Experiential Learning

Learning through experience at the University of Toronto involves the deliberate integration of students’ disciplinary outcomes with competency development and authentic community engagement.

Community engagement refers to genuine practice with stakeholders inside or outside the University setting. Reflection is an essential element of all experiential learning activities — a process that allows students to consider what they have learned in their experiential learning opportunity and integrate this with their disciplinary knowledge.

Ensuring that students have access to experiential learning opportunities across their educational journey is a priority for U of T. Our office supports the development, implementation, funding and assessment of experiential learning at an institutional level by working with divisional and external partners.

two students with Professor Shauna Brail at a food bank

Experiential Learning Hub

The Experiential Learning Hub is a repository of information and supports for students, faculty and staff and external partners. On this website, you will find definitions and descriptions of experiential learning types, pedagogical and administrative resources, policies and guidelines, profiles of various experiential learning opportunities at U of T and connections to divisional and institutional supports.

Photo by Donna Santos.

Current Projects

Below, explore key projects and initiatives our office supports.

Academic divisions, units and programs at the University of Toronto are committed to supporting clarity and transparency regarding student learning experiences within their programs and courses. This commitment includes ensuring the connection and alignment of learning experiences within individual courses and the broader objectives of connected academic programs.

In order to achieve these goals at the undergraduate level, a University-wide typology of course experiences has been developed and integrated within the Course Experience and Syllabus section of the Course Information System (CIS). This feature will enable course instructors to identity when particular learning experiences are a major course component expected to be completed by all enrolled students.

As a result of this enhanced information, program administrators and curriculum committees will be better able to support clear communication with students over program and course expectations and alignment, as well as provide more proactive support for course instructors offering course experiences that may require additional supports and resources, such as experiential learning.

The Experiential Learning Hub’s page on Course Experience Tagging offers additional information about this project, including definitions of the various course experiences and an overview of the benefits to students, faculty, staff and the institution.

The Experiential Learning Needs Assessment will provide a clearer understanding of the current experiential learning environment across the University, including stakeholder needs and challenges; best practices across higher education; and potential technology solutions. The needs assessment will enable further efforts to design and implement a strategy that includes policy, processes, organizational supports, coordination and technology that meets the University’s needs. Through this assessment, our office, in partnership with the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students, hope to gain:

  1. A clearer understanding of the current environment and future directions for experiential learning internally to U of T and external trends, including stakeholder needs and challenges; best practices across higher education; and potential technology solutions.
  2. An ability to determine the next steps moving forward to design and implement a strategy that includes policy, processes, organizational supports, coordination and technology that meets the University’s needs.
  3. Visions for how processes, services and systems would connect and integrate across the University and how students and stakeholders would interact with them.
  4. The groundwork of an institutional strategy and action plan for experiential learning with engaged stakeholders from across the University.

In keeping with the President’s strategic priority within Rethinking Undergraduate Education, “to create more research opportunities for undergraduates, leveraging our large graduate education enterprise,” the VPIUE Office is undertaking a number of projects related to supporting, assessing and developing undergraduate research opportunities.

In discussion and partnership with the Division of Student Life, the School of Graduate Studies (SGS), the Division of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation (VPRI) and the academic divisions, the VPIUE is working to increase the number of undergraduate research experiences, enhance access to these experiences, based on principles of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access, and support students who are engaging with these experiences.

In 2021, The Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education and the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students commissioned the Experiential Learning (EL) Needs Assessment. The goals of the EL Needs Assessment were to gain:

  1. A clearer understanding of the current environment and future directions for experiential learning internally to U of T and external trends, including stakeholder needs and challenges; best practices across higher education; and potential technology solutions.
  2. An ability to determine the next steps moving forward to design and implement a strategy that includes policy, processes, organizational supports and coordination that meets the University’s needs.
  3. Visions for how processes, services and systems could connect and integrate across the University and how students and stakeholders would interact with them.
  4. The groundwork of an institutional strategy and action plan for experiential learning with engaged stakeholders from across the University.

The EL Needs Assessment involved consultations with students, faculty, staff, external partners and peer institutions and provided a range of recommendations to enhance the EL landscape at U of T. Based on these recommendations, and through subsequent divisional and EL program consultations, several tri-campus projects have been identified to move forward.

The Experiential Learning Dashboard provides a high-level overview of these projects, including identified outcomes, responsible partners, and project status. For additional information, or to express an interest in engaging in any of this work, please feel free to contact Clare Gilderdale, Manager, Teaching Initiatives, Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education (c.gilderdale@utoronto.ca).

Institutional Supports & Resources

Below you can explore supports and funding for experiential learning.

The Forum on Experiential Learning (FEL) supports academic and non-academic administrators, faculty and staff, and builds on the experiences of divisions and units in the area of experiential learning. It performs this function by facilitating the sharing of important information regarding internal and external developments related to experiential education in order to help inform local and institutional strategic priorities in this area. The Forum’s key functions are to:

  • enhance internal communications by coordinating efforts and embedding ideas in critical relationships throughout the institution;
  • build a network of relationships around experiential learning programming, delivery, assessment and the student experience;
  • share information on strategic initiatives;
  • assist in knowledge sharing and best-practices transfer among the divisions; and
  • allow each dimension of the campus structure to work to its own strengths in advancing the principles of the institutional mission.

If you are interested in being a member of FEL, please email el.vpiue@utoronto.ca.

The tri-campus Centre for Community Partnerships (CCP) is mandated to build community, enhance capacity and steward partnerships for curricular and co-curricular community-engaged learning (CEL) and research (CER) initiatives. CCP works with faculty, staff, students and community partners to facilitate opportunities for students to learn from, and contribute to, community organizations.

Learn more about CCP

The Career & Co-Curricular Learning Network (CLNx) is an institutional site that brings together opportunities and resources for career, advising, research, mentorship and co-curricular experiences. This portal acts supports students, faculty, staff and external partners seeking and hiring for curricular and co-curricular opportunities.

Learn more about CLNx

If you are interested in “micro-experiential learning” involving curriculum-embedded projects for your students, consider Riipen as an avenue to connect with companies and non-profits looking for university partners. This service, licenced by the University of Toronto, facilitates collaborative projects with community organizations and businesses by helping with the matching process, project setup and ongoing coordination. Students will benefit from direct feedback from employers.

Learn more about Riipen at U of T

The Learning & Education Advancement Fund (LEAF) program aims to support the President’s Three Priorities by providing a two-tiered system of funding. There are opportunities for teaching and learning projects that explore, implement and scale up promising practices at different stages of their development and implementation, including experiential learning.

Learn more about LEAF

Divisional Supports & Resources

A wide variety of Experiential Learning resources are available at both the institutional and divisional levels across the University. If you’re interested in locating supports relevant to a specific project, we recommend exploring the Experiential Learning Hub. You’ll be guided through the development of different types of opportunities and provided with a directory of local resources.

Visit EL Hub

Research