About Co-Curricular Planning

About the Ram Plan Co-Curricular Transcript

Why?

Student Affairs recognizes the profound impact that formal and informal experiences outside of the classroom setting have on the development of students in the pursuit of identifying their purpose, connecting with others, and thinking critically about their understanding of the world around them. During their time as a Golden Ram, students engage in a variety of educational opportunities within the co-curricular experience which are designed to foster transformative learning. Students who are actively engaged in community and the learning situated within them are more likely to persist at WCU, reach degree attainment, and apply those transferrable skills and experiences to their future endeavors whether it be situated within their career, civic engagement, personal development, or advocacy work.

What?

The Ram Plan co-curricular transcript serves as a tool to capture those co-curricular experiences and the learning within them. Together with their academic transcript and the leadership involvement highlighted on their resume, students leave WCU with a variety of tools to assist them in expressing their learning as a Golden Ram. Students may use their co-curricular transcript to help articulate their on-campus learning in interviews, cover letters, and conversations with others. In addition, the co-curricular transcript is sent along with the academic transcript when requested by students to highlight and verify from the university the learning in approved curriculums completed by the student.

The programs and experiences included in the Co-curricular Catalog reflect the reoccurring educational offerings within the Division of Student Affairs. Programs indicated as “transcript eligible” in the Co-curricular Catalog are peer-reviewed initiatives by a team of faculty and staff at WCU. These initiatives are grounded in student and identity development theories, learning, assessment, and best practices in higher education. They are cultivated and facilitated by the Division of Student Affairs to provide students the opportunity to engage in world class co-curricular educational opportunities which aide them in their personal growth and contributions to the global world. Learning together at WCU is what makes us golden. The Ram Plan is one more way for WCU students to demonstrate what it means to be a Golden Ram.

How?

The Ram Plan co-curricular experience is one of the first of the kind in the nation. It serves as a foundation for student success and completes the educational mission of the University in developing graduates to succeed personally, professionally, and contribute to the common good. There are five focus areas within the Ram Plan: Career Readiness, Community Engagement, Health and Wellness, Involvement and Leadership, and Social Justice. Through programs and experiences within these focus areas, students will develop knowledge and skills in civic engagement, communication, critical thinking, integrative learning, intercultural fluency, personal development, and problem solving.

While at WCU, students engage in a customizable curriculum within the fives focus areas of the Ram Plan. The Ram Plan is comprised of a series of steps:

The Co-curricular Catalog allows students to explore program offerings related to their areas of interests and goals as a Golden Ram.
Students are then able to create an Education Plan of programs they would like to engage in throughout their time at WCU, like planning their courses for their academic major.
Students attend programs, complete an assessment of the learning outcomes with a passing score, and then the program is listed on their official WCU Ram Plan transcript.

Our Co-Curricular Journey

For more than twenty years, the Division of Student Affairs was committed to creating a co-curricular transcript. We began with a Co-Curricular Portfolio which was successful over the years and eventually led us back to a Co-Curricular Transcript, which launched in June 2022. The information below highlights our progress and how we made it to where we are today.

Year	History
March 2001	The Co-Curricular Transcript is listed as a goal in the Division of Student Affairs Decennial Report for Middle States.
2002-2003	A group of faculty and Student Affairs staff developed the Co-Curricular Portfolio and piloted it with eight student leaders.
2003-2004	The Co-Curricular Portfolio launched, 125 students enrolled in the online program, and five seniors completed the package in time for graduation.
2004-2005	Over 200 students participated in the Co-Curricular Portfolio in year one. Several completed it and graduated.
2005-2006	A total of 466 students enrolled in the Co-Curricular Portfolio after it was introduced to Student Affairs paraprofessional students, Honors College students, and upper-class leaders.
2007-2008	Over 1,400 students enrolled in the Co-Curricular Portfolio.
2016-2017	Vice president candidate, Dr. Zebulun Davenport, presented on what a student affairs division looks like in the 21st Century. The title of his presentation was, Utilizing Co-Curricular Learning Experiences to Impact Student Success Both During College and Beyond. He becomes the Interim Vice President and is appointed to the Vice President position later that year. After discussions with members of the division, he proposed the Co-curricular Transcript to the President's Cabinet.
2017-2018	President Fiorentino held a Welcome Back celebration in the fall and the Divisions of Academic and Student Affairs announced the Co-Curricular Transcript. Shortly thereafter, Amanda Thomas and Judy Kawamoto were hired to lead the project. Work began on the co-curricular framework, catalog, education plans, assessments, technology, marketing, and resources. The year ends with the division’s first co-curricular retreat.
2018-2019	The new community engagement platform launched, the division engaged in a review process related to program titles, the co-curricular rubrics and the program catalog were published, the co-curricular surveys were piloted, and the Ram Plan website was shared with First Year Experience faculty.
2019-2020	Members of the division shared the division’s co-curricular accomplishments at the Institute on the Curricular Approach in Anaheim, CA. Faculty, staff and campus partners began submitting transcript applications. Formal trainings were developed, a review committee was established, co-curricular scheduling was reviewed, and several stakeholders were asked to provide feedback regarding the design of the transcript. The co-curricular transcript is officially named the Ram Plan: Co-curricular Transcript. Over the summer, the marketing team was re-established, 33 experiences were approved for the transcript, and the transcript design was submitted to the Registrar’s office to be built in PeopleSoft. *In March, the U.S. prepared for a global pandemic and most WCU co-curricular programs were moved online or temporarily discontinued.
2020-2021	Program learning outcomes were added to the co-curricular catalog, a faculty/staff survey resulted in changes to the process, application, and trainings. Committees were established to create curricula for Social Justice, Health and Wellness and Community Engagement. Twenty-one members of the division attended the Institute on the Curricular Approach. A Co-Curricular Transcript Task Force was established to refine the goals, faculty/staff onboarding, application, review process, and marketing and communications. The Co-curricular Transcript pilot began.
2021-2022	Faculty and staff began uploading experience data into students' transcripts. A division-wide Common Hour was established bi-weekly on Thursdays from 9:00-10:30AM to focus on four priorities: curriculum development; diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice; strategic planning initiatives; and professional development. Dr. Zebulun Davenport, Vice President for Student Affairs, presents the Co-curricular Transcript at the Middle States Commission for Higher Education Annual Conference. Dr. Judy Kawamoto, Assistant Vice President for Student Development, presents the Co-curricular Transcript at the NASPA AVP Symposium. Participants in both sessions are very excited about the idea. Leadership of the Ram Plan transitioned to Dr. Diane D'Arcangelo, Interim Assistant Vice President for Student Development and later to Dr. Sara Hinkle, Assistant Vice President for Student Engagement. Dr. Tabetha Adkins became the Interim Vice President for Student Affairs. On June 9, the Co-curricular Transcript went live and students could begin viewing and building their transcript. It was introduced during Orientation on June 22nd and students had an opportunity to participate in their first experience for their co-curricular transcript.
2022-2023	A team of 11 Student Affairs staff members attended the Institute on the Curricular Approach in Baltimore, MD. Ram Plan Paraprofessional Training was created and offered. The Ram Plan committee added three members from the Division of Academic Affairs. Members of the Ram Plan Review Committee began working with departments across the University on experience applications. The first internal Ram Plan Grant was awarded to the Office of Student Conduct. Six new Ram Plan policies were published related to training, applications, experience delivery, assessment appeals, removing experiences from students' transcripts, and inactivating experiences. A Ram Plan Faculty Guide was created to support faculty in finding programs to incorporate in courses as assignments and extra credit opportunities. Eighteen program applications were approved and over 25,000 entries have been added to student and alumni transcripts since 2017.
2023-2024	A Ram Plan D2L site was created to house asynchronous programs in one place and increase access for students in online programs. The site launched with nine programs. The faculty/staff webpage was re-designed to provide strategies faculty and staff could utilize to help students build their co-curricular transcripts.