1. Career Bridge
  2. MyExperience
  3. Staff and Faculty
  4. Curricular Work-Integrated Learning and Experiential Learning Reporting Initiative

Curricular Work-Integrated Learning and Experiential Learning Reporting Initiative

Definitions 

Experiential Learning: Experiential education is a teaching philosophy that informs many methodologies in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people's capacity to contribute to their communities (from the Association for Experiential Education).

Work Integrated Learning (WIL): embedded in program or course design and includes 3rd party engagement e.g. Employer, Industry, or Community Partners

Course-Based Experiential Learning (CBEL): A form of academic/curricular experiential learning (EL); academic courses with an EL component embedded into the course design, often alongside other learning components, such as lectures. Does not involve 3rd party engagement.

MyExperience Transcript (MET): is an official record of a student's curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular experiential learning, verified by the University of Lethbridge. It will be used to complement your academic transcript.

 

Purpose 

In recognition of our institutional commitment to improving the student experience and access to opportunities for experiential learning, Career Bridge and the Registrar’s Office are working in collaboration on an initiative to identify work-integrated learning and curricular experiential learning opportunities across campus. 

Taking into consideration the provincial government’s emphasis on work integrated learning (WIL) as one of its accountability metrics for universities, this initiative will serve as a solution for capturing information about experiential learning that occurs within academic programs and courses, to ensure that comprehensive information is available and can be reported to the government when deemed compulsory.

 

Benefits 

The ability to report on the number and type of WIL/CBEL opportunities on our campus has benefits to both our institution and the students that we serve. This initiative could benefit ULethbridge in meeting future enrolment targets and securing funding. Our students could benefit from being able to search the timetable for courses that provide an experiential learning component, while also providing a more comprehensive picture of their curricular experiences on the MyExperience Transcript (MET). Moreover, the ability to report on the breadth of WIL opportunities across our campus could signal to employers that ULethbridge is a leader in WIL programming within North America and our students are thoroughly prepared to meet industry needs.

 

Overview

Before we can provide a comprehensive report on WIL/CBEL activity to the government or integrate such data onto the MET, we must first identify and define the variety of WIL/CBEL types (i.e. field study, service learning, entrepreneurship, etc.) taking place within courses and programs at the University of Lethbridge. Some types of WIL are already tracked within Banner (i.e. course codes for co-op, applied study, independent study; see also WIL Schedule Type Codes), while others are not (i.e. service learning). The institutional priority is to identify WIL for the purposes of government reporting, within the parameters defined by the Post-Secondary Programs branch (see Work Integrated Learning Flag – Government Reporting). However, these parameters do not fully encompass the many forms of WIL/CBEL happening across our campus. There is also a need for further identification and definition for the purposes of reporting on the full range of curricular activities across campus.

Such an undertaking will require collaboration from faculty and senior leadership to ensure we can fully capture the many types of WIL/CBEL and to ensure an institutional-wide understanding/consistency of course and program-based WIL/CBEL definitions. The proposed solution could be accomplished in the following steps:

  1. Communication to/and approval from faculty and administration (collaboration is welcome and encouraged)
  2. Identify and define WIL/CBEL types within courses and programs at the University of Lethbridge
    1. Draft definitions, based on current knowledge and information gathered from across campus and from external resources
    2. Perform past audit/inventory from course outlines and reports provided by RO (optional); process adapted from Wilfred Laurier
      1. Retroactive identification reduces faculty bias and can help inform how we define and categorize WIL/CBEL in the future
      2. Syllabus requests via VP. Academic 
        1. recognition that course outlines are the intellectual property of faculty
    3. Seek feedback, review, and approval from faculty and senior leadership
  3. Assign attribute/code in Banner for WIL and CBEL
    1. Retroactively vs. future timetable submissions
    2. Course attribute = WIL or EL
    3. Schedule Type Codes = WIL types, government reporting
  4. Import information from Banner to Orbis for inclusion on the MET
    1. Courses with assigned WIL/CBEL labels
      1. Addition of definitions
    2. Student participation
  5. Establish workflow process for identification of future courses 
    1. For example, as part of the timetable submission form

 

Proposed reporting procedure explained 

The experiential learning flags will be stored in Banner as a course attribute (EL – course-based experiential learning and WIL- work-integrated learning) in the timetable. The attribute can be attached to a course at the catalogue level if all sections of a course will continuously utilize a form of WIL/CBEL. If only some sections of a course will utilize experiential learning, the attribute will be applied to the section level.  Further identification of WIL for the purposes of government reporting will be attached as schedule type codes. A report will be provided by the Registrar’s Office to Institutional Analysis. 

This information will also be stored in Orbis (MyExperience platform) for inclusion on the MyExperience Transcript (MET) for students. A student enrolment report will be provided by the Registrar’s Office to Career Bridge (Experiential Education Advisor) after final grades and then imported into Orbis for MET inclusion.

Challenge/Opportunity: how to appropriately track CBEL that doesn’t fall into the WIL flag for government reporting and will not necessarily be tagged in Banner as a schedule type code, but should be reflected on the MET?

 

Eligibility

To add the WIL/EL attribute to a course, it should meet the following criteria:

  • Result in uLethbridge academic recognition
  • Administered or overseen by uLethbridge faculty (and an employer for WIL)
  • Provide the opportunity for students to develop one or more competencies or learning outcomes determined by the faculty member and associated with the course (included in course outline)
    • Fit into one of the following WIL or CBEL definitions (further defined on the submission form)
    • Field Experience
    • Interactive Simulation
    • Teaching Lab
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Service Learning
    • Project-Based
    • * “Other” 

 

 

WIL Attribute: WIL - This course demonstrates Work-Integrated Learning 

 

Code Explanation Description
COOPE Co-operative Education Co-operative education consists of alternating academic terms and paid work terms. Co-operative education internship models consist of several co-op work terms back-to-back. In both models, work terms provide experience in a workplace setting related to the student’s field of study. The number of required work terms varies by program; however, the time spent in work terms must be at least 30 per cent of the time spent in academic study for programs over two years in length and 25 per cent of time for programs two years and shorter in length
INTER Internship Internship consists of one discipline specific (typically full-time), supervised, structured, paid or unpaid, practice placement. Internships may occur in the middle of an academic program or after all academic coursework has been completed and prior to graduation. Internships can be of any length, but are typically 12 to 16 months long.
SERVL Service Learning Service learning integrates meaningful community service with classroom instruction and critical reflection to enrich the learning experience and strengthen communities. In practice, students work in partnership with a community-based organization to apply their disciplinary knowledge to a challenge identified by the community.
FIELP Field Placement Field placement provides students with an intensive part-time/‌short-term hands-on practical experience in a setting relevant to their subject of study. Field placements may not require supervision of a registered or licensed professional and the completed work experience hours are not required for professional certification.
CLINP Mandatory Clinical/Practicum Placement Mandatory clinical placement involves work experience under the supervision of an experienced registered or licensed professional (e.g., preceptor) in any discipline that requires practice-based work experience for professional licensure or certification. Practica are generally unpaid and, as the work is done in a supervised setting, typically students do not have their own workload/‌caseload.
APPLR​ Applied Research Students are engaged in research that occurs primarily in workplaces, includes consulting projects, design projects, community-based research projects.
ENTRE​ Entrepreneurship Allows a student to leverage resources, space, mentorship and/or funding to engage in the early stage development of business start-ups and/or to advance external ideas that address real-world needs for academic credit.
WORKE Work Experience Intersperses one or two work terms (typically full-time) into an academic program, where work terms provide experience in a workplace setting related to the student’s field of study and/or career goals.
APPRE​ Apprenticeship Apprenticeship is an agreement between a person (an apprentice) who wants to learn a skill and an employer who needs a skilled worker and who is willing to sponsor the apprentice and provide paid related practical experience under the direction of a certified journeyperson in a work environment conducive to learning the tasks, activities and functions of a skilled worker. Apprenticeship combines about 80% at-the-workplace experience with 20% technical classroom training, and depending on the trade, takes about 2-5 years to complete. Both the workplace experience and the technical training are essential components of the learning experience.

CBEL attribute: CBEL - This course demonstrates Course-Based Experiential Learning

Code Explanation Description
INISM Interactive Simulations Dynamic case study of a particular social or physical reality, in which students take on roles with well-defined responsibilities and constraints in order to reach a goal
LABEX Lab Experience First-hand experience in observation and manipulation of the materials of science to develop understanding and appreciation. Laboratory training is also frequently used to develop skills necessary for more advanced study or research. 
PBCWK Project-Based Course Work Any programmatic or instructional approach that utilizes multifaceted projects as a central organizing strategy for educating students. When engaged in project-based learning, students will typically be assigned a project or series of projects that require them to use diverse skills—such as researching, writing, interviewing, collaborating, or public speaking—to produce various work products, such as research papers, scientific studies, public-policy proposals, multimedia presentations, video documentaries, art installations, or musical and theatrical performances, for example. 
FIELE Field Experience An opportunity to apply knowledge gained in the classroom with intensive hands-on practical and supervised experience in a setting relevant to their subject of study.
PERBL Performance-Based Learning Opportunities that allow students to participate in, oversee, or facilitate artistic, dramatic, or musical performances or exhibitions.
INCUB Incubator Specially designed programs to help young start-ups innovate and grow