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The Process

  1. We ask the students to refer to the out-of-class planning map to start planning their experiences for the future.  We encourage them to participate in activities in all four quadrants to maintain balance in their lives and pursuits.
  2. Once the student has a tentative plan, we encourage them to visit with various advisors regarding ideas for additional  out-of-class experiences.  We encourage faculty and staff to be a part of this advising process, and to become a resource for students.
  3. The students make a more formalized plan regarding when and what to participate in.
  4. The students participate in out-of-class experiences.
  5. As the students participate in experiences, they can submit these experiences for inclusion on the cocurricular record.  As a faculty/staff member mentoring a student in a particular out-of-class experience, you will be responsible to approve or verify the experience so that it can appear on the students' record.  In some cases where multiple students participate in an experience, we can do a "bulk load" where the faculty member provides information regarding the event, student information, etc., and then all of the students who participated will have that item show up on their record.  Students reflect upon the experiences they have had, and also have the opportunity to decide whether certain things they have done, and that have been entered in a "bulk load" fashion, will show up on their record or not. 
  6. Students can receive copies of their cocurricular record after they graduate, and can use it to help them apply to graduate schools, jobs, etc.

Additional ways to help students:

  • Students may come to you with questions regarding how to participate in more out-of-class experiences relative to specific disciplines or career paths.  Some students may not.  Encourage all students to participate in out-of-class experiences that will enhance their education. 
  • When students participate in out-of-class experiences, and you are the advisor for that experience, promptly enter the data if it is your responsibility to do so.  If the student enters the data and you are asked to approve it, also do this promptly so students can reflect on their experiences while they are still fresh in their minds.

The graphic below describes the process of information flow.  Hopefully it will describe for you what kinds of experiences can be included on the official record, and it gives you an idea of the reports that we can generate from the data we gather.