Point Park Freshmen, Class of 2018, will be the first to benefit from a new initiative called Co-Curricular Transcripts (CCT), which will allow students to showcase their extracurricular successes in addition to their scholastic achievements in order to better prepare them to enter the workplace.

The CCT will be used in accordance with the OrgSync Student Engagement portal where students can document their co-curricular activities.

This began as a strategy of the 2020 initiative, a project started two years ago to advance the school and “enhance key pillars of the student learning experience… core curriculum and academic structure to co-curricular experiences and city life,” according to Karen McIntyre, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs and Dean of Faculty as reported in Point Magazine.

It became clear to Point Park’s leadership team that students were looking for meaningful experiences that would support their education outside of the classroom and could bolster resumes.

Lisa Patterson, Coordinator of Student Engagement and active member in the establishment of the CCT believes that it will track the “experiences that enhance, strengthen and deepen the personal, professional and academic experiences.”

Students’ activities will be tracked in six categories- Cultural Experiences, Internships/Practicums/Field Experiences, Community-Based Learning and Service, Student Involvement and Leadership, Honors and Awards, and Intellectual and Professional Development Experiences.

The school-verified document will ensure that students have completed the activities and demonstrate to potential employers that students have received a “well-rounded experience… in each of the six categories,” as stated by Sarah George, Director of Student Engagement and a leader on the CCT project.

George noted that freshmen should “increase their activity in these categories… [so that] their experiences during college become more robust and fulfilling outside the classroom.”

“There are so many advantages and benefits,” Patterson said. “It also gives students the opportunity to self-assess their activities and make decisions to build their skills.”

Other goals of the initiative include increased retention and a feeling of connection for students as they will become more involved on campus.

“I think that it will make students want to be more active at school since it’s going to be recognized now,” said Patty Sorg, a freshman who will be one of the first to enjoy the perks of this new initiative. “It sounds great, it seems like it will be so easy and convenient for us.”

Freshmen can start signing up now by visiting OrgSync and signing into the Student Engagement Portal, where they can begin to document their co-curricular activities.

There will be deadlines for the documentation at the end of each of semester to reduce the need for students to remember every activity they participated in throughout their four years.

More information on the subject can also be found at www.pointpark.edu/StudentLife/OutsidetheClassroom/CocurricularTranscript.