Experiential learning activities in the workplace, on campus, or at home, all involve some risk that can range from mismatched expectations to an industrial accident, but using the new Guide to Risk Management can help ensure a safe and successful educational experience for students.

Career Development and Experiential Learning, in consultation with Legal Services and other stakeholders, developed this guide of handy tips and useful checklists to lead faculty and staff through the most common risk management questions as well as those that are often missed.

Judy Bornais, executive director of the Office of Experiential Learning, encourages faculty and staff to take advantage of the expertise and resources available to them.

“The University of Windsor has a wealth of experience and knowledge in supporting successful experiential learning,” she says. “We have developed the Risk Management Guide as one more tool to consider when developing experiential learning experiences.”

Two other new resources are also available. Using feedback from across faculties and the criteria provided by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, the curricular experiential learning categories and definitions have been adjusted, revised, and clarified to better describe experiential learning at the University of Windsor.

The new Curricular EL Categories and definitions can be found on the Office of Experiential Learning website. Accompanying the new definitions is a Rubric for Curricular EL Categories to help faculty determine if their courses qualify to be labelled as experiential. In order to meet requirements under the current strategic mandate agreements, all three criteria within the rubric must be met for the course to be tagged for inclusion in reporting to the ministry.

For questions and support related to experiential learning course tagging, contact experiential education co-ordinator Anna Galka.