IS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING A NECESSARY AND APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTIONAL COMPONENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION?
The current literature suggests that experiential learning is a necessary component of formal instruction in colleges and universities for several reasons. First, faculty are concerned with optimizing the chances for their students to more easily enter their chosen professions or meet their desired goals upon graduation from the college program due to decreasing job markets and increasing competition among college graduates across most all fields of study (CAEL 1990; Gettys 1990). Rosenbaum cites a mutual concern among teachers and employers about the effectiveness of preparing our future generations for the American workforce at all levels technical and professional (1992). Second, the typical college student is becoming more complex. More nontraditional learners are opting for college study, and demanding more varied modes of learning (Kerka 1989). Also, student recruitment, retention and completion rates are a major concern of most college faculty. Seibert, Hart and Sypher (1989) an
