DegreePlus Information for Faculty and Staff

• DegreePlus is a pathway for skill development that complements course-based learning. There is good potential for cross-disciplinary collaboration. Activities offered from external disciplines may be useful in satisfying program goals for your department that are difficult to meet within your program.
• Due to incentivized participation and marketing, faculty and staff may have higher attendance for their events qualified to be DegreePlus.
• Since attendance is tracked and students are reflecting on their experiences, DegreePlus can be used as a program assessment tool.
• Tracking student engagement in activities will help academic programs learn what their majors are interested in and assist staff to identify which programs students will attend. This information can be used to enhance those activities and generate additional experiences that are attractive to students.

1. DegreePlus is designed to capitalize on existing campus activities and events that you may already be doing.
2. To host an event, you need to complete a DegreePlus Event Request Form
3. At your event you will be required to display the QR code for students to use for attendance sign-in, and to read a short statement about DegreePlus at the beginning of the event.
   
   Faculty and staff who want to be more actively involved may apply to be a paid DegreePlus Mentor. Mentors guide students through Level 2 and Level 3 as students plan their DegreePlus Level 3 Experiences, reflections, and presentations.

Face-to-face attendance is tracked using a QR code that automatically uploads information to Engage. Participants use their smart phones to sign in with the QR code. Online attendance is tracked through the completion of a quiz and then the participant’s name is assigned credit in Engage.

You may access the attendance sheet on Engage if you have an account or you may request an attendance report by emailing degreeplus@wcu.edu

Level 1 - Experience and Exposure

• Students attend five in-person or online DegreePlus-designated events of their choice.
• These can be in any combination of transferable skills: Cultural Responsiveness, Leadership, Professionalism, and Teamwork. (a focused track is not required)

Level 2 - Integration & Application

• After attending 5 events, students are invited to DegreePlus Day
• Create a Plan of Action for a 25-hour Skills Experience focused on one, or all, of the transferable skills. Examples include an internship, academic capstone assignment, research, study abroad, senior showcase, volunteer or paid work project, leadership role, or anything that helps students further explore transferable skills.
• Complete the Skills Experience

Level 3 - Reflection & Articulation

• Create, and present, a Poster articulating their learning about transferable skills through the Skills Experience at DegreePlus Day
  
  Incentives are received at each level of completion. Upon finishing Level 3, students receive a Certificate of Achievement, RocketBook Reusable Electronic Notebook, DegreePlus Pin, Notation of Completion on Transcript.

Students who participate in DegreePlus are likely to receive the following benefits:

• Acquisition of skills that can strengthen their applications for employment, graduate, and professional schools
• Meaningful engagement in the WCU community outside the classroom setting
• Transferable skills which can be utilized in jobs and volunteer service throughout their lives
• Skill development that will enhance their personal interactions as well as professional development
• The ability to reflect and articulate what they have learned about important transferable skills
• A co-curricular transcript which can enhance their resumes, applications for fellowships, grants, graduate, and professional schools and provide a document for reference when requesting faculty and staff letters of recommendation
• Incentives at each level of completion, including notes on their academic transcript, business cards, a certificate of achievement, Rocketbook reusable, electronic notebook, and more.

Faculty and staff involvement is essential to the success of DegreePlus!

Get Your Students Involved

• Offer additional credit to your students who attend DegreePlus events
• Incorporate DegreePlus learning outcomes into your syllabus or training materials
• Invite the Associate Director of DegreePlus to speak to your class or student worker training
• Talk to your students about DegreePlus in your advising or supervising sessions

Host an Activity

• You don't have to reinvent the wheel! Take a look at the activities and events you already offer. Do they fit the criteria for DegreePlus designation? If not, can they be modified without disrupting the nature of the event?
• Create a new fun and educational event to communicate one or more DegreePlus transferable skills: Cultural Responsiveness, Leadership, Professionalism, or Teamwork.
• Complete an DegreePlus Event Request Form

Become a Paid DegreePlus Mentor

DegreePlus Mentors are faculty and exempt staff who receive training to guide students through DegreePlus Level 2 and Level 3. The stipend is $600 for two semesters or one academic year. An overview of the position responsibilities and projected time commitments can be found here: DegreePlus Mentor Information

How to Apply

Faculty and exempt staff are eligible to apply. If you are interested in learning more about the DegreePlus Mentor position, contact Heather Gordon, Associate Director of DegreePlus, hgordon@wcu.edu ; 828.227.7133.

DegreePlus events (in-person and online) can be found in WCU Engage, WCU's student engagement platform. After signing in, search for DegreePlus; in person and online events will all be posted here. Events are updated as they are submitted and approved. Membership is not required for students to receive credit for attending DegreePlus designated events; however, if they do join, they will receive newsletters, updates, access to the co-curricular transcript and more.

To be designated as DegreePlus the event must:

• Address to a great extent  at least one of the skill areas
• Be open for participation to all WCU students (It's OK to have a cap on attendance)
• Be extracurricular in nature
  
  

To submit an event to DegreePlus use this DegreePlus Event Request Form .  All event requests are approved by the Associate Director of DegreePlus. Events that are submitted less than two weeks prior to the event are not guaranteed to be accepted for DegreePlus consideration due to the volume of requests.

If you have questions, call 828.227.7133 or contact Heather Gordon, Associate Director of DegreePlus at hgordon@wcu.edu  or Tara Smith, CCPD/DegreePlus Administrative Support Associate,  at tysmith@wcu.edu

Membership is not required for students to attend DegreePlus events. Students join DegreePlus if they want to track their DegreePlus progress, manage their co-curricular transcripts, or advance in the program. To join DegreePlus, students go to WCU Engage , WCU's student engagement platform, search for the DegreePlus page, and click "Join".