UFV’s Co-Curricular Record builds on its own success

UFV’s Co-Curricular Record is building on its own success.

More than a year has passed since the University of the Fraser Valley initiated its Co-Curricular Record program. So far, 5,000 students have created a record, more than 1,000 have validated activities on their record, and upwards of 500 activities have been made available — many new to campus and created with CCR in mind.

As the official transcript of students’ out-of-class involvement on campus, UFV’s CCR is successfully validating co-curricular experiences measured against actual learning outcomes, according to Jody Gordon, UFV’s Vice-President, Students.

And it’s getting even better.

“With our Institutional Learning Outcomes already in place, what students experience in and out of the classrooms has become very fluid,” she explains.

“Having a Co-Curricular Record available allows a student’s experience to be blended and connected with their curricular experience while providing an authorized record of activities. We’ve had a wonderful response and we’re upgrading the operating system to greatly expand CCR’s centralized engagement.”

The upgraded CCR system will allow official UFV student clubs to have their own virtual space. In turn, they’ll be able to manage group rosters, store internal documents that are occasionally lost when students graduate, integrate planning processes with online calendars and social media, and request event approvals in one centralized location. Students will also be able to use the upgraded system to reflect on their own experience, and describe in their own words the benefits of those experiences.

The new features are expected to be fully operational over the summer semester.

“We’re seeing more and more students embracing UFV’s CCR opportunity, and this latest upgrade is our response to that interest, combined with the importance of providing co-curricular experience,” says Kyle Baillie, Director, Student Life & Development.

Fourth-year Business Administration student Derek Ward-Hall is especially excited about the new centralized database with hundreds of different ways that you can get involved on campus.

“There were times I was looking through the database and went, ‘wow, I didn’t even know it was possible to do that here at UFV,’” he says.

“I’m also really glad we’ll now be able to track our involvement on campus hour-by-hour. This way if I spend two hours volunteering with the Canadian Cancer Society daffodil day, or spend 120 hours in a workstudy program, each hour will now be represented on the record. This system will give a fuller picture of my time at UFV.”

Those improvements are intended to maximize student opportunities while streamlining engagement that leads to a successful CCR, which are becoming increasingly important to potential employers, grad schools and professional schools.

“According to a recent study, 77 per cent of employers would like to see a CCR,” adds Baillie.

“The CCR is a differentiator at the front end. It gives grads an advantage over those who don’t have it and lets them say ‘here’s what I’ve done, and here’s how it lines up with what you’re looking for.’”

UFV’s Co-Curricular Records are validated using a unique authentication code that’s embedded into the document each time a student prints their record, allowing employers and schools to check all records directly and securely.

Learn more by visiting ufv.ca/studentlife/ccr.