Frequently Asked Questions

The Active Learning Award is awarded to undergraduate students who participate in at least one activity in each of the following categories: discovery (research), service, and professional (internships and co-ops) learning. The college will recognize these students with an award upon their graduation.

To apply for the Active Learning Award, please fill out and submit the on-line application by the deadline posted.  Documentation required includes:

• Completed application for the Active Learning Award
• Additional documentation to support claim of "other: qualifying discovery, service, or professional experience, such as a letter from a faculty member or supervisor

No. A single activity may not be applied to more than one category of active learning.

The Active Learning Award submission deadline is approximately five weeks prior to graduation: November 1 for December graduates, April 1 for May graduates, and July 1 for August graduates.

These activities are typically completed on behalf of on-campus organizations. The following list of activities provides an example of opportunities that are applicable toward the Discovery Learning portion of the award.  If you would like to learn more about these opportunities, please visit the Discovery Learning page.

• Independent study
• Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
• BURST: Bioscience Undergraduate Research Skills and Training (formerly Undergraduate Research Assistantship Program, URAP)
• Discovery Learning Apprenticeship
• NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)
• NIH Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Scholar
• Research experience with Space Grant
• Other experience that has a significant research component may be substituted for the above options, but the petition process explained below must be followed

The following list of activities provides an example of opportunities that are applicable towards the Service Learning portion of the award.  If you would like to learn more about these opportunities, please visit the Service Learning page. For items marked with an asterisk (*), see "Service Participation Points" below.

• Completion of an elective course with a required service learning component
• Completion of an optional service learning component within a required course
• Completion of an Earn/Learn Apprenticeship
• Participation in Engineering Fellows Program for at least one academic year
• Service through Dean’s Office and/or Engineering Ambassadors*
• Student society/group leadership (AIAA, ASCE, ASME, SWE, EWB, etc)*
• Outreach through Space Grant and the BOLD Center*
• Other experience that has a significant service component may be substituted for the above options, but the petition process explained below must be followed

These activities are typically completed on behalf of off-campus organizations. The following list of activities provides an example of opportunities that are applicable towards the Professional Learning portion of the award. If you would like to learn more about these opportunities, please visit the Professional Learning page.

• Internship experience (must be relevant work experience with an engineering focus)
• Co-op experience (must be relevant work experience with an engineering focus)
• STEM-TP participant
• NIST Professional Research Experience Program (PREP)
• INROADS co-ops
• Other experience that has a significant professional component may be substituted for the above options, but the petition process explained below must be followed

If you have had an active learning experience (not specifically listed in the above activities) that you believe should qualify for credit towards discovery, service, or professional learning, please complete the petition part of the application form (provided at the end of the online application) and submit documentation to Dan Watson that will support your claim.

To meet the service requirement, you should expect to provide service for an extended period of time (such as tutoring students for several hours every week for two academic semesters) or assisting/leading multiple short-term events per year for several years. The expected effort to meet the service learning qualification by petition is comparable to the effort required by other listed service activities.

The number of service participation points awarded to an individual for involvement in an activity will vary based on the students’ level of participation and the duration of the activity. Some examples of activities that earn participation points towards this award include:

• Volunteer service through dean’s office and/or Engineering Ambassadors
  • Engineering Open House/Admitted Students Day
  • Student for a Day tours
  • Various other opportunities
• Service through student groups/organizations
  • Leadership in a professional society’s student chapter (AIAA, ASCE, ASME, SWE, etc.)
  • Engineers Without Borders - CU project work (with or without travel)
  • Various additional opportunities
• Service through Space Grant and the BOLD Center (beyond those activities that are required - for example, as part of a scholarship award)
  • Engineering education in K-12 schools
  • Preparation for K-12 outreach activity
  • Conducting tours of CU labs or student projects
  • Presentations to adult groups
  • Leading academic excellence workshops/tutoring students

For questions, please contact Dan Watson at 303-492-4404.