Students attend postsecondary schools for a degree, but often they leave with much more than that. For many students, college is a time to learn and grow—and this growth happens through a myriad of experiences. Yet traditionally the output of college has been focused on capturing the curricular learning on the academic transcript and degree. In a dynamic environment where students have an integrated experience where they participate in learning opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom, the academic transcript provides a limited reflection of learning.
The University of California, San Diego decided to change this. Through an extensive consultation process called the Education Initiative and the development of a Strategic Plan, UC San Diego has expanded a student’s toolbox to include a set of tools that help students highlight their learning and developing during their time.
The Engaged Learning Tools (ELTs), a suite of four tools, allow students to Discover, Capture, Review, and Share their integrated curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular experiences and outputs. The purpose: to help students reflect on and share a more robust and integrated student experience, and to graduate students capable of solving problems, learning, and innovating in a diverse and interconnected world.
Cindy Lyons, Interim University Registrar, and Kimberly Elias, ELT Coordinator, shared these tools at AACRAO's 2016 Technology & Transfer Conference in Anaheim, which include:
The Research Experience Applied Learning (REAL) Portal provides a searchable database of experiential learning opportunities, from research to global experiences to internship opportunities, within and beyond the university. Through the portal, students can filter through a broad set of opportunities and create a profile that highlights research interests and skills, which faculty and employers can then search by. Many of these experiences are then captured and highlighted on either the Enhanced Electronic Transcript, Co-Curricular Record, or Electronic Portfolio.
The Enhanced Electronic Transcript (E2T) provides embedded data into the academic transcript, by including course descriptions, instructor information, and grade distribution. When printing the E2T, students can also include their official Co-Curricular Record (CCR), which is an official validated record of involvement in opportunities beyond the classroom, and the competencies developed through those experiences. Each opportunity on the CCR has been reviewed and approved by a committee, and student’s participation is then validated by a recognized staff or faculty member upon completion. Competencies are then highlighted on the record, such as leadership, critical thinking and problem solving, and innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. By having the CCR printed with the academic transcript, UC San Diego is officially recognizing the value of the learning that happens outside of the classroom.
Students can then highlight their integrated official records, along with other achievements and deliverables, on their Electronic Portfolio (Portfolium). The online platform allows students to highlight a variety of on and off campus learning and experiences, and then share their portfolio with peers and professionals.
Putting it all together
The uniqueness and strength of UC San Diego’s Engaged Learning Tools (ELTs), is in using them together. While institutions can be quite decentralized and siloed, the student experience should not. UC San Diego’s vision is to be “a student-centered, research-focused, service-oriented public university.” The ELTs are meant to foster a seamless and integrated student experience, where students have the tools to help them discover meaningful experiential opportunities (REAL Portal), capture and review their experiences (E2T and CCR), and share the suite of experiences and competencies developed through a comprehensive platform (Portfolium).
Download handouts from the Monday 10 a.m. session here.