Winona State University is set to begin implementing co-curricular transcripts for students.

A co-curricular transcript will include approved activities and events as an adjunct to a regular academic transcript.

The co-curricular transcript will show five categories of experiential learning.

First, it will include Winona State sponsored clubs, sports and organizations. Membership and officer positions in clubs will be included. Sports include Warrior Athletics, intramural and club sports.

In order for club and organization membership to be put on the co-curricular transcript, membership lists will be verified at the beginning of April.

The other four co-curricular categories (digital citizenship, civic engagement, leadership development and intercultural competency)  align with Winona State student learning outcomes developed by the ImPAAct Committee.

Digital Citizenship events will help students learn how to research and evaluate information efficiently and effectively. Students who attend should be able to use information and technology skills to accomplish a specific purpose, as a well as analyze issues surrounding the use of information and technology.

Civic Engagement events will teach students how to construct and present arguments, narratives and explications. These events should

help students be able to work with others to design an approach to resolve social, personal or ethical dilemmas.

Leadership Development events will help students evaluate issues from different viewpoints. These events include exploring the evidence of an issue in order to form a position and evaluate the relevance of context when presenting a solution.

Intercultural Competency events will help students recognize the impact of one’s own actions on others in a global community. Students who attend should be able to demonstrate ability to collaborate across and within communities to extend and obtain knowledge to benefit the greater community.

The co-curricular transcript is a way for students to display how they have formed as a person while in college, not just in the classroom.

Tania Schmidt, the associate registrar for enrollment management, had an important role in instituting the co-curricular transcripts.

“A co-curricular transcript attempts to aggregate and record in the same fashion [as an academic transcript], your experiential learning on campus,” Schmidt said.

While an academic transcript shows academic achievements, graduate programs realize that there is more to students than GPA.

“What we’re hearing from grad schools is [they] really like to hear this other group of things that students are doing,” Schmidt said. “Were they a 4.0 student, but they stayed in the library all day long? Were they part of clubs and organizations? Did they go to events or experiences that were really well rounded.”

Emily Duden, a sophomore majoring in Spanish, physics and mathematics, plans on applying to graduate school and believes that a co-curricular transcript would be a benefit to her.

“I think it will give graduate schools a better idea of what you’ve been doing. If you put something on a resume you could potentially twist it, but when they see it on your transcript they know that it’s the objective truth,” Duden said.

Before students see a co-curricular transcript available, a process will have to be completed for events to be eligible for the transcript.

If an institution hosts an event that fits one of the learning outcomes, they can submit the event to the Registrar to be approved for the co-curricular transcript. If it’s approved, attendance will be taken and the event will be put on students’ transcripts.

While the co-curricular transcript will be beneficial for students, some people have worries.

“It will be confusing for faculty and for students to begin using [the co-curricular transcript] and to know how to use it. Freshmen are going to come in and not know if this is something they should have been doing for the past few months,” Duden said.

The new transcript will grow over the next few years, but students can start asking if events they attend will be put on their transcript now.

“I have the ability to enter events and the students who attended them right now. As word spreads that [students] would like certain events to qualify, we’re going to see more events on there, more and more attendance and before you know it you’ll be able to order a [co-curricular] transcript,” Schmidt said.