CO-CURRICULAR TRANSCRIPTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Co-Curricular Transcripts in Higher Education: Policy Brief

Ryan Bradshaw
George Mason University

CO-CURRICULAR TRANSCRIPTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Policy Brief: Benefits of Implementing Co-curricular Transcripts in Higher Education

Recent studies continue to show that students at four year institutions of higher education are
not persisting to graduation, with only 38.6% of students graduating within 4 years of starting
their full time program and 58.8% of students graduating within 6 years (National Center for
Educational Statistics, 2012). The same report also shows that minority students are even less
likely to persist to graduation, with fewer than 40% of African American and Native American
students graduating within 6 years (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2012). At the
same time, employers are reporting shortfalls in qualified applicants (Ellis, Kisling, &
Hackworth, 2014) and it is expected that with the current completion rate, in 2020 at least 5
million positions in the United States will not have any qualified college graduate applicants
available to fill them (Carnevale, Smith, & Strohl, 2013). Employers are also now identifying
that they seek college graduates who possess strong soft, transferable skills, as opposed to hard
technical skills in a specific field, to fill positions within their companies (Robles, 2012; Adams,
2013; Kretovics & McCambridge, 1998). Higher education institutions are now attempting to
solve this complex issue.
Co-curricular transcripts have emerged as one of the ways higher education institutions are
attempting to resolve the issue by allowing students the opportunity to track their involvement
and learning in out of class experiences (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996). The benefits of being
involved in co-curricular activities while in college have been documented to include higher
Grade Point Averages (GPA) (Kuh, Cruce, Shoup, Kinzie, & Gonyea, 2008; Zacherman &
Foubert, 2014) and higher rates of persistence to graduation (O'Keeffe, 2013). Co-curricular
transcripts will not encourage every student to expend more energy towards out of classroom
learning, but will inspire more students to take part in activities as a way of bolstering their
record. The additional benefits of higher GPA and increased persistence can be seen as bonus
positive outcomes.
Co-Curricular Transcripts as a means of academic achievement and encouraging
persistence

Students who participate in just 1-5 hours of educationally purposeful co-curricular

activities per week experienced an increased GPA of between 0.1/4.0 to 0.4/4.0
(Zacherman & Foubert, 2014; Kuh et al., 2008). Less prepared students and some
minority students see an even larger boost to their GPA as a result of participation (Kuh et
al., 2008).
Participation in structured extra-curricular activities with documented learning outcomes,
such as Residence Council and Recreational Athletic competitions, enabled students to
better adjust to university life than students who participated in loosely structured extra-

CO-CURRICULAR TRANSCRIPTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

curricular activities, such as going out dancing and working out in the gym (Tieu, et al.,
2010).
Students who engaged in educationally purposeful activities were more likely to have a
sense of belonging on campus and persist to their second year of studies at that institution
(Kuh et al., 2008) and persist to graduation (O'Keeffe, 2013). This is particularly true for
minority students, students with disabilities and students from lower socio-economic
groups (Kuh, 2009).

Co-Curricular Transcripts as a means of soft skill development

Co-curricular records assist in recording out of classroom learning and skill development
opportunities. Kuh (1995) found that out-of-classroom experiences that require students to use
leadership and organizational skills (such as leading student government or organizations) or to
interact with peers (increasing interpersonal competence, humanitarianism and cognitive
complexity) are most beneficial to increasing the interpersonal skills (communication, leadership
skills, teamwork) future employers require. Surveys of company executives identified the top
soft skills employers sought included integrity, communication, courtesy, responsibility,
interpersonal skills, coachability, leadership, organizational, problem-solving positive attitude,
professionalism, flexibility, teamwork and work ethic (Robles, 2012; Kretovics & McCambridge,
1998; Adams, 2013). Recent graduates believe the skills/attributes their employers seek in
candidates included enthusiasm/hard-working, positive personality, interpersonal
abilities/teamwork, work ethic/integrity, and computer/technical literacy (Velasco, 2012).
Employers are having a hard time finding enough candidates who possess the skills they
need. Educational institutions, which serve the role of workforce development in todays society,
need to step in (Ellis et al., 2014). At the current graduation rate, 5 million positions will go
unfilled in 2020 due to a shortfall in qualified applicants to fill them (Carnevale et al., 2013).
Co-curricular transcripts, with administrator determined learning outcomes for skill
development, allow students to demonstrate to employers how they have developed the skillset
the employer wants. The transcripts also allow students the opportunity to thoughtfully plan their
out-of-classroom learning experiences towards a future goal or career (King & Anderson, 2004).
By listing all of the co-curricular experiences the student has been engaged with and the
expected skills that should have been acquired through their involvement in the activity, students
with a transcript in hand will better be able to demonstrate their employability (Bringle &
Hatcher, 1996; King & Anderson, 2004).

Conclusion and Implications

CO-CURRICULAR TRANSCRIPTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Students experiences while attending higher education institutions, particularly those

outside of the classroom, help transform them as a person (King & Anderson, 2004) and prepare
them to be workers and citizens of the future (Ellis et al., 2014). Co-curricular transcripts provide
students with the opportunity to record their involvement in these transformative experiences and
then provide confirmation to their perspective employers, along with their academic transcript, to
show that they have worked throughout their college career to obtain the soft skills that are
wanted for the positions of the future. The transcript lists the various types of activities the
student has been a part, their role in the activity (leader, organizer, participant, etc.) and the
anticipated learning outcomes for the activity. Graduates will then have both an academic
transcript to demonstrate the skills acquired through their in-class learning and a co-curricular
transcript to demonstrate their skill development through their out-of-class learning, both of
which employers want.
Several institutions, including Washington State University, have actively implemented
co-curricular transcripts to not only track participation, but also encourage students to plan out
the activities they are involved with and be more active in the campus community (States News
Service, 2012). As the research shows, students who are more engaged in campus activities will
be more likely to persist to graduation (O'Keeffe, 2013) and have a higher GPA, particularly
minority students (Kuh et al., 2008). This shows the importance of finding ways to encourage
student participation in campus activities. Co-curricular records help encourage students to
persevere through college graduation and provide them additional resources to assist them into
employment. Institutions across the nation need to follow Washington States lead and find new
ways to fulfill their role of workforce development to ensure the United States economy does
not suffer due to the expected worker shortfall within the next decade.

CO-CURRICULAR TRANSCRIPTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

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Students who are active co-curricular organization members or leaders had significantly
higher psychosocial development by their senior year compared to their peers who were
not involved. Particular areas of improvement were purpose, educational involvement,
career planning, life management and cultural participation (Foubert & Grainger, 2006).