Reflections on Student Involvement: A Comprehensive Co-Curricular Approach

Student affairs can struggle measuring the credibility of student learning in the co-curricular and how involvement enhances the quality of students’ college education. The Texas A&M Division of Student Affairs examined the value of co-curricular experiences through a reflection project. This project, currently in its third year, provided students the opportunity to reflect on their learning in their involvement throughout the academic year.  The study, initially involving 1,000+ students from approximately 85 organizations, focused on lifelong and integrative learning.

In this session, the presenter will share project details and changes over the three different years of the study. Additionally, there will be information about the assessment methods, what was learned, and how this approach could be applied at other institutions.

Students learn through various experiences while in college, including co-curricular experiences outside the classroom. There is an increasing demand for institutions to be accountable for higher education expenditures by demonstrating their value to a quality college education. The Aggies Commit: Reflections on Student Involvement project, addresses what students learn through participation in student organizations and how this learning connects with their academic and career goals. This project seeks to document the value of participation in student organizations. Benefits can be seen in terms of added value for tuition expenditures and in the value of marketable skills after graduation.

The Division of Student Affairs at Texas A&M University wanted to explore what students learn through their involvement in student organizations, specifically understanding this from a divisional perspective. Several organization advisors utilized the idea from leadership moments to administer a reflection process with student leaders. This project, first initiated in 2012-2013, is currently in its third cycle and has involved over 1,000 students from 80+ student organizations.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will:

•    articulate the importance of documenting learning in the co-curricular;
•    evaluate reflection as a method to document learning; and
•    implement plans to facilitate reflection with students.