Many of my friends are also very involved in their majors, but one major difference I picked up on was many of their beyond the classroom experiences were a part of the curriculum for their majors. For example, my friends in education and social work and nursing all had required practicums, internships, and assistantships to graduate. Students in majors that don’t require practicum experiences seek out involvement in campus organizations, research, or internships, but this does not come easily for everyone. I know quite a few students who did not get involved until later in their undergraduate experience, or who had trouble creating opportunities for themselves to be involved. They all shared the same sentiment that involving themselves would have been beneficial for their career preparedness. It can be assumed that students that had required beyond the classroom experiences and those who sought them out on their own had far greater success in continuing their education or beginning careers than those who did not. To put it simply, the more experience you have outside of the classroom, the more likely you are to be accepted to a program or hired for a position. As a studio art major, I did not have a required internship or practicum with my major. However, voluntarily choosing to involve myself in experiences like on campus jobs, peer leader positions, or taking courses that included practicum experiences was very beneficial for me, as stated in my key insights.

 

Based on my observed problem, I want to create a solution to the desire many students have for guidance in finding these opportunities and to help the entire undergraduate student population be more career ready. I propose that the university create a graduation requirement for all undergraduate students to have one semester of a beyond the classroom experience, paired with a course or advising to help them reflect on the benefits of the experience. For many students, such as those majoring in education, social work, nursing, business, or even hospitality, this is something they do already as a part of their coursework, and it would not change what they already do for their degree. However, students in majors that don’t have a similar requirement would be given the chance to find an experience in something they are interested in experiencing, whether it was like their major or just their career goals and try it out. If they enjoyed it, they could continue it past the first semester very easily.

            In order to successfully implement this solution, I propose the following plan:

1. Survey the entire senior population of undergraduate students and include the following:

   1. Download a copy of My UofSC experience record and upload it onto the survey: this would indicate their beyond the classroom involvement by year.

   2. Fill out any jobs or internships they might have that would not be on their My UofSC experience transcript.

   3. Note their majors and if the experiences were required for their degree.

   4. Ask how ready they feel for post-graduate school or careers on a scale of 1-10, with the goal being to find data that supports my claim.

2. Propose a partnership with the Center for Integrative and Experiential Learning to expand their current database of Beyond the Classroom experiences used for GLD students to be a resource for students outside of GLD as well.

   1. In addition, contact both the Leadership and Service Center and the Career Center to add any resources they have to this database to make sure it includes any opportunities that UofSC is aware of.

   2. The database would not only offer a list of all open positions but provide information on interviewing for the spots and keep the supervisors in communication with each student’s instructor or advisor.

3. Students would be paired with an advisor or take a semester long 1 credit hour course that would implement a set number of assignments meant for reflection of their experience throughout the semester participating. The opportunities could range from management positions at local businesses to peer leader positions on campus.

   1. Campus faculty and staff who participate as a “mentor” for this beyond the classroom experience would be given a paid bonus for participating, like that given to U101 or U401 instructors.

 

           After a trial semester, I would review the reflection assignments from the paired course/advising experience to hear specific thoughts on each individual student’s experiences. In addition, I would send out a survey that asks questions such as rating from strongly agree to strongly disagree that “the beyond the classroom experience helped me to feel more career ready after graduation” or “this experience has been valuable during my time as a student”. The language would be like the evaluations sent to students following their participation in certain courses. My research and trial would determine that this added requirement was successful IF students who did not already have this requirement felt the semester-long experience and class made them better at their specific skillsets and gave them opportunities post-graduation. From this trial, I hope to offer the same benefits that myself and many students gain from our beyond the classroom experiences to those who are less involved and support my key insights.