Decision needed more feedback

When the Journal’s Editorial Board voted on whether or not co-curricular records should be introduced at Queen’s, the votes were evenly split and four people were undecided.

It speaks to how varied the perspectives on co-curricular transcripts are.

Queen’s Student Affairs decided against the introduction of the new record that is separate from an academic transcript. A co-curricular record is a University-verified document of extracurricular involvement, which has gained popularity other at Ontario universities, including York, Wilfrid Laurier and Carleton.

Student Affairs axed the possibility of implementing the records after received mixed feedback from AMS Assembly, SGPS Council and a number of faculty society representatives. But, this fails to give an accurate cross-section of the student body as a whole.

A simple survey could have been administered to students, allowing greater numbers to have a say on the issue. Student leaders failed to solicit input from the students they represent.

Given that resume-padding is a common tactic, the co-curricular record could add a level of legitimacy to campus involvement. Academics need to be the primary focus of the University, but experience matters as much as grades.

Clubs and other campus involvement provide valuable learning experiences that aren’t available in the classroom. Queen’s is a school where students are heavily involved, and having a record of activities would be helpful.

Adopting the co-curricular record indicates that the University values more than just academics, and gives employers a legitimate record of involvement.

But the co-curricular record also carries with it a host of potential problems. Collecting the information of every club and deciding what activities are legitimate to place on a transcript would necessitate a large investment of time and money.

Co-curricular records could also inspire people to superficially engage with activities, doing just enough to qualify for their transcript, but not really getting involved.

Because the co-curricular record is a new concept, it remains to be seen whether or not employers and graduate study programs would place value in it.

It’s possible that introducing the program wouldn’t have any real benefits.

The record is a concept that has pros and cons on each side. The decision of whether or not to implement co-curricular transcripts is one that will affect students either way. It’s unfortunate that students were handed a verdict instead of being part of the discussion.

Tags

Co-curricular, records

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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