Experiential Curriculum

The experiential curriculum complements the academic curriculum. Whereas the academic courses rely upon classroom techniques as the primary means for learning, the experiential curriculum uses field experience as its principal methodology. Field experience is gained through the required internship and through elective practica. The following courses comprise the required experiential learning core. Combined with the academic core and appropriate electives, they constitute the 45 semester hour master's curriculum.

Required CSP experiential learning courses (9 credits)

CSP 6890: Supervised Field Experience in College Student Personnel (6) 
Student must be engaged in supervised experience in appropriate areas of college student personnel. Participation in regularly scheduled seminar units is required.

CSP 6890: Advanced Field Experience in College Student Personnel (3) 
Experiential learning associated with the second year of graduate internship is documented through assigned evaluation tasks.

Electives 
The following courses serve as electives within the experiential curriculum. Each of these requires advanced planning for organizing learning goals and experiences, and for arrangement of adequate supervision. The CSP Program Office provides information on available options. In addition, students are encouraged to seek out areas of interest and create their own practicum opportunities.

CSP 6970: Practicum in College Student Personnel (1-4) 
Supervised experiential learning within an appropriate student affairs area. Approval by a supervisor is necessary prior to registration. May be repeated upon approval of the student's adviser. Graded on S/U basis.

NOTE: No more than 15 hours of experiential learning credit (internship and practica combined) can be included in the total 45 semester hour plan of study (known as the "TDP" - Tentative Degree Program). Students will receive nine (9) credits for their internship; therefore, an additional six (6) practica credits can be earned. In other words, a minimum of 30 academic credits is required. However, any additional hours gained beyond the 45 credit hours may be in the form of experiential credit.

The Practitioner Professional Skills Model:
A key to planning, understanding, accounting for, and evaluating the various field experiences (internship and practica) lies in an understanding of the Practitioner Professional Skills Model. This model is introduced to each student within the context of CSP 6890: Supervised Field Experience in College Student Personnel. In general, the Professional Skills framework is used to describe and evaluate specific experiences and skills gained during the internship or practicum. An accumulated record of these experiences and skills gained throughout the two-year program becomes the foundation for a comprehensive Professional Competency Portfolio completed during enrollment in CSP 6050: Capstone Seminar. This record will be submitted to the internship supervisor for review in the form of an experiential learning summary statement.

Experiential learning: Professional skills:

• Conflict Mediation: promoting reconciliation, settlement, or compromise between parties who are experiencing incompatible or opposing needs or wishes.
• Group Dynamics: interacting effectively within small groups of people who have unifying relationships to each other.* Instruction/Programming: effectively imparting knowledge or information in educational contexts.* Interviewing: effectively gathering information from individuals through the use of formal interviews.
• Counseling: providing professional guidance to individuals using psychological methods.
• Advising: giving recommendations to others to help them make a decision or plan a course of conduct.
• Working Effectively with Diverse and/or Underrepresented Populations: working effectively with diverse subgroups of students, faculty and staff.
• Management: skillfully directing or implementing organizational tasks and responsibilities.
• Problem Solving: Analyzing problems from several perspectives, identifying and evaluating alternative solutions, and implementing selected solution(s).
• Self-Knowledge: understanding your own capabilities, character, feelings, or motivation, and how these affect your professional effectiveness.
• Supervision: critically watching, overseeing, or directing activities or a course of action in an organizational context.
• Utilizing Resources: creatively employing or applying appropriate resources (physical, personal, educational, etc.).
• Verbal Communication: verbally communicating information, ideas, and contrasting points of view in an effective and professional manner (including nonverbal forms of expression).
• Written Communication: effectively communicating information, ideas, and contrasting points of view in written form.

The basic framework of this model was developed by Dr. Leila Moore, a Visiting Associate Professor in the HESA Department at Bowling Green State University from 1985-87.