About the Office of Experiential Learning
The Office of Experiential Learning (OEL) serves as the institutional hub for advancing high-impact experiential learning (EL) across the university. We partner with academic and administrative units to ensure experiential learning is intentionally designed, accessible, and connected to meaningful student outcomes.
Today, OEL plays a central role in shaping strategy, infrastructure, and accountability for experiential learning at scale—ensuring students graduate with real-world experience that prepares them to succeed.
Vision
Experiential learning is a defining feature of the university experience—empowering every student to graduate with the skills, confidence, and real-world experience needed to thrive in their careers and communities.
Mission
OEL leads the institutional strategy for experiential learning by:
- Advancing participation in high-quality experiential learning opportunities
- Strengthening systems for tracking, reporting, and recognition
- Identifying and addressing equity gaps in access
- Supporting faculty and staff in designing and scaling impactful experiences
- Aligning experiential learning with institutional priorities such as student success and workforce readiness
Why Experiential Learning Matters
Experiential learning connects classroom knowledge to real-world application. These experiences strengthen student engagement, deepen learning, and support career readiness. OEL ensures that these opportunities are not isolated, but part of a coordinated institutional approach that enhances student success.
Strategic Priorities
OEL is focused on advancing experiential learning through the following priorities:
What We Do
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Institutional Strategy & Governance
- Chairs and supports the Experiential Learning Steering Committee
- Establishes institutional standards and recognition criteria
- Aligns experiential learning with university priorities
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Systems, Data, & Accountability
- Manages the Engage UNF platform for tracking experiential learning
- Produces institutional reporting, including the Impact Summary Report
- Monitors participation trends and identifies opportunity gaps
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Recognition & Quality Assurance
- Guides the process for recognizing EL activities
- Ensures alignment with institutional criteria and best practices
- Promotes reflection and outcomes-driven learning
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Capacity Building & Scaling
- Partners with colleges and programs to expand EL opportunities
- Consults on course design, co-curricular experiences, and program scaling
- Provides training and professional development
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Institutional Hub & Partnerships
- Connects academic and administrative units across campus
- Supports collaboration with community and industry partners
- Identifies and helps address gaps in experiential learning access
OEL Values
Engagement
Integrity
Excellence
High-quality, outcomes-driven experiences
Access
Opportunities for all students
Transformation
Learning that changes trajectories
Reflection
Intentional learning through critical reflection
Experiential Learning Categories
UNF organizes Experiential Learning into seven categories. Expand each option to learn more about that type of EL. Clicking the icon for the category will take you to a new webpage for that EL category, plus campus resources, examples, and ways to accomplish.
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Internship
What is an Internship?
An internship is a paraprofessional work experience in the appropriate field for a student’s major, field of study, or occupational interest. Internships require a time commitment from host sites, student supervision by a qualified professional, and student learning outcomes. Internships can be for-credit or not-for-credit, paid or unpaid. Additional examples of activities in this category include field experiences, practica, clinical, supervised research, student teaching, and apprenticeships.
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Career & Professional Experiences
What are Career and Professional Experiences?
Career and professional experiences allow students to develop competency attainment that occurs as an extension of the classroom. Examples of activities that qualify for this category are mentoring, credentials, micro-internships, and job shadowing and externships.
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Creative, Innovative, and Entrepreneurial Activity
What are Creative, Innovative, and Entrepreneurial Activities?
Creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial activities are substantive applications of academic preparation in real-world settings outside and inside the classroom through creative projects not captured through academic research. Experience must include disseminating or sharing the creative, innovative, or entrepreneurial project. Some examples include capstone projects, curating an art show, recital or exhibition of creative works, and entrepreneurship or innovation projects.
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Undergraduate Research
What is Undergraduate Research?
Undergraduate research is collaborative research opportunities between a student and faculty, staff, or professional. This collaboration involves a four-step learning process: (1) identification of and acquisition of a disciplinary or interdisciplinary methodology; (2) setting out of a concrete investigative problem; (3) carrying out of the actual research; and, (4) dissemination of research findings. Activities that count toward this experiential learning activity include research assistantships, honors in the major theses, directed independent study/independent research, and community-based research.
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Global or Sociocultural Learning
What is Global or Sociocultural Learning?
Global or sociocultural learning is sustained engagement with and study of cultures other than one’s own. This experiential learning can take place inside as well as outside the traditional classroom. Activities included in this category are intensive study abroad experiences, gap year fellows, domestic study away programs, and global scholars.
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Leadership
What is Leadership?
Leadership is engaging in a substantial, immersive leadership experience or participating in leadership training activities outside the traditional classroom. These can be curricular, co-curricular, or extracurricular. The goal of these activities is to learn how to leverage the strengths of others to achieve common goals or to use interpersonal skills to coach and develop others. Examples of activities that meet this standard are peer leadership/mentoring experiences, resident/community assistants, student leadership roles in clubs, organizations, and student government, and leadership training, summits, and retreats.
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Community-Based Learning
What is Community-Based Learning?
Community-based learning is intentionally designed, coordinated, and executed learning experiences in community-based settings that enhance participants’ academic learning, contribute to their personal growth, and increase their civic engagement while concurrently benefiting the community or communities in which these activities are embedded. Examples of this category include service-learning, volunteering, community service projects, living-learning communities, and civic engagement (course-based, for-credit).
Let's Partner
OEL partners with faculty, staff, and departments to support experiential learning initiatives. You can work with us to: