What's our current work?

Winter 2023:

• Framework for Embarking Experience

• ePortfolio Institute and begin design

• Meet with units to discuss/ideate on Frameworks and resources

• Pilots for Embarking Experience

• Grant writing (SIP, NSF, NEH)

• Pilot internship program

• Begin designing a “how-to-implement HIPs” toolkit

• HIP conference – May 4

• Team Teaching / Linked Courses models

• Student feedback (currently in HIPs, affinity groups, TRIO, Macnair, etc.)

• Alumni meetings and feedback

Fall 2022:

• Met with key stakeholders (Career Center, Alumni Relations, PIC, CSCE, Office of Community Engagement, GenEd)

• Explored other models, experts (Tia McNair, Jillian Kinzie)

• Feedback from Unit Heads, key stakeholders

• Developed the Frameworks for High Impact Practices 

• Adopted the 8 Characteristics of High-Impact Practices (Kuh & O'Donnell, 2013)

To support the CLAS Voyage...

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has created the CLAS Center for Experiential Learning, administrative infrastructure to address equity and sustainability in the implementation of the Voyage. The CCEL will

• Coordinate the administrative work of supporting high-impact practices (HIPs) across CLAS
• Facilitate collaboration across and outside of the university, including with:
  • The Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence
  • The Center for Undergraduate Scholar Engagement
  • The Padnos International Center
  • The Office of Civic Learning and Community Engagement
  • The GVSU Career Center
  • The Alumni Relations Office
  • And more!
• Increase community engagement and connective tissues throughout CLAS
• Act as the financial backbone for HIPs, supporting opportunities to address equity and sustainability barriers for CLAS student, faculty and staff
• Lead the assessment of HIPs across the College in support of the CLAS, Division of Academic Affairs and RH2025 Strategic Planning needs

CCEL's Goals (rooted in Equity and Sustainability)

• Reduce barriers for student participation, particularly those that have financial (e.g. Pell or other federal financial aid eligible) barriers, 

• Reduce barriers for student participation related to cultural capital (e.g. not having connections to drum up an internship, first-generation students)

• Ensure consistent, across-the-board access regardless of major

• Support faculty connections to employers, opportunities and community members through a streamlined process

What is the CLAS Voyage?

At its heart, the CLAS Voyage is a commitment to our students that CLAS honors the importance of an empowered educational experience, lifelong learning, and a culture of educational equity in alignment with GVSU's Reach Higher 2025. More and more, employers are highlighting the broad value of a liberal arts and sciences education, and so the Voyage reflects the importance of working with students to understand and communicate the value that they bring from their time at GVSU. Through a curricular arc that begins with an academic seminar (The Embarking Experience), ends with a Capstone, and includes at least two high-impact practices embedded into each program, the Voyage supports students in making meaning of their college experience through a reflective portfolio experience that captures their learning and connects it to liberal arts and sciences competencies. Students that graduate from CLAS will be able to communicate their knowledge, skills and abilities through consistent and aligned student learning outcomes.

The Voyage will launch for pilot projects in AY23-24 and AY24-25 and will be the cohesive experience for incoming students in Fall 2025.