All undergraduate students, including transfer students, must earn Engaged Learning points. It is a graduation requirement. Download a PDF of the Program to refer to as needed: Engaged Learning Basics: A Guide to Your Graduation Requirement (PDF).
Graduation Requirement
There are two parts to the Engaged Learning graduation requirement:
| Points Requirement | Category Requirement |
|---|---|
| Freshmen status students including transfer students with fewer than 31 credits need to earn six (6) points. | Freshmen status students including transfer students with fewer than 31 credits need to earn points in at least two different Engaged Learning categories. |
| Transfer students with 31 or more accepted credits (sophomore, junior or senior status) need only three (3) points. | Transfer students with 31 or more accepted credits (sophomore, junior or senior status) need to earn points in one category, however, they may divide the points they earn across multiple categories if desired. |
How to Earn Your Engaged Learning Points
There are five ways in which you can earn Engaged Learning points:
- Complete an approved Engaged Learning Course
- Participate in an approved Engaged Learning Experience on or off-campus.
- Perform volunteer Community Service, on or off-campus.
- Participate in an Enriched Career Experience
- Freshmen and first-year transfer students can complete Rider's New Student Engagement Experience.
Important Facts
- Only courses taken at Rider University and experience or service hours performed while an enrolled Rider University student are eligible to earn points towards your Engaged Learning requirement.
- Courses taken at other institutions will not earn points.
- Experience or service hours performed before your first term attended or when you are not an active student at Rider cannot be counted to earn points. You must be an active Rider University student who can submit experience or service hours in BroncNation at the time you are performing the service.
- Experiences and Service Hours submitted outside of your attendance at Rider will be denied.
Become a Member of the Engaged Learning Program organization in BroncNation
Being a member is not required, but it will put you a step ahead of everyone else when there are updates to the program. There are several advantages to membership:
- Receive first-hand notice when new courses are approved to earn points or new experiences have been added to the list.
- Easily find the dates of reflection sessions (required for Community Service points) being offered throughout the semester.
- Browse through past news articles that contain helpful information.
- Email a question to the Engaged Learning Coordinator. Your question could become the focus of a future article!
How to track your progress towards completing the Engaged Learning graduation requirement
DegreeWorks records your progress towards graduation for all of your academic requirements. Review your progress towards core, major, minor, and Engaged Learning requirements often, at least once each semester, to ensure that you are on track for graduation. Log into myRider to see where you stand.
Your Engaged Learning Transcript (ELT)
Each time you request that Rider send your academic transcript, your Engaged Learning transcript will also be included as a companion document. The ELT provides prospective employers, graduate counselors and others with a deeper understanding of who you really are, beyond your academic accomplishments.
While your journey will be uniquely yours, the transcript will display your courses and experiences similar to the following sample transcript:
