Houghton Mifflin Co. News Release - April 4, 2005

Houghton Mifflin Announces New ‘Master Student’ Textbook To Better Prepare College Students for the Workplace

BOSTON — April 4, 2005 — Not all college graduates are prepared to enter the workforce. They may lack the communication, self-management, time management and planning skills that are essential to being an effective contributor to any organization.

To prepare these students for success, Houghton Mifflin Company announces the publication of From Master Student to Master Employee.

"Career readiness and workplace development are more important than ever. To be competitive and successful in today's job market, college students need to learn how to continuously expand their knowledge and skills, and to be able to apply these skills both on and off the job," said June Smith, president of Houghton Mifflin College Division.

Building on the success of Dave Ellis’ groundbreaking Becoming a Master Student, now in its eleventh edition, From Master Student to Master Employee helps first-year students understand how the skills they use in the classroom can be applied in the workplace and how workplace skills translate to the classroom.

The book is ideal for student success courses that focus on career preparation and, specifically, how success skills translate from school to the workplace, and from the workplace to school. Many of these student success courses are taught in community colleges and schools that offer certificate or diploma programs. There is also a growing trend in four-year colleges and universities offering a variety of student success courses.

The new text focuses on key study strategies (time management, goal setting, memory, note-taking, reading, test-taking and critical thinking) and career strategies (communicating, diversity, career planning, resume writing, interview skills and workplace readiness). It offers extensive support for students, including a web site with interactive exercises and quizzes, a CD-ROM with personal development activities for self-assessment, critical thinking and goal setting activities, and a Master Student Planner to manage time on and off campus, which includes 30 pages of helpful study tips from all of Houghton Mifflin’s student success textbooks.

A key feature of From Master Student to Master Employee is its incorporation of the foundations and core competencies outlined in a series of reports created by the U.S. Department of Labor, known as the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS). These foundations and competencies, skills most valued by employers, are developed and explained in articles, case studies and practiced through critical-thinking exercises.

Other features of the text include:

• Learning strategies for a smooth and successful transition into the world of higher education
• Exercises that invite students to make discoveries about themselves and apply new strategies to the classroom and the workplace.
• End-of-chapter case studies to help students take concepts from the book and apply them to a workplace situation right away.
• Profiles that model the qualities of successful students and employees. These include Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s, the Vermont-based ice cream manufacturer; Mike Lazaridis, co-CEO of Research In Motion and father of the Blackberry; and Ruth Handler, founding partner of Mattel/Barbie doll.
• Articles on making the transition to college from the workplace and applying new skills immediately to the work environment.
• “From the desk of...” sections that allow readers to learn about their peers’ first-hand experiences.

Career schools, community colleges, four-year colleges and universities across the country — including the University of Massachusetts, Bentley College, the University of Rhode Island, the State University of New York campuses, American University in Washington, D.C., and the campuses of the California State University system — have incorporated student success classes into their curriculum, either as part of first-year orientation or as full-credit courses.

“More and more students today perceive their college education as a vehicle for future career success. As a college professor I saw students eager to find the connection between their present (school) and their future (work and life). From Master Student to Master Employee makes that connection for students,” said Paul A. Gore, Ph.D., director of Career Transitions Research in Iowa City, Iowa, adjunct associate professor of psychology at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Illinois, and a member of the Houghton Mifflin Student Success advisory board.

Gore added, “This book is innovative in that it simultaneously promotes the development of skills that will help students succeed in school and beyond.”

Houghton Mifflin will publish a new Master Student text written specifically for student athletes. Becoming a Master Student Athlete will be available in early June.

In addition to its Master Student texts, Houghton Mifflin has College Survival Consultants that help colleges design, implement and grow student success courses. For more information, visit: http://studentsuccess.college.hmco.com.

About Houghton Mifflin
Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Company is one of the leading educational publishers in the United States, with over $1 billion in sales. Houghton Mifflin publishes textbooks, instructional technology, assessments and other educational materials for elementary and secondary schools and colleges. The Company also publishes an extensive line of reference works and award-winning fiction and nonfiction for adults and young readers. Houghton Mifflin offers computer-administered testing programs and services for the professional and certification markets. With its origins dating back to 1832, Houghton Mifflin combines its tradition of excellence with a commitment to innovation. The Company's website can be found at www.hmco.com.