In the early 1990s , residential colleges began encouraging students to develop cocurricular transcripts as a way to organize and document their learning experiences outside the classroom.
Increasingly since then, many residential colleges and a few progressive online programs have adopted cocurricular transcripts or similar e-portfolios to help students showcase their out-of-class experiences. While these transcripts lend themselves more organically to on-campus students, I encourage online students to embrace this practice. Doing so can help level the playing field with on-campus students when applying to graduate school, internships, jobs, awards or scholarships.
[Learn how to join a virtual club as an online student.]
The cocurricular transcript will usually contain entries on leadership accomplishments, campus employment, involvement in clubs and organizations, participation in service learning, student government, volunteering, research projects, noncredit internships and athletics. The structure of the document is more similar to an academic transcript than a resume in that it’s a curated list of accomplishments and activities, which might be listed by semester or term, and is typically an official document of the college.
But unlike academic transcripts, cocurricular transcripts are generally initiated and maintained by the student, not the registrar. The college verifies the activities listed, and a student can request a cocurricular transcript containing the institution’s official seal. For online students, it may be necessary to massage the current institutional procedures, which are mostly geared toward residential students, to yield similar benefits.
Following these four steps can help online students cultivate a cocurricular transcript.
1. Find virtual or on-campus clubs to join: Ask an adviser about some ideal cocurricular activities that might complement your online studies and even future employment ambitions. An applicant with an online MBA who volunteered with Habitat for Humanity is likely to attract more attention than an equivalent candidate who hasn’t. Perhaps your school has organizations or clubs that allow for virtual attendance or that encourage online students to pursue service-learning projects in their hometowns, or you can ask how you might participate in student government as an online student. Try and merge those recommendations with your personal passions and pursue opportunities locally.
[Discover what to ask about extracurriculars in online degree programs.]
2. Inquire about cocurricular transcripts for online students: Start by asking an admissions counselor, adviser or student affairs staff member if the college offers online students opportunities to create cocurricular transcripts. If so, look over the many categories of extracurricular activities that can be listed on the transcript and develop a plan to populate the areas that resonate with you the most or are most applicable to your professional goals.
3. Pick the right format: If your college does not have cocurricular transcripts or doesn’t offer them to online students, search the web for models from other schools that appeal to you and begin developing your own. Like an academic transcript, the format of a cocurricular transcript is somewhat standardized, such that anyone from any institution could likely read it and understand what you did. The Borough of Manhattan Community College has a clear example on its website.
4. Receive proper documentation: Try to have your activities locally documented by your online college. Ask the local internship supervisor, volunteer coordinator, charity supervisor or organization official to send a letter or email that documents your participation at the end of each semester. Keep a copy for your own records.
The takeaway: Even though online students usually can’t physically participate in cocurricular activities on a physical campus, they can still develop cocurricular transcripts that provide a competitive edge in future academic and professional endeavors. Future employers appreciate well-rounded job candidates.
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Develop a Cocurricular Transcript as an Online Student originally appeared on usnews.com
