Immersive Learning Opportunities
The College of Engineering at Ohio Northern University’s strategic plan states, “Our purpose is to give all our students access to great careers and flourishing lives,” reflecting their deep commitment to creating educational environments that nurture student well-being, engagement, and achievement.
The mission of ONU’s College of Engineering “is to engage students through personal relationships and remarkable opportunities,” aligning them closely with the Coalition’s mission.
Our current initiative is to expand the number of immersive learning experiences offered to students in the College of Engineering. Such experiences are intended to personally resonate with students to help them develop identity, agency and purpose, and improve their overall well-being. Broadening students’ awareness of opportunities in the broader global community will help them find meaning in their relationships and envisioned careers. Reinforcing connections to their studies, to their future aspirations, to faculty, and to each other will set them on a pathway to contribute to the common good.
ONU is designing a pilot project focused on creating immersive learning opportunities. This pilot will not only provide impactful experiences for students, but will also explore pathways to sustain such transformative educational practices long-term, ensuring that future generations of students continue to benefit from these enriching experiences. Past similar initiatives at ONU have significantly enhanced students’ sense of belonging and agency, and this project aims to build on those successes.
Our project will investigate the elements of immersive off-campus experiences that lead to life-transformative outcomes. This includes duration, focus, alignment with curriculum, number of participants, and other characteristics. Students will engage in reflective exercises both during and following their immersive experiences to reinforce significant connections.
Coupled with high-impact practices already offered at the ONU College of Engineering – co-op’s, study abroad, engineering competition teams, and other extracurriculars – the project will more formally centralize and advertise these opportunities. This administrative oversight is intended to benefit a) recruitment via a summary of options and stories to share with prospective students, b) retention by fostering peer relationships and greater awareness of engineering in practice, and c) employment by providing students with rich experiences to share with potential employers and broaden their career options.
Our vision is to initiate two short-term excursions, then incrementally scale similar offerings based on best practices shared among CTE members and lessons learned about accessibility, feasibility, and impact.
- ONU typically has the highest placement rates in the State of Ohio, and is often in the top ten in the country.
- Ohio Northern is among the best in the country in rankings based on return on investment and social mobility.
- The College of Engineering at Ohio Northern expects that this initiative will continue to move us closer to 100% of our graduates having had a meaningful immersive experience (these new initiatives, study abroad, undergraduate research, internship, and/or co-op). For last year’s class this number was just under 90%.
