Senior Experience
- You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over. -
-Richard Branson-
Senior Experience is a 15-credit rigorous and extensive blended learning program tailored to help the student begin working toward professional and/or life goals. This experience is entirely student-centered and relies on the motivation, interest and dedication of the student. Senior Experience consists of three main parts:
Academic foundation: The Senior Experience student selects a foundation for learning about his/her specific content and incorporates that foundation into his/her learning plan. Examples of an academic foundation include but are not limited to; college coursework, online courses, books and other literary resources, lecture series, video resources, etc.
Experiential learning: The Senior Experience student engages in real-world, hands-on learning in an effort to gain skills of a trade, soft skills and to understand the nuances of a career field which cannot be taught in a classroom. Working closely with a professional mentor is a crucial part of the experiential learning piece. Examples of experiential learning include but are not limited to; structured learning experiences, service learning, interdisciplinary projects, entrepreneurship, apprenticeship, internships, volunteer work, problem or project based learning, employment, etc.
Capstone project: Each Senior Experience Student is required to plan, develop and present a senior capstone project. The capstone project is a demonstration of learning and should incorporate the academic foundation and experiential learning pieces of the Senior Experience.