none 10.5325/jgeneeduc.70.1-2.0149 The Pennsylvania State University Press The Pennsylvania State University Press 3287 148949229 46345 2024092514073377300 10.5325 2026-04-28T10:15:28Z 2023-06-22T20:11:50Z 0 The Journal of General Education 0021-3667 1527-2060 06 2021 07 06 2023 70 1-2 Anne Ruggles Gere http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6746-6919 Jason Godfrey Marquise Griffin Kelly D. Hartwell Michael Ion Naitnaphit Limlamai Andrew Moos Andrew Appleton Pine Kathryn Van Zanen ABSTRACT In a moment when the “value” of postsecondary education has been repeatedly called into question, this study responds by identifying long-term effects of the undergraduate experience with particular attention to the general education curriculum. Specifically, it draws on 559 written responses from a wide range of alumni to identify which elements of their undergraduate education are still most salient. Of these elements, coursework emerged as most important for alumni, who cited its contributions to their development of self-understanding, interpersonal skills, career preparation, and intellectual skills such as critical thinking. Alumni also indicated that perceptions of coursework shifted with time so that courses that did not seem useful at graduation ultimately provided valuable preparation for their lives and careers. In negative accounts, alumni described a lack of guidance through curricular requirements. This study demonstrates an approach that can yield more nuanced and complex information about the general education curriculum’s long-term effects by including respondent writing as a supplement to the data gathered through closed-entry surveys. 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