Co-curricular record to help students get involved
In university and college, students are told by their professors to take part in different activities in order to gain skills that set them apart in the job market.
This can be difficult because sometimes students don’t know where to look or most opportunities require past experience.
The University of Guelph-Humber and Humber College have launched a co-curricular record program to help students get involved on campus and develop skills that relate to their future careers.
A co-curricular record (CCR) is a document that shows what activities and jobs a student has been involved in on campus.
Students search a co-curricular database and find opportunities that match their interests, availability and skills they want to gain. There are 343 different activities and hundreds of skills that can go on a CCR. They range from clubs to paid positions.
Once students have completed an activity that is or can be CCR certified, they log into the co-curricular system and add it to their record. Then they can select the skills they’ve gained from their experience. A staff or faculty member will approve the activity and then it will be added to the student’s CCR.
Thomas Kaddour, the co-curricular record coordinator at Humber College, says the CCR is an asset to a resume or a cover letter when applying for a job.
“Some things we hear from employers right now is that students are really academically successful when they graduate. They have these skills from the in-class content but they don’t necessarily have some softer skills like running a meeting or effective communication skills. This is a way for students to showcase they’ve got a ‘full package’ when they go and apply to positions in a really competitive market,” says Kaddour.
The CCR program launched in September 2015. A year later, many students at the University of Guelph-Humber and Humber College don’t know about it.
Kaddour says when the CCR program was introduced to students it was only for Guelph-Humber and Humber student services positions. But now it is opened to IGNITE, clubs and other positions.
“Surprisingly not a lot of people know about it which is a little bit crazy because they’re missing out on such a great opportunity. So a lot of the time people really appreciate it when I tell them because if they don’t have jobs on campus, they can do the five workshops [at the Learning Support Peers desk],” says Faiza Ali, a third-year early childhood education student.
Elmah Chowdhury, a media studies student was first introduced to the CCR program at a training session for her student ambassador job. Her supervisor told her it would be a great opportunity.
“I haven’t actually used it yet, so I’m not sure if it’s actually useful, but it looks promising,” says Chowdhury.
Liana Acri, the student life coordinator at the University of Guelph-Humber says the CCR can help students realize the value of all the experiences they’ve had.
“I think that this program is good for students trying to find ways to connect and find out what’s out there in one gathered place. As well as a way for them to feel validated and realize that what they are learning is not just a job on campus. It’s not just a volunteer opportunity. It’s not just a workshop, but that they are really taking away valuable and transferrable skills,” says Acri.
Students interested in the CCR can visit guelphhumber.ca/life/ccr or humber.ca/student-life/ccr.
About the Author
Anna Akoto Anna is a journalism student at the University of Guelph-Humber and an aspiring TV broadcaster. She loves Snapchat and is a die-hard Patriots fan. Don't bring up Deflategate...
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