The College has an impactful legacy of laboratory and field education that emphasizes practical and hands-on teaching and training. It is imperative that we sustain this emphasis and create new opportunities for students in field courses, internships, undergraduate research, and other experiential opportunities. Fostering these opportunities helps effectively prepare students to become future scientists and natural resource professionals. Additionally, high-impact learning experiences, such as field and laboratory courses, are proven to enhance student retention, graduation rates, and job placements. Leveraging CSU’s facilities: the CSU Environmental Learning Center, CSU Mountain Campus, Todos Santos Center, and SPUR will be critical for achieving this goal.
To address this goal, we will:
- Build new opportunities for field study, skills development, and project-based learning.
- Sustain and expand students’ access to engaging co-curricular experiences including internships, externships, undergraduate research, fellowships, and educational opportunities abroad.
- Create partnerships to enhance pipelines for student employment.
- Leverage exchange programs for faculty at diverse and international institutions to build, increase, and enhance opportunities for experiential education for students, faculty, and instructors through workshops, short courses or other training opportunities.
Accomplishments
Continue to participate in university efforts to enhance the CSU Mountain Campus for teaching and research
Utilize targeted development efforts to generate funding for experiential education and address barriers to faculty and student success
Future Tactics
Create short courses and workshops that give students skills and certifications and better opportunities for internships
Establish a new Natural Resources course that complements or supplements NR220 (or as an alternative to NR220) to be offered at other CSU campuses, such as the Todos Santos Center or SPUR