Ingenuity in Action Sponsor Overview
The Ingenuity in Action program at Cornell College provides guided opportunities to students to document and reflect on their educational experiences.
- Students complete a proposal in the InAct Portal for either a pre-approved experience or propose their own experiences.
- The application is approved by the faculty/staff sponsor.
- Student completes experience and submits final reflection through the InAct Portal.
- Since the faculty/staff sponsor has agreed to sponsor the student, they will have full discretion to approve or deny a student's reflection. The Experiential Learning Office can advise but will not approve or deny any reflections.
- Once approved, the experience will be added to the student’s transcript.
- Students need to provide contact information for themselves, their sponsors, and their academic advisor. They will also provide the start and end dates of the experience and the category of the experience.
- For experiences that are not pre-approved, students will also need to provide a project description and rationale addressing the following questions:
- What will you be doing during your experience related to your category?
- How does this experience fit into your personal, academic and/or career goals?
- Proposals and reflections are each submitted through the InAct Portal.
Students should:
- Identify appropriate sponsors and request their sponsorship prior to submitting their proposal.
- Initiate and maintain communication with sponsors regularly over the course of the experience, keeping track of the hours devoted to the project using the Ingenuity in Action Hours Log.
- Complete reflections in a timely manner (the end of the block that the experience is completed in).
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Answer all reflection questions thoughtfully and completely. If a reflective assignment has been required for the experience that addresses the stated questions, the student can attach this document to the reflection form rather than completing the questions separately.
Faculty and staff members will serve as sponsors for the student’s experience.
Sponsors should:
- Review and approve the student's proposal. Experiences should meet the stated criteria for the category. Pre-approved experiences still need to be approved by the sponsor to ensure that sponsors are aware of the student’s plan and are willing to mentor this student.
- Encourage thoughtful completion of a reflection. The reflection questions are asked in the reflection form, but you may direct your students to complete their reflection as a paper or other medium and upload the file to the InAct Portal.
- Review and approve students' reflections, making sure they articulate what they have gained from the experience and how it has enriched their education.
- Approve the reflection through the email sent by the InAct Portal. If the reflection needs improvement, send back for revisions. Rubrics are provided in the section below.
- Members of the Ingenuity in Action committee each act as points of contact for one of the Ingenuity in Action categories. If you have any questions about a particular category, direct those to the following:
- Academic Research: Mark Kendall
- Civic Engagement: Samantha Hebel
- Creative Expression: Kate Kauper
- Global Connections: Samantha Hebel
- Leadership: Jodi Schafer
- Professional Exploration: Jodi Schafer
- Complete this pre-approved activity proposal to get your course or activity on the pre-approved list.
- If you have students who want to pursue multiple activities over the course of 12 months, they must keep track of their hours using this Hours Log. By signing off on a student's Hours Log you are acknowledging that they have completed the hour requirement of the category.
- Is your course on the pre-approved list? Add the category-specific language in the attached documents to your course syllabus to allow for easy participation:
- When reviewing reflections, please use the rubrics provided:
- Students will apply their knowledge and understanding through a variety of experiential opportunities. (EPOs: Knowledge, Vocation)
- Students will articulate the content and value of their learning experiences through reflection. (EPOs: Communication, Vocation)
For more information, contact the Berry Career Institute or the Faculty Director for Ingenuity.