to Thunder Bay, Canada, at the very top of Lake Superior, but no luck.
They ended up having to backtrack hundreds of miles but got to enjoy a new route and eventually found the chain they needed in Minneapolis.
He equated this experience to his time as a dean when he changed his mind about policies coordinating the faculty's return to campus.
Inspired by a flock of Cedar Waxwings, birds who cannot live alone, Gifford adjusted his policy by inviting faculty to be on campus with the students, but ultimately left the choice up to them.
3. No means no.
Gifford and his son discovered a little too late that a reservation was required to drive through Rocky Mountain National Park on the U.S. highway with the highest elevation.
After being turned down by one park ranger, they found another who was willing to let them pass — at the cost of a 30-mile escort by a law enforcement ranger.
Gifford suggested a good gauge to know when one should stop asking or shouldn't ask is how one feels about asking it.
These articles represent just a small portion of the in-depth research, passion and life experience residing within BYU-I's faculty.
"I mean, look, I've been at a few universities, and this is by far the most caring group of faculty I have ever seen," Moncayo said.