Experiential Learning (EL) Exception Policies

Effective Summer 2020 for AY 20/21 only, but renewal will be considered in SQ21.

Rationale: 

To provide flexibility for students to fulfill the Liberal Studies EL requirement in an environment where opportunities for internships, service learning, paid work, and study abroad are significantly diminished. (This policy is derived from the military exception that the LSP office developed in 2016 as a by-request option for veterans who wish to use their military service to fulfill EL.)

Liberal Studies Credit Hours: 

If approved, the student's EL Portfolio fulfills the EL requirement on the DPR but earns no credit hours. Instead, the student can apply 4 credit hours to an additional Liberal Studies domain course not otherwise required by their program.

Student Eligibility: 

Students must have 132 earned credit hours at the time of portfolio submission. 

Forms of Eligible Experience: 

Paid or unpaid internships (in-person or remote), military service, living or working abroad, work or volunteer service at non-profits, extensive co-curricular work or leadership, service immersion, and entrepreneurial activities. Generally, the experience to be documented should have taken place within the last two years and NOT be associated with a credit-bearing class at DePaul or in High School (dual-credit).

The Experience Portfolio has two elements:

1.  A well-written, proofread, reflective essay of 2000-2500 words describing the experience.

  In dialogue with the learning outcomes of EL courses, the essay describes:

• a timeline and description of the work experience or other experience/environment
• tools and skills used and learned during the experience
• accomplishments and impact of the experience on oneself and on others
• how the student's academic work applied to the experience
• how the experience will inform future life and plans

2.  Documentation of the experience, such as photos/screenshots of work done, company or organization record of work (e.g. offer letter, personnel review, pay stub), documentation of travel or military service, testimonials of impact, or other records.

Approval: 

The portfolio should be emailed to LASAssociateDean@depaul.edu with a self- introduction (include full name and student ID), requesting that it fulfill EL credit. The LSP office will review submitted portfolios, and reserves the right to require revision before approval or to deny the request.

For this by-request waiver of the EL requirement, the student is to write a 2000-word essay describing how their military experience (leadership, challenges, etc.) meets the EL learning objectives:

The experiential learning requirement engages students in the first-hand discovery of knowledge through observation and participation in activities in an unpredictable setting, usually (but not exclusively) off-campus. Students are asked to reflect on what they have learned about themselves, others, and a larger social context given the connection between course content and their experience. To do this, they may have contact with a community, an international setting, a workforce environment, or take on a role in the classroom or laboratory that is substantively different than that of student, such as model the professional behavior of a researcher or teacher.

Students who successfully complete the Experiential Learning requirement will be able to:

• Apply particular concepts from readings, lectures, etc. to an analysis of lived experiences in the settings provided by the course.
• Use the experiences provided by the course to construct and articulate the impact of their experience on their understanding of course content.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the ethics appropriate to his or her experiential placement.
• Synthesize and articulate how the ideas and experiences provided by the course might inform their personal, academic, and/or professional pursuits.

The essay can be emailed to LASAssociateDean@depaul.edu with a few sentences of self- introduction (include full name and student ID) and requesting that this count for EL credit.

Students may apply to have their Independent Study considered for Experiential Learning (EL) credit.

To use a Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (LAS) Independent Study for EL credit, students need to complete this form: LAS Independent Study Form

To use an Independent Study outside of LAS for EL credit, students need to complete this form: Non-LAS Independent Study Form