CLARION – Whether it’s working as a reporter for the Clarion Call, assisting with the American Cancer Society, or volunteer service with a local youth group, it can now be part of your “permanent” record if you are a Clarion University student.
An innovative Co-Curricular Tran scri pt (CCT) program launched at Clarion gives new graduates the opportunity of giving potential employers and official record of the their work beyond the classroom and still part of their learning experience.
“This is a great idea for anyone planning further education or looking for a job,” said Aaron Fitzpatrick, a senior secondary education/English major from DuBois, Pa. “I think grades only show one side of your experience. CCT validates and verifies my activities and will provide a true representation of my experiences at Clarion.”
Fitzpatrick has been active in many ways at Clarion from organizations such as the Clarion Young Democrats and the Political Science Association to being a member of the homecoming court and participating in the Mr. CUP competition. He has served in leadership roles in some of his activities.
“I believe membership is underrated; leadership is recognized but membership is not recognized for the many positive things completed,” he evaluated. “The CCT will benefit those who show great leadership and volunteerism.”
Similar to an academic tran scri pt, CCT documents a student’s co-curricular performance in various activities that are also vital to the learning experience.
“We think we’re offering something truly unique for our graduates,” said Dr. Shelley Karp, associate vice president of academic affairs. “The CCT and Activities Clearinghouse is one of the few programs nationally where the registrar’s office provides the official form just like they would provide an academic tran scri pt.”
The program recognizes career experience, citizenship, leadership, personal growth, and volunteerism. Recognized activities are verified by a supervisor and then placed onto an official CCT which identifies the activity and where it was performed.
CCT categories include:
•Career Experience – activities through which students gain first-hand experience with a career;
•Citizenship – activities through which students develop a heightened sense of civic responsibility;
• Leadership – activities through which students develop their knowledge about leadership and practice leadership skills;
• Personal growth – activities that expand students’ horizons culturally, emotionally, intellectually, physically, socially, or spiritually to help them become well-rounded individuals; and
•Volunteerism – activities through which students serve others with their time, resources or skills, without expectation of financial compensation.
Students also write a 150-word professional statement, which is reproduced at the end of the CCT. Students are encouraged to work with a faculty member or other professional on campus to create their professional statement, which discusses how their co-curricular experiences have contributed to their professional growth. The statement may be modified until the time of graduation when the CCT is officially closed.
The CCT can be printed in unofficial format by the student or in an official format by the registrar following an official request. The CCT is printed on security paper, bears the university seal, and is signed by the provost, representing academic affairs, and the vice president for student and university affairs, representing the division of student and university affairs.
Tran scri pt latest transition
CCT and Activities Clearinghouse is the latest addition to the Clarion Transitions program and will be available to all students during the Spring 2008 semester, with a special emphasis to be placed on those students who will be sophomores in Fall 2008.
Clarion Transitions is the result of continuous external research and local discussion and data gathering involving the entire university community – students, staff, and faculty. Programming started with the summer of 2002 and continues to expand until it will serve students from their first day on campus through graduation and beyond.
The project took nearly two years to complete. The process involved Clarion University administrators and faculty along with Clarion University alumni. The initial focus will be on sophomores, but all Clarion University students will have access to CCT and will be encouraged to use it for all four years of college.
“The amount of hours involved in implementing this program was immense,” said Jeff Waple, Transitions co-chair. “Half of our working week for the past year and one-half was spent on this project.”
Karp explained that several hurdles had to be overcome before the program could be implemented.
“A major challenge was that this could not be produced in house,” she said. “We needed top notch programmers and hired Samaritan Technologies Inc., to establish the site. We also needed to bridge the communication barriers that existed when we tried to teach Samaritan Technologies about the way that a university works.”
This is where Joseph Croskey, coordinator of Transitions services, took over. He explained the university environment to Samaritan and accelerated the development of the user end. He is also the intermediary with the department chairs. Diana Brush, associate director of Career Services, is the intermediary with the volunteer agencies that provide career experience activities for Clarion students. Shawn Hoke, associate director of Campus Life is the intermediary for Recognized Student Organizations.
Keeping track of activities
Croskey will also be the liaison with the students as they create a CCT. This will be completed on-line at the “My Activities” portion of Clarion University’s homepage.
“The process is similar to updating an online profile, which many students have done before,” said Croskey. “Students are already familiar with internet databases similar to this, such as Facebook and My Space. Through their own efforts they can benefit from what they are already doing and have their activities tran scri pted so that these activities help them in the future.”
CCT and Activities Clearinghouse originated from a series of 2004 roundtables and focus groups for faculty, staff, and students. They determined that the highest retention priority for sophomores was creating a career experiences to include job shadowing, field experiences, volunteer work, and other experiences that help students develop transferable skills and attitudes and that provide students with experiences related to a chosen career.
Dr. Marite Haynes and Diana Brush, members of the Transitions team, explored the recommendation and determined that Clarion University sponsors hundreds of career experiences through Recognized Student Organizations, mandated co-curricular activities related to class assignments or degree requirements, and affiliations with more than 100 external agencies for whom Clarion’s students provide volunteer and paid services. The goal became letting the students know that these opportunities exist and get them to participate.
Planning for Clarion Transitions began in 1999 and was implemented in 2002 with a goal of helping students stay in college and develop permanent ties with Clarion University through co-curricular programming and activities. Retention rates for students who complete the Transitions Orientation and Exploration programs have been shown to be higher than retention rates for students who do not complete Transitions programs.
Click here for more information about the program.