Enhancing the EDGE experience through WaterlooWorks
By: Matthew King (he/him)
How implementing the experiential education certificate program into the WaterlooWorks system benefits students and staff alike.
Although experiential education is a cornerstone of the student experience at the University of Waterloo, not every student is in a co-op program. Many seek alternative forms of experiential learning to gain valuable experience, develop in-demand skills and build connections.
The Co-operative and Experiential Education unit created the EDGE certificate program in 2017 to provide regular (non co-op) stream students with structured opportunities to develop professional skills. They accomplish this through various milestones, such as skills workshops, career development courses, capstone workshops and work or community experiences. Although the program has been successful, its flexibility also made the administration of the program complex for students.
Students had to manually request updates on their certificate progress, as progress tracking in Quest was not immediate due to the milestone update process. As more students joined the program, the small team of staff managing all the student records and requests could not scale up to support.
Addressing the administrative challenges
Recognizing these challenges, the EDGE project team conducted a business systems analysis to explore potential solutions, better meet student needs and overall, enhance the student experience.
After careful consideration, they chose to modify the use of WaterlooWorks, our online system designed to guide students and employers through the co-op process. The modification involved incorporating a new experiential education module to support EDGE. This decision, however, was not without its challenges.
“Adapting a system designed primarily for co-op students has compelled us to think creatively and shift our mindset,” says Jamieson Cox (he/him), senior manager, WIL innovation and continuous learning, Centre for Work-Integrated Learning (WIL).
“We have to engage in significant change management -- not just for EDGE program staff, but for students who are in the regular stream and might be using WaterlooWorks for the first time when they sign up for EDGE.”
Jamieson Cox (he/him), senior manager, WIL innovation and continuous learning, Centre for Work-Integrated Learning (WIL)
Josée-Claire Malenfant (she/her), EDGE instructional support co-ordinator
Although it is a better solution overall, the project team expects there to be a learning curve for EDGE students navigating WaterlooWorks for the first time. The project team is streamlining the transition by developing clear student-facing communications, comprehensively documenting processes and importing years of program records.
"The ability to follow milestone progress in real time will empower students to take ownership of their experiential learning journey," says Josée-Claire Malenfant (she/her), an EDGE instructional support co-ordinator.
"With a centralized system, we can provide clear guidance, streamline support and ultimately help students make the most of their EDGE experience."
Streamlining experiential learning with WaterlooWorks
Configuring WaterlooWorks to meet the EDGE program’s unique needs requires careful planning. The system must accommodate more than 800 actively engaged students (as of fall 2024) while maintaining the program’s flexibility.
The implementation of this project marks a major milestone in making experiential learning more accessible. Integrating EDGE into WaterlooWorks means students can track their progress on a self-serve basis. Staff can use a stable, centralized platform that reduces administrative burdens and improves the user experience.
This project has the potential to extend beyond EDGE. If our systems and expertise can support other forms of work-integrated learning at Waterloo, we can create more opportunities for students and cultivate a healthier WIL ecosystem across campus.
By leveraging technology to streamline operations and enhance accessibility, this project is closing gaps in experiential education and reinforcing the University’s commitment to equity in WIL. Bringing EDGE into WaterlooWorks means more students can easily engage in valuable professional development.