New co-curricular transcripts a prospect for UWindsor
By Jasmine Ball
Lance Writer
November 26, 2008
 Are you a cheery member of S.O.S.? An elected member of the student senate? Perhaps you head a student club or society like Hip Hop Love or French Connection? Documenting your extra-curricular experience is an important part of preparing a resume or curriculum vitae (C.V.) to use after you’ve completed your undergraduate degree. That key component may soon be made easier.
The University of Windsor is taking steps to offer students an optional co-curricular transcript to supplement their academic transcripts.
This record would allow students to update their extra-curricular involvement and the skills garnered from their participation on campus. The skills detailed include time management, leadership, and other soft skills that employers or graduate acceptance committees might find valuable.
Brooke White, Director of Student Development and Support at UWindsor, said “[The University of Windsor] has been implementing this for quite a while.” She stated that this record would be a more formal credential of students’ involvement on-campus and noted, “Students aren’t always able to articulate as well as they could what they’ve learned or gained [from their volunteer experience].”
Some students build portfolios, update their resumes regularly, and collect reference letters when their involvement is still fresh in the minds of directors and supervisors. But many do not, and the proposed co-curricular transcript would allow students to create a personalized record of their involvement in extra-curricular activities, providing an excellent resource. It might also serve as a motivation to document extra-curricular involvement in a timely fashion.
The program was presented to the Student Senate and the group wanted more details. Mohsin Kahn, Vice President of University Affairs, stated, “The UWSA commends the university on recognizing student volunteers, and their importance to the university experience, however there needs to be a thorough examination of such a program before implementation.”
There does seem to be some confusion as to the benefit of this record as a supplement to applications. In speaking with people from the University of Windsor’s Human Resources, Career Development, Faculty of Education, and Graduate Studies offices, none were quite sure what the record entailed or how it would aid applicants for careers or post-graduate education. Students’ extracurricular experience is often already included in the application or listed on the resume or C.V.
Abu Arif, coordinator of the Co-Curricular Transcript Program, is working on giving the program more structure before its implementation. He is currently approaching club and society officers and asking them to report what skills volunteers may exhibit or develop through involvement in their groups.
This will likely be added to a database listing the positions students hold on campus and making the related skills accessible to students updating their co-curricular transcripts.
Students would be able to select their learned skills from a list and would also have the option to write any other abilities they think they’ve gained. This update would automatically be emailed to the head of the group or society for verification, and upon the authenticator’s consent, would be given an authentication number and added to the transcript – an appeal process is still in the works. The student would create the record and update it, and the student would have to request that the transcript be printed, as it is in no way connected to the official academic transcripts of the registrar’s office.
White said the university is currently working with a company (undisclosed) that offers the co-curricular transcript program. IT Services is working with the product to test its compatibility with UWindsor’s system. Upon further research into the company’s offerings White hopes to partner with the group more formally in the next few months.
If the system is implemented, the goal will be to have it available to students in the Fall semester of 2009. She hopes that the program will be of use to students applying for employment or further education following their under-graduate degrees. Perhaps it will be most useful as a personal record, and this information could be added by students to their resumes or cover letters.
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