Connecting Students with Co-Curricular Experiences: A Case Study from the University of Washington

Abstract

In addition to enhancing learning and persistence, co-curricular activities provide invaluable skills and experiences that contribute greatly to student growth and development. To help create a transformative co-curricular learning experience that enables students to discover their passions in life and develop the skills needed to pursue those passions, the University of Washington (UW) Strategic Planning Committee developed the Husky Experience Initiative. The UW Information Technology (UW-IT) Husky Experience Discovery Project team undertook a research project with the goal of understanding how online tools and systems can better enhance the student co-curricular experience and maximize development in the areas that the Husky Experience comprises. In this case study, we focus on three research goals: identifying current levels of student participation in co-curricular activities; comparing actual versus desired participation in co-curricular activities; and identifying the greatest-impact co-curricular activities (actual and expected) and related benefits.

The Seeking Evidence of Impact (SEI) program is intended to bring the teaching and learning community into a discussion about ways of gathering evidence of the impact of our innovations and current practices. The goal of the SEI case studies is to provide examples of successful projects evaluating the impact of innovation, technology, and best practices in teaching and learning.

In addition to the SEI case studies, you may find other ELI resources useful in addressing teaching, learning, and technology issues at your institution. To learn more, please visit the ELI Resources page.