Professional Competence as an Essential Characteristic of a University Student’s Personality

The social demand of modern society requires graduates from universities with a certain level of qualifications. Such a level implies both educational background and the development of personal qualities necessary for the performance of professional activities and the adaptation to the changing conditions of the modern market economy. The paper deals with professional competence as a main measurable indicator of the educational goal at universities. The authors pursued the answers if 1) the level of professional competence and the development of student's personality are interrelated, 2) it is possible to measure personal characteristics, and 3) it is possible to improve the efficiency of the educational process by means, for instance, of situational tasks on the foreign (English) language classes, applying the interdisciplinary approach. The authors describe the techniques that allow overseeing the process of building professional competence alongside developing a student's personality, both qualitatively and quantitatively. That was supposed to test empirically due to the experiment involving the first-year lawyer-students of Ulyanovsk State University. The experiment was conducted in foreign language (English) classes, during which the students of the experimental group were offered situational tasks and exercises, cases and other elements of the situational approach. The authors define the interrelation between the notions "competence", "experience", including from the standpoint of the future employer. The article presents the alternative to professional competence (personal potential) as a teaching goal. As a result, the authors conclude that the personal component is of great importance, as it is connected with the motivational sphere of a future specialist. The research showed the efficiency of the interdisciplinary approach (including the personally professional component), thanks to which building students' professional competence takes place more effectively.