Think of your Engaged Learning experiences as points that add up steadily each semester, which are collected and displayed on your Engaged Learning Transcript (ELT). All students earn points in the same way, by taking an approved course, by participating in approved experiences, or by completing community service hours.
Beginning with the Fall, 2017 semester, all undergraduate students, including transfer students, must participate in earning Engaged Learning points. It is a graduation requirement.
There are two parts to your EL requirement:
- Points Requirement
- All freshmen status students including freshmen transfer students need to earn six (6) points.
- Transfer students with 31 or more accepted credits (entering Rider with sophomore, junior or senior status) need to earn three (3) points.
- Category Requirement
- All freshmen status students including freshmen transfer students need to earn points in at least two (2) different Engaged Learning categories.
- Transfer students with 31 or more accepted credits (entering Rider with sophomore, junior or senior status) need to earn points in one category, however, the points may be divided across multiple categories if desired.
How to Earn Your Engaged Learning Points
There are four ways that you can earn Engaged Learning points:
- You can take an approved Engaged Learning Course
- You can participate in an approved Engaged Learning Experience on or off-campus.
- You can volunteer for Community Service, on or off-campus.
- You can participate in an Enriched Career Experience
- Freshmen and first-year transfer students can complete Rider's New Student Engagement Experience.
IMPORTANT: Only courses taken at Rider University and experience or service hours performed while an enrolled Rider University student are eligible to earn points towards your Engaged Learning requirement. Courses taken at other institutions do not earn points. Experience or service hours performed before your first term attended or when you are not an active student at Rider cannot be counted to earn points. You must be an active Rider University student who can submit experience or service hours in BroncNation at the time you are performing the service. Experiences and Service Hours submitted outside of your attendance at Rider will be denied.
How do I see my progress towards completing the Engaged Learning graduation requirement?
DegreeWorks records your progress towards graduation for all of your academic requirements and displays your progress towards core, major, minor, and Engaged Learning requirements. Log in to myRider to see where you stand.
Download a PDF of the above guidelines to refer to as needed: Engaged Learning 101: A Guide to Your Graduation Requirement (pdf)
Your Engaged Learning Transcript (ELT)
Each time you request that Rider send your academic transcript, your Engaged Learning transcript will also be included as a companion document. The ELT provides prospective employers, graduate counselors and others with a deeper understanding of who you really are, beyond your academic accomplishments.
While your journey will be uniquely yours, the transcript will display your courses and experiences similar to the following sample transcript:
