Professionalism

Professionalism reflects both how individuals present themselves and how they uphold their organization’s values. Because expectations differ across fields and work settings, standards of professionalism vary from environment to environment. Elements such as punctuality, communication practices, and interpersonal skills are all commonly included in what it means to be professional in the workplace. Demonstrating professionalism is important because it builds trust, supports effective collaboration, and contributes to a positive and productive work environment.

Professionalism has often been conflated with strict rules about physical presentation and prescribed ways of speaking, but these traits should be recognized as expressions of individual culture and preference, not indicators of professionalism.

Course-Based Approaches

Here are some ways to encourage professionalism skills in your course:

Incorporate role-playing exercises into your course where students can assume the role of a person in the field and receive feedback on their knowledge, skills, and professionalism.
Model the field’s professional standards by discussing the standards explicitly and embodying them in practice.
Design your course with the workplace in mind. Write the syllabus as if it were workplace policies, present assignments like project briefs, and incorporate opportunities for self-assessment, similar to performance improvement goals.

Programmatic Approaches

Go further by encouraging professionalism at the program or department level with these ideas:

Professionalism Standards

Establish standards for professionalism within the program. Then identify explicit opportunities for learning and receiving feedback on professionalism for programs with internships, shadowing, clinicals, and other immersive learning experiences.

Course-Based Undergraduate Research

Develop Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) to enable students to prepare for a career in the field and sharpen their professional skills. The University of Arizona has developed CUREs for a variety of courses designed for students learning about their fields.

Feedback on Professionalism

Integrate professionalism-related feedback into students’ final preparation for program completion. Through NIU Career Services, students have access to Quinncia—a platform that evaluates interviews and résumés—which can be incorporated into a capstone experience.

Resources

NACE Professionalism — This list of career readiness skills from NACE provides examples of what professionalism skills look like.
Examining Professionalism Through a DEI Lens — This article from NACE emphasizes that standards of professionalism should be based on job-relevant skills rather than personal preferences. Best practices for a workplace include educating staff on cultural competence, addressing implicit biases, and embedding professional development to help individuals navigate expectations while maintaining authenticity.
Professionalism in the Workplace — In this video, Harvard’s Mignone Center for Career Services breaks down the concept of professionalism and shares strategies for demonstrating professionalism in the workplace.
Teaching Professionalism – Why, What and How — This article by SR Cruess and RL Cruess, published in Facts, Views & Vision in ObGyn, explains the importance of teaching professionalism in the healthcare field, as well as how to integrate it into educational standards.
Teaching students to become professionals: The heart of the matter — In this article by Cosette Lemelin at the University of Alberta, outlines approaches to embedding professionalism in courses, including clearly stated expectations in the syllabus and reflective assessment components.