Experiential Learning Requirement Download to print

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Kent State University’s experiential learning requirement (ELR) provides students with the opportunity to initiate lifelong learning through the development and application of academic knowledge and skills in new or different settings.

Kent State recognizes that there are diverse ways to fulfill the experiential learning requirement. To accommodate such diversity, an experiential learning activity may fall into one or more of the following categories:

• Civic Engagement enables Kent State students to interact with people from diverse backgrounds; to challenge their understanding of community needs and the systems addressing those needs; and to explore ways of improving community life. The primary purpose for activities that fall into this category encompasses community involvement, awareness, learning or reflection.
• Creative/Artistic activities enable Kent State students to engage in various forms of creative expression to produce works that reflect a synthesis of knowledge and skills. These works may be original or interpretative and may be expressed though performances, portfolios, exhibits, pieces of work or other significant projects.
• Practical Experiences enable Kent State students to actively extend learning to new contexts outside the typical classroom environment. These experiences allow students to use skills and concepts related to their career path while engaging in work-like settings that are common to their field of study
• Research activities enable Kent State students to engage in systematic inquiry that contributes to the discovery or interpretation of knowledge significant to their field of study. This research can be applied, creative/artistic, descriptive, experimental, historical, inferential, observational or theoretical.
• Study abroad/Away activities enable Kent State students to be immersed in an off campus environment. These experiences contribute to a student’s understanding of culture, customs, diversity, history, language, politics, religion, society and/or traditions.

Guidelines

1. As part of the requirements for any baccalaureate, all students must satisfy the experiential learning requirement.
2. The requirement may be fulfilled by a course, a component of a course or a non-credit paid or unpaid experience. Courses may be at either the lower-or upper-division level.
3. For non-course options, students must obtain prior approval from their program faculty for the experience.
4. The requirement may be fulfilled individually or collaboratively.
5. Students must meet the learning outcomes listed below and any additional learning outcomes as defined by their program.
6. Satisfactory completion of this requirement will be determined by the faculty.
7. Experiential learning opportunities must be completed while enrolled at Kent State University.
8. These experiential learning opportunities must meet existing university regulations and guidelines (e.g., institutional review board approval for research with animals or human subjects, memoranda of affiliation/understanding with community partners).

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• Connect ideas, concepts and skills developed at the university with their applications to new and different contexts.
• Demonstrate the implementation of ideas, concepts and/or skills studied at the university in new and different contexts.
• Demonstrate how this experience has broadened their understanding of the discipline, the world of themselves as learners.
• Reflect on the meaning of the experience for their current and future learning.