Want to Implement a New ALE?

All new ALEs must be evaluated by the ALE Council prior to implementation. Please utilize the information in the dropdown menu below to familiarize yourself with the process and requirements. Applications are accepted throughout the year, but the following priority deadlines help ensure seamless implementation:

  • Fall: September 1
  • Spring: January 15
  • Summer: May 15

Are You Continuing to Offer an Existing ALE?

Please let us know each semester by filling out the form linked below. This will ensure the Center for Educational Excellence has an accurate record of ALEs offered each semester and that the evaluation mechanism is in place so that students get credit for their participation.

Note for ALE Facilitators – Fall 2023

Please remember all final ALE evaluation data is due by Friday, December 1, 2023. Please make sure to score student submissions in Canvas by this date. This is particularly important for any students graduating this semester. ALEs with unsubmitted scores are not considered complete and students will not receive recognition for their work until scores are submitted.

General Guidelines for Offering an ALE

The requirements for an experience to count as an Applied Learning Experience set forth by the ALE Council are as follows:

  • ALE facilitators will provide a clear plan for how the experience addresses both of the ALE student learning outcomes (SLOs) and any appropriate SLOs for the ALE category.
  • Students will submit at least one written reflection that answers, at a minimum, prompts related to the two ALE SLOs.
  • ALE facilitators will utilize Canvas Outcomes to evaluation student reflection submissions.

In addition, each ALE category has specific guidelines and can include additional SLOs. For more information, refer to the category guidelines below.

ALE Category Guidelines

The ALE categories and their guidelines are outlined below. When developing an ALE, you may find overlap between the categories. The ALE facilitator can decide which category is best aligned with the experience.

Service-Learning

Service Learning is a form of collaborative experiential education which engages students in community volunteer and service activities using teaching, active learning, and reflection. Service-Learning ALEs nurture civic responsibility, caring, and community-mindedness in order to promote a commitment to public life, ethics, and critical reasoning.

Requirements:

  • Service-Learning ALEs should offer mutual benefit to university students and community partners.
  • Students cannot receive monetary or other compensation for the service performed (service must be a volunteer effort).
  • ALE supervisors should communicate clear expectations for students before the service-learning project begins.
  • Each student must submit a critical reflection in which they describe, examine, and articulate the learning that occurred as a part of the experience.

Additional Information:

  • Projects may occur through an academic course or in a co-curricular setting,
  • Supervisors are encouraged to solicit feedback from the partner/organization served to help guide future opportunities.

Scholarly/Creative Activity

Scholarly/Creative Activity ALEs involve student-centered learning, mentored by faculty, staff, and/or professionals, where students collect and analyze evidence, break complex topics or issues into parts to gain understanding, and make informed conclusions or judgements resulting in the creation of knowledge, peer-reviewed presentations, publications, etc. (The Scholarly/Creative Activity category includes work that would previously fall into the Undergraduate Research or Creative Activities ALE categories).

Requirements:

  • Students must have a faculty mentor who is responsible for actively guiding the student students in the methods of their disciplines.
  • The project or study should have the potential to contribute new information to the discipline.
  • Each student must submit a critical reflection in which they describe, examine, and articulate the learning that occurred as a part of the experience.

Additional Information:

  • Scholarly Activity ALEs may include students involved in undergraduate research (including paid research assistants and students).
  • Scholarly Activity ALEs may be sought independently or as part of a course.
  • It is recommended that students spend at least 35 hours working on the project or study.

Internship/Practicum

Internship and Practicum ALEs allow students to engage in practical work experiences to cultivate a better understanding of how their academic studies may translate into future workplaces.

Requirements:

  • ALE facilitators should communicate clear expectations for students before the experience begins.
  • Each student must submit a critical reflection in which they describe, examine, and articulate the learning that occurred as a part of the experience.
  • Internship ALEs:
    • must include a minimum cumulative total of 225 hours
    • must have at least (a) an on-site supervisor and (b) a faculty/staff member to serve as the applied learning facilitator.
    • be approved as ALEs before the work begins*
    • must not be for self-owned businesses (owned by the student seeking the Internship ALE)
  • Practicum ALEs:
    • are defined as a course with student exercises/projects involving practical experience applied to theoretical study
    • must include a minimum of 75 hours working on out-of-the-classroom experiences/projects (does not include instructional time on theoretical content)
    • require students to be enrolled in the class offering the practicum
    • require the work to be under the supervision of the course instructor or a qualified third-party client.

Leadership

Leadership is a personal journey resulting in understand and skill sets that enable students to positively and ethically influence and mobilize others. Leadership ALEs equip students with knowledge and skills to affect individuals, teams, organizations, the community, and society for the greater good.

Requirements:

  • ALE supervisors must provide leadership training and/or development to prepare students for the applied portion of the experience
  • Students should be tasked with leading a portion of the project/activity to apply leadership skills.
  • Each student must submit a critical reflection in which they describe, examine, and articulate the leading that occurred as a part of the experience.

Additional Information:

  • Projects may occur through an academic course or in a co-curricular setting (including paid positions).
  • Projects may occur internally (on-campus) or externally (beyond campus).

Cultural Enrichment

Information about cultural enrichment ALEs coming soon.

Discipline Knowledge

Information about discipline knowledge coming soon.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

All ALEs should address the following two SLOs:

  • Global Awareness: Students will describe how the applied learning experience expanded their views in order to contribute to a diverse global society.
  • Broader Impact: Students will describe how the overall experience has larger implications related to the discipline and beyond.

Facilitators may also include additional SLOs as appropriate. The dropdown menu below includes some recommendations for each category that may be helpful.

(The information below was derived from AAC&U’s VALUE rubrics).

Optional SLOs: Service-Learning

  • Demonstrate evidence of adjustment in own attitudes and beliefs because of working within and learning from diversity of communities and cultures.
  • Connect and extend knowledge from one’s own academic study to civic engagement and to one’s own participation in civic life, politics, and government.
  • Tailor communication strategies to effectively express, listen, and adapt to others to establish relationships to further civic action.
  • Demonstrate independent experience and show initiative in team leadership of complex or multiple civic engagement activities, accompanied by reflective insights or analysis about the aim and accomplishments of one’s actions.
  • Demonstrate the ability and commitment to collaboratively work across and within community contexts and structures

Optional SLOs: Scholarly/Creative Activity

  • Develop a research plan to address their question or problem
  • Collect and interpret data in an attempt to address their question or problem.
  • Articulate findings in written or oral form
  • Demonstrate awareness of the importance of ethical behavior in conducting research
  • Formulate a plan for creative activity and present their creative activity effectively
  • Apply knowledge and skills in new, authentic contexts.
  • Demonstrate new skills or increased expertise in an established area of creative activity.
  • Appreciate the significance of aesthetic products and creative activities
  • Demonstrate awareness of ethical behavior regarding intellectual and artistic property

Optional SLOs: Internship/Practicum

  • Integrate classroom learning, theory and course content with their internship experiences
  • Describe and explain work responsibilities and duties (evidence of understanding)
  • Articulate and demonstrate improvement in professional etiquette (including time management, dress code, formal versus informal protocols, etc.)
  • Articulate and demonstrate teamwork, collaboration and leadership
  • Articulate and demonstrate cultural competence in the workplace
  • Articulate the importance of work ethic and appropriate ethical behavior in the workplace at both the local and global levels
  • Articulate how the internship experiences match up with career options, interests and skills (i.e., how have experiences expanded, directed or confirmed career options, interests and skills?)

Optional SLOs: Leadership

  • Explore leadership abilities
  • Establish fundamental practices of leadership
  • Engage in the development of self-efficacy as leaders
  • Enhance interpersonal relationships which support peer-to-peer mentoring

Optional SLOs: Cultural Enrichment

  • Demonstrates knowledge of global issues, processes, trends, and systems (i.e., economic and political interdependency among nations; environmental-cultural interaction; global governance bodies)
  • Understands his/her culture in global and comparative context – that is, recognizes that his/her culture is one of many diverse cultures and that alternate perceptions and behaviors may be based in cultural differences
  • Understands how his/her intended field (academic/professional) is viewed and practiced in different cultural contexts
  • Understands intercultural communication concepts
  • Demonstrates in-depth knowledge of a single culture (other than their own)

Optional SLOs: Discipline Knowledge

Discipline Knowledge SLOs coming soon.

Critical Reflection Prompts

ALE facilitators should be intentional in the development of reflection assignment prompts in order to solicit thoughtful responses from students. Facilitators will develop their own prompts and are welcome to utilize the resources below.

Funding for ALEs

Beginning Fall 2022: The ALE funding process is being restructured to allow faculty facilitating experiential learning opportunities to seek funding. Detailed information will be available in the coming weeks.

Prior to Fall 2022: ALE funding, up to $1,500, is available for each new ALE experience to cover materials, supplies, equipment, and travel expenses related to a NEW Applied Learning Experience. Purchases using ALE funded will be made by the Center for Educational Excellence at the request of the ALE supervisor. Travel expenses using ALE funding require prior approval by the Center for Educational Excellence. All ALE funding requests must be made and expended during the semester the ALE is provided and may not exceed $1,500 per ALE. ALE funding may not be used for supplemental pay or stipends.

Need Assistance or Want to Learn More

A member of the Experiential Learning team would be happy to meet with you to walk through implementing an ALE. Please reach out to get something scheduled.

Dr. Emily McLemore – Director of Experiential Learning

Ms. Melody Smith – Experiential Learning Consultant