NSU requires undergraduate students to complete a minimum of six Experiential Education and Learning units to graduate. Juliette Kitchens, professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts, said ExEL units give students hands-on collaborative work experience in their respective fields of study. Students can assist in research with professors and get opportunities for internships.
“I think that experiential learning is crucial to a well-rounded education,” Kitchens said. “Particularly in today’s hiring market, employers don’t want to see somebody who has not had any kind of experience.”
More than 200 courses qualify for an ExEL unit, including Intro to Print Journalism, Marine Biology and Lab, Intro to Athletic Training and First-Year Experience. Other opportunities like mock trials, internships, the IN-SIGHT think tank program, SAS Alternative Break, Digressions Literary & Art Journal, Mako Media Network and studying abroad can also qualify for ExEL units.
Daisy Muddimer, junior marine biology major, attends labs, performs dissections and studies plant species as part of the ExEL units.
“These opportunities give me in-field work opportunity and experience that I know I will need in the future for any job I want to have,” Muddimer said.
Kitchens said ExEL units are beneficial for undergraduates who are building their professional resumes and learning about what they are interested in pursuing when joining the workforce.
“These units provide a number of opportunities for students to learn about their field of interest, both in the classroom and with hands-on fieldwork,” Kitchens said.
Jeffrey Hartman, director of the Office of Experiential Education and Learning & First-Year Experience, agrees.
“The benefit in general for students is their ability to apply the knowledge that you’ve gained in your courses to real-life experience,’’ Hartman said. “For example, when you get to a hospital and you have a particular situation that you need to deal with, you have the experience in your undergraduate time that prepared you for those experiences.”
Hartman said completing ExEL units allows students to see their personal growth.
“With the utilization of ExEL, students have a great advantage of getting unique work opportunities with classmates or professors that many may not get to experience. This can help narrow down students’ interests and set goals for what they want to pursue in the future,” he said.
Students also have the opportunity to turn their course into an ExEL unit as long as the course follows the appropriate process to get accepted by their respective departments.
“There is an application process, so if a college department is interested in having a course approved and receiving ExEL designation, it goes through an application process,” Hartman said.
Students can learn about the ExEL units available to them by utilizing the Center for Academic and Professional Success and meeting with an advisor.
“Taking advantage of these credits is vital for a student’s success, and credits are easy to earn,” Kitchens said.
Additionally, students can reach out to their professors to gain further insight on their graduation requirements.
“Students have come up to me and said, ‘I never would have known about this if it wasn’t for the class itself.’ This allowed them to get outside of their comfort zone and helped influence their path while enriching it,” Kitchens said.
Be the first to comment on "Importance and value of Experiential Education and Learning units"