When President Ross Gittell introduced Vision 2030 in 2019, experiential learning became a central focus at Bryant University. But the Rhode Island institution faced a unique challenge—they didn't need more opportunities. "It wasn't that we needed to scale up opportunities here at Bryant University," explains Veronica Stewart, Director of Career Services. "We just needed to scale up the data collection and be able to tell our story."
For years, Bryant relied on self-reporting from faculty and students to track experiential learning. When the Assistant Director of Experiential Learning attended her first conference, she realized they were among "the only ones still trying to pull data from self-report," Stewart recalls. "It's kind of silly that we're still going down that road." In early 2024, President Gittell assembled an experiential learning working group, providing the institutional support needed for change.
Bryant needed a comprehensive platform to handle their complex academic internship approval workflow while tracking all experiential learning across campus. They found their answer in Symplicity Outcome.
"We were looking for a new tool that could house our academic internship approval workflow, and we wanted a way to track all other experiential learning across campus," says Stewart. "We found that the Symplicity Outcome tool was able to help us do all of that."
The university's approval process involves academic advisors, students, Career Services staff, and approximately 28 faculty members each semester. With just one to two people managing implementation, efficiency was critical. "We were able to find tools within Outcome to help us use notes, tags, emails to make all of that work," Stewart explains.
Bryant took a measured approach, prioritizing quality over speed. "Being comfortable with starting small and not rushing, and communicating that that's the only way really to your partners is very important," Stewart emphasizes. The team created comprehensive support materials and leaned on Symplicity's implementation representatives during setup.
Even before completing full implementation, Bryant began seeing results. The university now reports on academic internships far more effectively than ever before. With 100% of Bryant students participating in experiential learning, they have concrete stories to share with employers. "Our employers are very impressed with our graduates and do say that's why they love Bryant students," Stewart notes. "Because they are career ready with these skills, and they're able to demonstrate that during networking and interviewing."
Despite implementation challenges with a small team, Stewart's message is clear: "It's worth it. The work it's going to take to build new relationships, have people trust you with their data, with their information, and just get everyone on campus on the same page can feel overwhelming, of course, at times. But it's so worth it." Bryant is now positioned to continue scaling their experiential learning initiatives with comprehensive infrastructure. "We're excited now for the next steps, because we know this particular product is right for us and comprehensive enough to make it all work."
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