Curricular Experiences
Curricular experiential learning includes experiences where you receive academic credit through course experiences, co-op and academic exchanges. This experience also allows you to gain knowledge and skills through workplace or simulated workplace projects or experiences.
Explore Course Experiences
Many of your courses give you opportunities to apply knowledge and skills in authentic contexts. Your program's Experience Guide and course offerings, and the Academic Calendar can help you find courses that have experiential learning opportunities.
The types of curricular experiences include:
- Community Service-Learning (CSL): Community-based learning through placements or projects.
- Creative performance: Participation in large ensembles, solo recitals and chamber music.
- Entrepreneurship: Development and/or launch of a business, social or culture venture.
- Field courses: Intensive practical experience in a setting relevant to your academic discipline.
- Field placements/practica/clinical placements: Supervised, professional experience required for professional programs, certification or licensing.
- Internships: Supervised, discipline-specific work experience that is not co-op.
- Lab experiences: Classes in which students engage in learning activities by practice.
- Professional inquiry: Short-term workplace exposure/observation including job shadowing
- Simulated/workplace projects and experiences: Projects or experiences where students apply knowledge to real-world situations.
Add and Track Your Curricular Experiences
All experiences will be made available for you to add to your Laurier Experience Record (LER) based on your registration and/or successful completion of a course with a qualifying experience.
These experiences include creative performance, entrepreneurship, field courses, lab experience, professional inquiry, simulated workplace projects and experiences, or workplace projects and experiences. They will be made available for you to add to your LER based on your successful completion of the course.
Follow these steps to select competencies and add these experiences to your LER.
- Log in to Navigator and select Curricular Experiences from the purple menu on the left.
- Select View Past Experiences. On this page, you will find all curricular experiences that are available to be added to your Laurier Experience Record (LER).
- To add each experience to your LER, you must complete the Competencies step:
- Select the experience and then select the blue Complete button located under the Competencies step.
- Reflect on your course experience and use the dropdown menus to select 1 to 5 competencies you developed during the experience.
- Select the blue Save Changes button at the bottom of the screen. This will save your competencies and add the experience to your LER.
If your course instructor has partnered with Community and Workplace Partnerships, the experience will be added at the start of the term. You must complete the steps in Navigator to include it, and for it to appear on your Laurier Experience Record (LER).
Experiences can include community service-learning, workplace projects and experiences, internships and professional inquiry.
If your program has a required field placement, practicum or clinical placement, it will be added to Navigator to be included on your LER. The timing of this addition depends on your program.
Examples of programs that offer field placements include Social Work, Education, Music Therapy, or Psychotherapy.
Co-op is a form of work-integrated learning in fields relevant to your academic and personal goals, alternating with your class-based courses.
Your co-op work-term record will be added and appear on your LER when you have been hired. You must complete the learning objectives and work-term report/evaluation during your co-op job.
The Student Exchange Program is an opportunity for you to experience the social, economic and political climate of various countries. This experience also allows you to improve your language skills and cultural knowledge. Check out Global Engagement and Exchanges to learn more about outgoing and incoming exchange opportunities.
Follow these steps to select competencies and add these experiences to your LER.
- Log in to Navigator and select Curricular Experiences from the purple menu on the left.
- Select View Past Experiences. On this page, you will find all curricular experiences that are available to be added to your Laurier Experience Record (LER).
- To add each experience to your LER, you must complete the Competencies step:
- Select the experience and then select the blue Complete button located under the Competencies step.
- Reflect on your course experience and use the dropdown menus to select 1 to 5 competencies you developed during the experience.
- Select the blue Save Changes button at the bottom of the screen. This will save your competencies and add the experience to your LER.
Need More Information?
Email your questions to experiencerecord@wlu.ca. Make sure you include your student ID and the course code or title, if relevant.
Co-op
- If you're interested in learning more about co-op, contact lauriercoop@wlu.ca.
- If you're enrolled in co-op, contact your co-op coordinator.
Academic Exchanges
- If you have a question about academic exchange, contact exchange@wlu.ca.
- If you have a question about academic exchange on your LER, contact experiencerecord@wlu.ca.