Supporting co-curricular activities through academic credit would demonstrate a commitment to fostering well-rounded, creatively thinking students.

We are fortunate that there are many opportunities to be involved on our campus. Whether it is being involved in a student group, student government or a religious institution, students are given the chance to be connected to various organizations. There are many students who dedicate a lot of time in their undergraduate experiences to their co-curricular life. Some would argue that those experiences are more valuable than their academic experiences throughout college.

There are many students here who are not involved in co-curricular opportunities, however. There are many reasons for this. Some students could genuinely not be interested in getting involved because other activities occupy their time. For others, it might be because of financial constraints. Being a part of a student organization can be expensive (dues, materials costs) or may take up time that could be spent working a job. It seems, though, for many students I’ve talked to, that the issue is simply a lack of time. Understandably, students do not want to trade the time dedicated to their academics for co-curricular opportunities. For them, the harm to their grades is not worth the enjoyment of a co-curricular opportunity.

This is why I think Washington University should consider awarding credit for co-curricular participation. This would help alleviate some of the academic concerns that make students wary of being more engaged in student organizations. According to our University’s mission statement, two goals are to “prepare students…with leadership skills” and to “[enable] them to be useful members of a global society.” Both of these goals can be achieved through co-curricular participation. Experiences in student organizations teach students many important skills that are sometimes absent in the classroom. In some cases, these are behavioral or social skills important to becoming global leaders. Supporting co-curricular activities through academic credit would demonstrate a commitment to fostering well-rounded, creative-thinking students.

Certainly, there would have to be standards adopted for this practice to be implemented. Perhaps only certain levels of commitment would qualify, or the credit would be affiliated with a department, so students would receive faculty mentors. Students could write essays on their experiences or present to faculty on what they have learned throughout the semester. Students can already conduct independent studies and receive credit for internships, so why not consider expanding those options a little further?

I am not suggesting that we should purely value co-curricular experiences for academic purposes. Rather, I think this would be a meaningful way to encourage more students to become involved in the many opportunities on campus. For the students already involved, maybe this would reduce their stress levels a little bit.