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Vanderbilt ranked among nation’s top institutions for experiential learning

Forage Experiential Learning Award 2022Vanderbilt is ranked 26th among the nation’s top colleges and universities for experiential learning in Forage’s inaugural Experiential Learning Awards.

Forage is an open-access virtual platform that connects users to company-endorsed Virtual Work Experience Programs, or online programs that simulate the real-world experience of starting a career. For the first time, Forage curated a list of the country’s top colleges and universities that excel in experiential learning.

The trans-institutional nature of Immersion Vanderbilt was cited as a key reason for the university’s strong results. Vanderbilt’s experiential model, which provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to pursue their passions and cultivate intellectual interests through an intensive learning experience and culminating project, seeks to cultivate students’ personal and professional skills beyond the classroom.

“I am proud of the ways we have collaborated with faculty and staff partners to connect this high-impact work to pedagogy, student success, and equity, diversity, inclusion and access initiatives,” said Amy Johnson, assistant provost for immersion and experiential learning. “Of particular importance is our partnership with the Career Center in thinking about students’ experiential learning as a pathway for career preparedness.”

Universities offering four-year degrees in the United States were eligible and considered for the 2022 Experiential Learning Awards, with institutions analyzed based on three main factors: student engagement, faculty involvement and early participation. A total of 800 institutions were scored.

For more information about this year’s awards, visit the Forage website.